Old Man Constantine in the Future
It’s not really a secret that I am a big fan of Hellblazer. In fact I usually enjoy Vertigo titles in general, and I have been really digging the Vertigo Resurrected line. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Bad Blood story, although I was really excited for it to come out. That being said it was really enjoyable to read. I am not really going to go much into the plot because I don’t really want to spoil anything.
Without giving much away the story is a comedy about old man Constantine dealing with a conspiracy involving secret police trying to install a completely democratic government in England, a group of nobles trying to install a new queen by utilizing the awesome powers of reality TV, a religious group dedicated to Princess Di, and a lesbian ghetto doctor caught in the middle.
On the one hand this story is unlike other Constantine stories because there is very little magic and the enemy is not at all supernatural. It also is a bit more comedic then most people expect from a Hellblazer story. While the “enemies” is not the traditional demon or evil forces that Constantine usually finds himself squaring off against it is one of his oldest, people, normal people who are incredibly self righteous. And the way that he plays the two groups against each other is classic John Constantine.
I said that this story is a bit more comedic then other Hellblazer stories, I would not say that it is laugh out loud funny. The artwork gives it a kind of cartoon feel, although it also reminds me of Daytripper, and there is some humor involved with John ending up naked on more than one occasion, and if you go through and reread it just looking at the background you will see a few things that will make you chuckle. The signs in the hospitals are great and one of the things that really caught my eye was the look on a patients face as he is about to get his leg sawed off, or at least that’s what appears to be happening.
Like I said this story is definitely not the best Hellblazer story out there but it is definitely enjoyable. The artwork isn’t the greatest but it fits with the overall feel of the story. But hey tell me what you think, or what it will take to get you to pick up this Vertigo Resurrected story?
4.5/5