This is a re-read from me. Re-visiting John Constantine from way back in the early 90's. I originally read the comics, not the TPB, but they were borrowed from a friend so, except for the Horrorist (which I own), I no longer have copies.

The 4 stars would be how I felt about the stories back in the day. Now, I might be inclined to give these stories a 3 star rating, but I'm not sure that's entirely fair. I was hooked on Hellblazer, and it had to be pretty good for me to keep reading.

Constantine is great; the stories, not always up to the level of Constantine himself.

It was good to re-visit Newcastle, what with all the mentions of it in the TV show. I'm trying to explain it to my husband and what happens on TV didn't always happen in the original storyline. I'm not sure that's a bad thing, though. I liked some of the stories better than others. The artwork varies. It's great on the Horrorist. That's David Lloyd and I believe that story line was written quite a while after the other stories in this TPB.

I'll try to continue on my journey of old school Hellblazer, but that will depend on the availability of the old comics and TPBs and my budget (if I find I have to purchase copies).

2nd reading - Read from Jan 20 - 26, 2015 ( )

This second collection of Hellblazer comics shows just what happened all those years ago in Newcastle. You find out what is the source of guilt that eats at Constantine. The rest of the collection is more someone off stories that would give a reader a taste of what Constanine’s daily life is like. Surprisingly, I felt you could start reading the comics either with the previous collection or this collection. ( )

So, didn't realize there was an entire series of reprints (I own the other cover), but no complaints. John's always a pleasure, Jamie Delano rarely disaappoints.
If a re-release gets the stories out there again, more power to 'em. ( )

John Constantine is one of my favorite characters in literature, mainly because he manages to be such a genuine bastard at the same time has having a staunch set of morals. Not that being a nasty character is a great thing, but because it makes him more real than had he been a nice guy. Also, most of his battles are "fought" with cunning and smarts rather than with magic spells, which is a huge amount of fun to read, especially since Constantine is a master of the sarcastic remark.

The Hellblazer issues included are "Sex & Death" where Constantine realizes he's been cast into the astral dimensions by the Swamp Thing and takes the opportunity to make Zed useless to the Resurrection Crusade before heading back to his own body, "Newcastle: A Taste of Things to Come" which is the story of Newcastle and when everything went awry with Astra, "The Devil You Know" where Constantine gets an unexpected message from Ritchie Simpson and uses him to get to Nergal, "On the Beach" where Constatine's mind bring him to a calm beach where a nuclear accident happens and horrors literally fall from the sky, "The Bloody Saint" where Constantine is discharged from Ravenscar and meets an old friend from his musical past and the story segues into one of King Arthur (as a magus) and Merlin, "Venus of the Hardsell" which is a music video by Mucous Membrane, and "Antarctica" where Constantine takes on the services of a dominatrix and then goes to find a beautiful (but dangerous) refugee from war-torn Mozambique. ( )

I liked the ending of the Newcastle storyline. I loved the "On the beach" issue. It left me somewhat disgusted and fascinated. I was ready to give it 4 stars, but The Horrorist ruined it. Visually, it doesn't fit in with the rest of the volume. And I have a feeling there are more things wrong with it but can't figure out what.
Overall, if you take out The Horrorist, this is fairly enjoyable. ( )