John Constantine: Hellblazer: Hooked by Peter Milligan & Various Artists

John Constantine: Hellblazer: Hooked by Peter Milligan, Giuseppi Camuncoli, Stefano Landini and Simon Bisley, Vertigo/ DC

Today’s graphic novel pick is the trade paperback that reprints Hellblazer #256-#260, before the character was emasculated and ejected from the Vertigo universe. Here we have Peter Milligan, whose dark whimsy has always been a welcome addition to whatever he writes, give the reader a tale of arch magician Constantine who acquires a love potion to make his occasional girlfriend Phoebe want him but of course, it all goes horribly awry. Milligan with artists Camuncoli and Landini creates a colourful London filled with murderous Babylonian demons and psychotic East End gangsters. Hellblazer only really works with a British writer helming his destiny as they are the only ones who seem to really understand what makes him tick. In this collection, we also get to see Simon Bisley return to interior art in the story The Cottage, which actually shows that he’s still able to tell a story with style and panache. The character remains in the DC universe currently, so we still have to suffer the watered-down version. But for the authentic portrayal, you’d do worse than pick up this collection. Accept no substitutes.

DC Comics

Hellblazer Hooked TP: Written by Peter Milligan, 2010 Edition, Publisher: DC Comics [Paperback]