Comic Book Review: Constantine the Hellblazer #10 - DC Comics (2016)

"Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic"

Written by Ming Doyle & James Tynion IV
Pencils by Travel Foreman
Inks by Joseph Silver
Colors by Ivan Plascencia

John Constantine is in a place worse than Hell; Faerie.  He needs to escape this land and get back to Earth-world in order to stop the demon Neron from destroying humanity.

Ten issues in and this has been a fun ride.  Constantine has been everywhere and he's had to use his wits, along with snarky replies, to get through all of the awful situations he finds him in.  I like when art imitates life, as the evil demon Neron, with his terrible hair and all wishes to "Make Hell Great Again."

I am also a fan of John Constantine's inability to have a relationship due to his lifestyle.  More accurately, I like how this comic series shows what a detriment to others it can be to be involved in Constantine's life.  The tragedy of the story is incredibly compelling as Constantine has a charisma to him, but he can be downright despicable toward people and it's mainly because he needs to be for their safety.

Travel Foreman is in charge of pencils for this issue which definitely works, especially in the realm of Faerie.  Constantine the Hellblazer is an absolute incredible value with excellent writing, wonderful artwork and a price tag of only $2.99.

What are your thoughts on Constantine the Hellblazer?  What other comic books would you like Maskerpiece Theatre to review?  Please comment in the section below.

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Comic Book Review: Constantine the Hellblazer #7 (2015)

Written by James Tynion IV & Ming Doyle
Art by Riley Rossmo

The trees appear to be coming to life in the park, attacking and killing lovers who attempt to show physical affection in the bushes.  John Constantine is met by the Swamp Thing to find out why this is happening.

I was really excited to see the Swamp Thing on the seventh issue of Constantine the Hellblazer.  I know it's not the Swamp Thing I grew to truly enjoy when it was written by Alan Moore but it's still a lot of fun.  I also liked that this issue was able to tell the story within one issue but still was able to leave you with a cliffhanger and get you ready for the next issue.

Riley Rossmo works so well as the artist of Constantine the Hellblazer.  I was really excited to see his take on Swamp Thing and that definitely did not disappoint.  The final page of the book is such an eerie vision, you'll be ready for the next issue.

What are your thoughts on Constantine the Hellblazer?  Leave your comments below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 5 "Haunted"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 5

“Haunted”

Synopsis:

When things take a turn for the worse with Sara (guest star Caity Lotz), Oliver (Stephen Amell) calls in a favor from an old friend who deals in the mystical, John Constantine (guest star Matt Ryan). John Badham directed the episode written by Brian Ford Sullivan & Oscar Balderrama.

Review:

Finally the episode I have waited for since the announcement that Matt Ryan would reprise his role as John Constantine. We don’t have to wait long to find out how both Oliver and Constantine meet, which was seen in the first Flash back to the island where John had been captured looking for a mystical artifact. Back in realtime, the team finds out that Sara is back and has broken free from where Laurel was keeping her. She has been attacking muggers and street thugs while trying to feed her blood lust. As we find out Thea is who Sarah is after. Once the team captures Sarah, Oliver calls his old friend John Constantine for help to regain the soul of Sarah…… How can you not just be excited. What made this episode so great was being able to bring back Matt Ryan. Not only did the creative team capture the character of Constantine, this might have been the best performance from Ryan. 

We also get to see Captain Lance help Diggle get some answers for the death of his brother Andy. It seems the reason HIVE may have killed Andy was due to him being a Drug Lord in the middle east. This will play out through out the season, we will most likely see Diggle struggle with this news for the upcoming weeks.

Finally Felicity listen to Ray Palmers message to her, she get some help from Curtis to clean up the audio only to find out that Ray is still Alive and needs help. This may have been the second worse kept secret next to Sarah coming back to life. We know Ray will be part of Legends of Tomorrow, so from this point we just need to see where Ray might be and why he will need to be found. My prediction, Damien Darhk and HIVE are responsible for the Disappearance for Ray.

Final Thoughts on Episode 5, out side of the last two episode of season 2 we might have been treated to the best episode of Arrow. It seems with each episode this season we are getting a better and more improved Oliver. The more personal growth Oliver goes through in the season the more it seems each show gets better. It also seems the writers have really found a grove with every character this season. We were treated to the highly anticipated crossover with Constantine, (Did anyone else notice the creative team use some of the theme from the Constantine TV Show? For me this was a Nerd moment on epic proportions) Matt Ryan once again nailed his performance and gave us the Constantine we all want. The writers have left the door open for the chance of another appearance, I am just hoping that it will be this season. Here is to hoping it will come with the season finale. Maybe its just high hopes but much like the appearance of Barry Allen, I am hoping that CW take this opportunity to bring Constantine back as a series, I know Monday night would make a great place for a fourth show.

As stated earlier this was definitely one of the best shows ever for Arrow. I give this Two Thumbs Up. Please let us know what your opinions are on the show in the comments below.