I haven't read much of Constantine.I liked the movie with Keanu Reeves, and I loved the Shoe with Matt Ryan when it was on. I think that was cancelled way to soon. Anyway, the tv show really got me interested in the darker more adult titles from Vertigo. So I started to read the Hellblazer seires but didn't get very far. When this came up on Netgalley from DC Comics I knew I had to request this book.

This is definitely a dark book with a lot going on that seem small but I'm sure will tie into a bigger story. Not going to lie at times I had no idea what was going on and felt a little out of the loop. This may be because I wasn't reading this book before Rebirth but I don't know. This book opens up John Constantine leaving the US and heading back to his home in London. Constantine then tries to defeat a demon but unleashing a deadly curse on London which will collect all of the souls of the people and shoot them into the demon all at once. It would wipe it out but also kill a lot of people. It is a dangerous bluff. This is a nice little warm up to sort of reintroduce this character to new readers and veteran readers since Rebirth began.

Next we get a collaboration story with Swamp Thing. I have always been intrigued by Swamp Thing but never intersted enough to read his books so I really enjoyed the fact he is in this book and that the story kind of ties to him. Swamp Thing is trying to find his counterpart in the scheme of things and he needs John's help. John has his own things going on so the story bounces between the two characters but it meshed well for the most part.

I did enjoy this book quite a bit. The only issues I had with it is the fact I had moments where I didn't understand what was going on and even after a re-read of that section I still felt lost. Also, the artwork could be a little better. I know the original books had that gritty low detail kind of artwork so this kind of sticks with the formula, but I know this could be so much more. It could be creepier and darker with more detail. The covers like the one I included with this post are the best pieces of artwork in the book. I will give this 3 out of 5 stars.

Signature Constantine but a lot of talk and not much action. Hoping the plot laid down in this comic picks up in future episodes as it dragged a bit, the wit just about saved it.

Please see links for review.

Unfortunately I did not make it through this graphic novel, and I do not feel like it would be fair to publish a review on it.

frankly by time i downloaded it i had not realised how late in its availability i was - so i never got to see it .. it looks pretty wonderful and i'm sorry to have missed it ...

For the most part, I enjoyed the art - that's the biggest thing for me when it comes to comics: I need to like the art style. And most of this I really did enjoy looking at.
The story was interesting and this was my first real introduction to John Constantine (we're not going to count the movie as cannon, okay? Right?). It was a good enough first impression that I would read more.

As a long, longtime fan of John Constantine, the Hellblazer, whose last contact I had with the character, outside of Arrow, was Hellblazer #300, I was both anxious and guarded when the advance preview of his Vertigo-less Rebirth series from DC Comics and NetGalley arrived. Overall, this first collection of Rebirth issues is fairly entertaining, albeit straightforward, gluten-free with no additives, essentially, Hellblazer-lite.

For this first volume of The Hellblazer, entitled “The Poison Truth”, writer Simon Oliver, who once visited John in the surface-level-enjoyable Chas: The Knowledge, brings John back to London (Living NYC, presumably, due to the New 52? Ah, DC) where he immediately gets mixed up in conning his way out of a demon’s curse that, similar to the story in Chas, ends abruptly and simply. Again, Hellblazer-lite.

Oliver’s script then splits off into two paths. John and a telepathic girl named Mercury go looking for an ancient Djinn that has been lurking in the shadows of history laid out in a tale that seems to have been gleaned from Helene Wecker’s fun novel, The Golem and the Jinni, while the always-welcome guest-star Swamp Thing, who is actually presented more like a co-star bringing about a fun if accidental update to The Brave And The Bold, goes on a quest for his wife, Abbey, who is now also an elemental (see again: New 52? Then again, perhaps not). Unfortunately, this first collection comes to it culmination just as both streams head deeper into their trajectories. Let’s hear it for the modern-day cliffhanger. Although, having John and Mercury arrive in Paris doesn’t quite have the same punch as, say, Rey presenting Luke with his lightsaber, but admittedly, I am curious to see what happens next.

The artwork is also split in twain between Moritat, who provides a cartoony, almost European design, and Pia Guerra, formerly of Y The Last Man, whose crisp, clean work is always a delight to see. John Cassady provides covers that, although not as strong as Hellblazer classic artists Glenn Fabry and Tim Bradstreet, are right in line for this Hellblazer-lite.

Six issues and Oliver’s work is fun but a better pacing needs to be developed for upcoming issues as too much time is spent within on characters not named John Constantine. A lot world building, or revisiting, going on that, hopefully, will lead to a big payoff that might even have the potential of Paul Jenkins’ finale run.

Hey, at least John hasn’t been neutered from his Silk Cut habit.

I’ve read 16 Rebirth titles now and only liked 1 (Tom King’s Batman) – 1! Hellblazer Rebirth makes 17 and takes the score up to 16-1. Rebirth is the worst relaunch EVER!

This should really be called Hellblazer/Swamp Thing Rebirth because ol’ Swampy’s storyline takes up around half the book. John Constantine is back in Blighty for some reason. Swamp Thing is looking for Abby Arcane who’s gone missing in the Rot (rot is an appropriate description for this book!). Some bad guys called Djinns are mad about… something… and one of them started World War 1 which led to World War 2. Fuck me, this is such a rubbish story!

Simon Oliver’s plot is all over the shop. He’s not only incapable of any kind of narrative focus but he’s in no hurry either – a lethal combo for ultimate crapola! There’s so much of this volume that feels unnecessary. Mercury (whoever she is) has very little to do besides at the end of the first issue; there’s another woman who’s some kind of noble who I have no idea what she was meant to be doing; some East End thugs want to harness John’s magic for gambling reasons; Swampy fights some plants. ‘Cos this is filler, filler night!

The main villain is set up so poorly. Gawd knows what he’s after but it’s not interesting and John and Swampy more or less coast for much of the cruddy, baffling story. I couldn’t find a single thing to enjoy about this one, it’s such drek! The book just stops at a certain point too so there’s no real ending which is very unsatisfying – apparently this is part 1 of who knows how many parts. I do know that I’m not coming back for more of this unentertaining garbage though!

I guess Simon Oliver’s got the British lingo down ok though everyone says “as I live and breathe” far too many times. The poison truth is that Hellblazer Rebirth is boring drivel – the worst Hellblazer book I’ve read yet. Simon Oliver’s FBP Vertigo series was unreadable and so is his Constantine. As I live and breathe, Rebirth suuuuuuuuuuucks!

John Constantine's first solo series, Hellblazer, ran for 300 issues, before being cancelled as part of DC's regrettable lunge towards brand synergy. Since then, the magician and scoundrel's had three relaunches in as many years: the abominable Constantine, the much more entertaining Constantine: The Hellblazer, and now The Hellblazer. No potential for confusion in those titles! Simon Oliver, the writer this time out, at least had form on the original book, writing a spin-off miniseries for John's cabbie sidekick Chas - and he soon pulls him back in here, as well as dealing with the curse which was keeping John out of London in the previous series*. He does get the fractious relationship between the two down nicely, but from there he seems to take the mandate of the Rebirth reboot to heart, merrily chucking in element after element from the old Hellblazer to prove that this is The Real Thing! Sadly, with each callback, it feels more and more like trying too hard. Yeah, Map was a great addition from Warren Ellis' run, but the Tate Club? They were first named in Mike Carey's run, which already felt a bit like autocannibalism had set in, so to see them hawked up again...and as for Mercury, well, I'd got the two overlong stories where John hangs out with Travellers sufficiently tangled that for one horrible moment I thought Oliver was nodding back to the interminable Paul Jenkins era. Now, obviously you may feel differently regarding the merits of these particular elements, but the point is, there are too many nods and too little that's new. And when there is, a supernatural creature John's not faced before...he takes the piss out of the character who identifies it, calls the threat a fairy story. Wouldn't John know better than that after all he's seen? As for the mileage obtained from a racehorse called Boris Johnson's Knob...yes, Constantine has always been a character who lends himself to political satire, and yes it's been a cackling knee to the goolies as often as a sly stiletto blow, but there are limits. And there remains the occasional irritating bit of Getting Britain Wrong: a beer called 'London's Pride', you say? This is by no means the disaster of the first relaunch series, but it still can't help feeling like a bit of a diluted retread compared to the original book. Nor does the inconsistent art help establish a tone; sometimes John looks suitably weathered and his world appropriately shady, but by the end of the collection he's a fresh-faced chap in a sunny meadow, which hardly suits.

*John's desire to flee the US is presented as a result of the Trump presidency, still yet to become a reality at the time of initial publication. So yes, a comic about a wizard did a far better job of predicting that particular shitstorm than all those oh-so-clever psephologists and pundits. This is one of the reasons I read more comics than non-fiction.

John Constantine returns in yet another DC Rebirth Title. Snappily written by Simon Oliver and drawn by Moritat and Pia Guerra, The Poison Truth sees our anti hero trick a demon with the help of the iconic Swamp Thing and return to London to lift his curse, in return for a favour. Hell blazer has a difficult choice to make. All in all an enjoyable read and a good starting point for new readers interested in entering this particular world.

This is a more watered down version of Constantine for the DC universe, but it's still good ol' John.

As a long, LONG time
fan of Constantine.
Going back to his old Vertigo days.
Well before he got cleaned up
to fit in the DC Universe proper.
I was reluctant to like this book.
But it really does grow on you.
Constantine may not be the utter bastard
he used to be but he is still no
boy scout.
This series is wonderful in
capturing the essence of
John Constantine.
Bastard grifter with heart like
coal who is only looking out for himself.
But somehow manages to do the right thing
on the way to saving his own ass.
Just don't stand too close
he tends to get his friends killed.