John Constantine: Hellblazer #8
DC Comics
Written by: Simon Spurrier
Art by: Aaron Campbell
Colors by: Jordie Bellaire
Letters by: John Paul Leon
John Constantine: Hellblazer #8 picks up right where last issue left off. No refresher about John Constantine: Hellblazer #7, which is perfect.
If you haven’t been reading Simon Spurrier’s run with Constantine, but you like the character, pick up these two issues. It’s a self-contained story, so you don’t have to know what happened in the title’s first six issues. And if — for some strange reason — you don’t want to keep reading John Constantine: Hellblazer after these two issues, this short story gets wrapped up at the end of John Constantine: Hellblazer #8.
(WARNING: Spoilers for John Constantine: Hellblazer #8 ahead.)
In John Constantine: Hellblazer #8, Constantine gives this whole spiel about the magic of love, and then there’s this whole bit about the salmons.
What’s truly magical is his ability to manipulate others.
We all know Constantine’s background as a conman is just as much of an asset as his mystical abilities, but I always find it amazing when he can con someone into obtaining what they want for themselves. That may be when I like him most — where he’s showing compassion for miserable castaways, and helping them realize they are capable of much more than they’ve been led to think.
That’s not because I like seeing Constantine play the nice guy. I don’t think that’s what’s going on in John Constantine: Hellblazer #8. He just knows how to give others what they think they really want — and helped an unfairly treated creature do so in this issue.