DC COMICS – @DCComics
WRITERS: Ray Fawkes and Jeff Lemire
ARTIST: Renato Guedes
COLORS: Marcelo Mailolo
LETTERS: Carlos M. Mangual
COVER: Juan Jose Ryp and Brett Smith
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2013)
Rated T+ (Teen Plus)
The Spark and the Flame Part 2: “The Blind Man”
It has been a few months since I read Constantine #1, the re-launch of the long-running comic book series, Hellblazer. I thought that first issue showed promise for the series and as a fresh start for title character, John Constantine. Now, I’ve just read the second issue, and I am not so sure.
Constantine #2 is the second part of the opening story arc, “The Spark and the Flame.” Issue #2 continues John Constantine’s search for Croydon’s Compass, a powerful tool of divination that, of course, has the potential for evil in the wrong hands. Also looking for Croydon’s Compass is the Cult of the Cold Flame (or simply “Cold Flame”), a group of powerful malevolent magic-using types.
Croydon’s Compass has been broken into three parts. John has the first part, the needle, and now, he has arrived in Myanmar to find the second piece, the dial. Waiting for him is Mr. E. and The Spectre, who really wants to get his spectral hands of John.
Constantine #2 is a comic book full of characters trying to be clever, but they are neither particularly interesting nor especially boring. Their cleverness simply registers nothing. Even this chapter of “The Spark and the Flame” seems as if it is inconsequential to the larger narrative. This is the first time I am really starting to wonder about the wisdom of ending Hellblazer in order to start Constantine. Or maybe DC Comics just needs to cut back on the use of writer Jeff Lemire.
C
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux
The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
No comments:
Post a Comment