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Review: Hellblazer Rise and Fall #3 (of 3)

Nemesis

Hellblazer Rise and Fall #3, written by Tom Tayler (Injustice, Superior Ironman) and  drawn by Darick Robertson (The Boys, The New Warriors), caps an excellent story arc.  Taylor proves he is as versatile as ever, delivering a John Constantine story that stays true to it’s roots while delivering a wickedly delightful and frightening tale worthy of Constantine and DC Black Label.

Hellblazer Rise and Fall’s third act is chalk full of supernatural thrills and demonic warfare.  Tom Taylor superbly intertwines elements of traditional horror, demonology, possession into this story with the deft touch of the seasoned writer that he is.  The story’s main antagonist is a delightfully evil demon inhabiting the body of a deceased child from Constantine’s past.  This is a classic element of John Constantine, the supernatural warrior on a never ending quest to correct the mistakes of his past, the mistakes that (presumably) will damn him when he shuffles off this mortal coil.  Most fans of Constantine are familiar with the tale of Astra Logue, the child that he doomed to damnation in his ill-fated attempt to save her.  Taylor has added to the black marks on Constantine’s soul in the person of Billy, a child from Constantine’s youth that was accidently killed when John was attempting to impress his friends with burgeoning arcane powers.  Then there is the demon who has possessed Billy, a new character that seeks to rival Lucifer Morningstar.  This new wrinkle is excellent and I would like to see a Lucifer story tracing the conflict between these two.  Let’s not overlook the Prince of Darkness either.  Taylor excellently pens the character, giving him equal parts gravitas, wicked charm and genuine menace.  The interactions between Constantine and Lucifer are superb and one can’t help but think that Lucifer likes John but relishes the though of capturing his soul that much more.  Constantine, for his part, is his usual brand of bravado, realism and foolhardiness as he plunges forward into depths of darkness that would give Superman pause and cause Wonder Woman to recoil.  Taylor captures Constantine perfectly…from his actions which always teeter between insane bravery to pure insanity to his pure cheek.  Anyone who can protect the innocent from evil, look the devil in the eye knowing that your soul is his, then proceed to shag said devil is either insanely brave or bravely insane.  Kudos to Taylor for capturing this dichotomy.  The only criticism I could levy against Taylor’s writing lies in some of the sub-plots and how are ultimately resolved.  They seem superfluous and unnecessary.  However, they ARE resolved satisfactorily and don’t detract from the main story so it is hard to find much fault there.

Darick’s Robertson is superb.  The characters design and framing of action is very similar to his work on The Boys and I’ve included samples from that work in this review so that you can compare the two.  That style provides a balance to this story just as it did in The Boys.  Many times the action on page would be overwhelming horrific and grotesque if drawn in a more realistic and graphic manner.  That is not to say that Robertson has shied away from depicting graphic acts of violence and horror here.  He most certainly has not.  However, Robertson has this ability in his line work to give each panel the slightest hint of comicness, for lack of better word.  His artistic vision then lends an ephemeral nature to the work as a whole so that it entertains instead of keeping you up weeping by the sheer horror of it all.  It’s an approach that is underappreciated in the horror genre as a whole.  It is what separates movies like Nightmare on Elm Street from 7even.  The first has horrific images and concepts presented in such a way that they can scare and titillate you for a time and then you can put it aside.  The latter is depicted in such a way that you are permanently altered.  You will always remember where you were when you saw the film and you will never be the same.  I applaud Robertson’s choice here as this is ultimately a hero story, whether Constantine want’s to view himself that way or not.

This is an excellent book and an excellent story arc across three books.  DC Black label continues to put out great content that is a step above their main comic line in maturity and value.  That is not a knock on the main DC Comics line but rather a credit to their decision to launch Black Label as a replacement for Vertigo.  I highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of Constantine, the supernatural, horror comics, demonic tales, etc.  This was an incredibly fun read and it will grace my bookshelf as a valued part of my collection.

Writing – 4.75 of 5 Stars
Art – 4.5 of 5 Stars
Color – 4.25 of 5 Stars

Overall Score – 4.5 of 5 Stars

Written by Tom Taylor
Art by Darick Robertson
Color by Diego Rodriguez
Letters by Deron Bennet
Published by DC Black Label

Author Profile

Nemesis
Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.

He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.
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