Hellblazer: Pandemonium
| John Constantine, Hellblazer: Pandemonium | |
|---|---|
Jock | |
| Letterers | Clem Robins |
| Colourists | Jock |
| Editors | Pornsak Pichetshote Casey Seijas Karen Berger |
| Original publication | |
| Date of publication | February 10, 2010 |
| ISBN | 1-4012-2035-5 |
Hellblazer: Pandemonium is an original
Publication history
The book has been delayed several times from the originally slated publication date of sometime in 2008.
Story
The graphic novel is a self-contained story, venturing into the political ground that Jamie Delano is well known for. The story starts with a scene in
In London, a chance encounter with a young Muslim girl leads a curious Constantine to the British Museum. The museum is suddenly bombed but Constantine and the girl manage to escape. Constantine invites the girl to his home when he suspects she is responsible. However, when they arrive, Constantine is taken by the authorities, having been framed for the bombing. Constantine is later handed over to MI6, where they blackmail him to find the real culprit of the bombing, and send him to Iraq to investigate a supernatural entity plaguing the area. Having no choice, Constantine agrees.
While in Iraq, the Muslim girl shows up again, introducing herself to a surprised Constantine as Assera Al-Aswari, and is an agent of MI6. She and Constantine drive into an army camp to discuss the events. While on the road, Constantine deduces that the place used to be an ancient city, named Kutha, as well as a Sumerian temple. Assera tells him he's right, but also that the no one's been in the place for a long time since the war. They finally arrive in the installation and settle down. As night comes, under the cover of darkness, John uses magic to sneak out. He travels to Kutha, where he discovers the city is actually a den of demons, before he is detained by Assera.
The next day, John and Aseera visit the mysterious detainee locked away. As John examines him, the detainee turns out to be inhuman. In fact, John deduces that the detainee is a
Nergal welcomes John to Hell, where he begins a monologue explaining that he was collecting the souls of the dead to trap them in Hell, while the djinns were made as workers. Seeing that Nergal is running a casino in Hell, John challenges Nergal to a game of poker for the souls. Nergal and his confidants agree, but if John loses he will find himself "cleaning [Nergal]'s ass with his tongue" for eternity. John cheats his way to victory, and Nergal is forced to free all the souls along with John and Assera.
With his mission completed, John returns to London for his end of the bargain. In the MI6 headquarters he releases the djinn and intimidates the MI6 officials to free Assera in Iraq and give her a new life of luxury. Frightened, the officials agree.
Reception
Reviews were positive. Comic Book Resources describes it as a "fun easter egg", saying "a good, solid John Constantine book that looks great. I hoped for a bit more, but if you’re just looking for a decent supernatural tale starring Mr. Constantine, you might want to give this a look.'[2]
Notes
- ^ a b Furey, Emmett (July 27, 2007). "Back into Hell: Jamie Delano returns to John Constantine's world". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved July 28, 2007.
- ^ Comic Book Resources review
References
- Hellblazer: Pandemonium at the Grand Comics Database
- Hellblazer: Pandemonium at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
External links
- Hellblazer: Pandemonium Archived 2010-02-21 at the Wayback Machine at DC Comics.com
| Creators | |
|---|---|
| Characters | |
| Publications |
|
| Story lines | |
| Specials | |
| Other media | |
