Review: Constantine: The Hellblazer Vol. 1- Going Down

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is interesting. It also provides some solid insight into Constantine as a character. The volume’s approach to magic is wonderful and adds humor to the story. In most places, the artwork looks great and allows the book to further define itself as something unique.

Cons: For most of the volume, the narrative isn’t that exciting. Inconsistencies in the artwork are slightly annoying.

Overall: This is one of the first truly good Constantine stories of this era. It has an interesting mystery, intriguing characters, clever magic, and a bit of humor tossed in here and there. The volume’s approach to comic book magic and the character of John Constantine both work out well and make the collection even more appealing. Readers who enjoyed older Constantine stories and are looking for modern ones may want to consider starting right here.

Story

Constantine’s previous solo series was extremely troubled. It had uninteresting concepts, was constantly weighed down by crossovers, and didn’t even conclude many of its major story arcs. The comic was not good and made it seem like Constantine’s adventures wouldn’t get any better anytime soon.

Luckily, that series was canceled and a new one was born from its remains. Constantine: The Hellblazer Vol. 1: Going Down, by Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV, is a great comic and a huge improvement over its predecessors. It takes Constantine on a compelling journey through problems that range from uniquely magical to deeply personal. Though this journey isn’t always that exciting, it has enough creativity and humor to make it worthwhile anyway. In the end, this volume proves that Constantine stories can still work in a post-New 52 universe.

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The central narrative in Going Down focuses on a monster hunting down and killing Constantine’s personal ghosts. As the narrative progresses, it becomes clear that this monster is actually someone from Constantine’s past and that killing them might not be as easy as originally thought. The entire ordeal is an interesting mystery, as the readers are unsure what the monster is, what its motivations are, and how Constantine will deal with it. As these questions are slowly answered, interest levels build even further and the story becomes even more compelling.

However, the best part about this journey is the way in which it dives into who Constantine is as a person. He is someone who tries to do good, when he can, but who is also willing to make sacrifices without a second thought. He isn’t a good person but, at times, he does really make an attempt to try his best. This is a big part of his character’s main appeal and is something I enjoyed seeing in this book.

Alongside this, I really enjoyed the quirky and humorous approach to magic that is taken throughout Going Down. This book has surprisingly lighthearted soul harvesting facilities, demons that turn into children to get help from magicians, and magic that works in strange ways. However, the best example of this occurs in the volume’s final chapter, where Constantine is shown helping tons of people fix relatively mundane magical problems. It makes DC’s magical world feel more unique while also adding some humor to the comic.

The only problem is that the narrative never really gets that exciting. Despite facing off against a powerful antagonist, Constantine is never in danger, only his ghosts are. This is upsetting because only one of Constantine’s ghosts is given enough of a personality to make the reader care and this ghost is killed halfway through the volume. By the time the final battle is taking place, it seems like nothing more can go wrong and that no one is in any real danger.

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Art

Each artist working on Going Down provides the book with good-looking visuals. Riley Rossmo opens up the volume with several, beautiful chapters. Rossmo’s unique style fits the unique style of the storytelling and lets the book further define itself as something outside the mainstream. Later on, Ming Doyle, Vanesa Del Rey, and Chris Visions contribute artwork that fits in this same category. Their work is contrasted against one another but, in general, captures the spirit of creativity that plays into this book’s themes.

However, jumping from one artist to another at so many different points becomes a bit tiresome. At some points, it makes sense, like when the story jumps from a flashback to the present. However, at other points, it goes unjustified and starts to get annoying. This isn’t a big problem, as the book still looks good as a whole but is an unfortunate mark against the volume.

Continuity

Constantine: The Hellblazer Vol. 1: Going Down starts the Constantine: The Hellblazer series. Technically, this volume follows the conclusion of Constantine’s last solo series, which ended with Constantine Vol. 4: The Apocalypse Road (Review). However, this new series makes almost no references to the old one. 

The story started here is continued in Constantine: The Hellblazer Vol. 2: The Art of the Deal (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• At one point, a poster for Black Canary’s new band can be seen. She started singing with this band in Black Canary Vol. 1: Kicking and Screaming (Review). See our “Black Canary Reading Order” for more information.
• John Constantine’s trouble with entering London is mentioned. This is a reference to the curse that was placed on him back in Constantine Vol. 1: The Spark and the Flame (Review).