2020 was a turbulent year for the comics industry, with the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting publishing schedules and closing direct market shops (sometimes permanently). Despite this chaos, a slew of excellent comics were published this year, from fantastic first issues to well-earned (if heartbreaking) endings. Selected by our contributors and featuring heroes, humor, and horror, these…
REVIEW: An Appropriately Bittersweet Ending for John Constantine: Hellblazer #12
Way back before I started reviewing John Constantine: Hellblazer, I was skeptical. My first review is, in large part, about that skepticism — I definitely didn’t expect that this series would become one of my favorite runs not just in recent memory, but ever.
REVIEW: The Horror is Reality in John Constantine: Hellblazer #11
John Constantine: Hellblazer is a nasty series. I mean that in the best way possible; I imagine it’s hard to be nasty in mainstream comics, where things are, above all else, meant to sell. But between unicorn semen and a vulgar metaphor made manifest in this penultimate issue, this series has been unrelentingly brash and…
REVIEW: It’s the Beginning of the End in John Constantine: Hellblazer #10
I’ve been reviewing John Constantine: Hellblazer for almost an entire year, and at this point, it feels like I should be running out of things to say about it. I’ve covered how it’s my favorite modern Hellblazer series. I’ve mentioned that its lack of subtlety is one of the many things I love about it,…
REVIEW: Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #1 is Fine, I Guess
Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #1 feels a bit like if I was eating a delicious Thanksgiving dinner only to have it swept away and replaced with a ham sandwich.
REVIEW: John Constantine: Hellblazer #9 is Fantastically Filthy
John Constantine: Hellblazer #9, like the previous issues, is a story about ideas. All stories are to some extent about ideas, but this run of Hellblazer goes a step further, pushing at the boundaries of truth, concepts, and abstracts until all three blur together.
Cottagecore, Witchery, and Zine-Making: An Interview With Lucy Kagan
If there’s a time when the world needs cute and cozy art that prioritizes care, kindness, and magical empathy more than 2020, I can’t think of it. Enter Hazel, a witch’s lifestyle zine curated, edited, published, and designed by artist Lucy Kagan. This year’s issue, which has a theme of “Spirit,” is the series’ last…
REVIEW: John Constantine: Hellblazer #8 Proves Subtext is for Cowards
John Constantine: Hellblazer #8, like the rest of the series, seems to take its cue from a famous clip of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace: “I know writers who use subtext and they’re all cowards.”
REVIEW: John Constantine: Hellblazer #7: The Only Time You’ll Read “Gamete Package” in a Comic
John Constantine: Hellblazer has taken us through many seedy aspects of England, but in issue #7, the beginning of a new arc, we go somewhere new: Billingsgate Market, a fish market in Canary Wharf.
Cook Your Comics: Ash and Thorn’s Gingerbread is a Sweet Apocalyptic Treat
The only thing I love more than a delicious baked good is a great story about unconventional heroes fighting off the apocalypse, and Ash and Thorn, amazingly, comes with both.
John Constantine: Hellblazer is Full of Complications and Compassion
Previous issues of John Constantine: Hellblazer have embraced the series’ legacy with open arms. Writer Simon Spurrier, artists Aaron Campbell and Matías Bergara, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and letterer Aditya Bidikar have crafted a story that is not only horrifying but explicitly political; its villains are demons and devils, yes, but aided by the literal powers…
John Constantine: Hellblazer #5 Perfectly Ends an Arc Without Solving Anything
I appreciate that this series never does exactly what I expect of it, and John Constantine: Hellblazer #5 is no different.