Hellblazer: All His Engines
Written by: Mike Carey
Art by: Leonardo Manco
This is by far the best Hellblazer book I have read to date (which isn't saying all too much because there are plenty of Hellblazer books for me to read). It starts with Constantine's sidekick/driver, Chas, coming to our anti-hero for help. Chas's niece, Tricia, is in a coma and no one can tell him what is wrong with her other than it's not a virus, which means that it falls under John's area of expertice.
John snags Chas on a trip to Los Angeles. There is a great scene where Chas is talking about the learning curve of learning how to drive on the right side of the road and John comments that he doesn't want to be around when it flattens out. In Los Angeles, there are a bunch of demons who have emigrated from hell to set up satellite offices. And this is where the story gets twisty.
The demon who has the soul of Tricia has her trapped inside his body, causing John the dillema of killing the little girl if he kills the demon. He strikes up a bargain in true Constantine fashion, never intending to uphold his end to the fullest if he can help it. He goes to another god to play agains the first. Mictlantecuhtli: "You forget yourself. I am no upstart demon, scrabbling in the dirt of the human soul. I am Mictlantecuhtli. I am a God." Constantine: "Great stuff. I'm John - and I'm a bastard." Super classic.
I'm rapidly becoming a Mike Carey fan, with Hellblazer, Lucifer, and the ongoing series Unwritten. He knows his way around a great story. I'm looking forward to reading more of his works.
Up until this point I had only read the Brian Azzarello trades and monthly since Andy Diggle took over. That includes the two-issue punk rock story by Jason Aaron. Then one day I spied a used copy of Original sins on the shelf at the shop and had to have it. To be honest, I wasn’t really expecting too much out of it but was left pleasantly surprised. This story is out of he mid/ late 80’s, which, don’t ask me why I wasn’t expecting much, because Vertigo was putting out some pretty great stuff at the time. So, I get around to reading it and at first I felt that the writing seemed a little forced. Now, Jamie Delano was telling an interesting story but maybe a bit too descriptive. (if you know what I mean.) Jamie definitely finds his stride within this trade. I am half way through the 2nd trade called The Devil You Know and I believe if you read Original Sin you should read number 2, as well. 
John Constantine is a full time chain-smoking magician and part time wanker. He is cursed with causing horrible things happen to anyone he’s around. His heart is in the right place… well it is some place, but his means are unique. Original Sins opens with a lot of familiar faces, since I’m reading the Diggle stuff. Obviously, with this being a story of an Englishman you can expect a little football. I hope John knows Man U. is the greatest team in the premiere league. (Giggsy, John, Giggsy!) We even get a Mucus Membrane name-drop within these pages. Jamie did a great job of introducing the cast and giving you an over all accurate account of who the Laughing Magician is. John Ridgeway did a fantastic job portraying the stories being told. His art is incredible, especially, for that era of comics. (In my opinion, of course) Original Sins collects Hellblazer issues 1 – 9. The Devil You Know collects issues # 10 – 13, Annual 1, The Horrorist 1 & 2 and both can be found at any comic shop anywhere. (I assume but I’ve been known to make an ass out of myself) I do know it can be found at my comic shop, which is The Fantasy Shop in St. Charles. It is surely worth a read. Now, I personally have not read these books but my hero Rob has and he enjoyed them. Since, he is my master and I do whatever he says I will tell you I recommend these stories. You should check them out, if you like good comics… that is. I am going to check them out fo’ sho’ because I am on a never-ending quest to be like my pal Captain Clet. – Lil’ Captain Dayron 
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