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John Constantine: Hellblazer: Empathy Is The Enemy by Denise Mina and Leonardo Manco
01/03/2007 . Source: Paul Skevington 
pub: Titan Books. 168 page graphic novel. Price: £ 8.99 (UK). ISBN: 1-84023-382-3. Buy Hellblazer: Empathy Is The Enemy in the USA - or Buy Hellblazer: Empathy Is The Enemy in the UK  check out website: www.titanbooks.com www.titanbooks.com
Following on from Mike Carey's run on 'Hellblazer' was never going to be an easy feat. Carey, currently one of the top writers in the field, used his run on the comic to create some of the most memorable storylines that the series has seen so far, including the one within the excellent stand-alone graphic novel 'All His Engines'.
Bearing this in mind, choosing a novice comic writer to take the helm on this flagship title was certainly a brave decision for DC to take. Denise Mina has done well in rising to the occasion in creating what is, if not the best collection in the series' history, a perfectly acceptable entry into the 'Hellblazer' canon.
In this collection, John Constantine, the poster-child for early death from smoking-related illnesses, is approached by a man in dire need of his help. The man is the victim of a peculiar curse that causes him to connect his every action with the unpleasant destinies of others. This sends him spiralling down into depression until he arrives at the pub Constantine is frequenting in a desperate and suicidal state.
Unfortunately for him, Constantine has sworn off of magic after the events of the previous few issues, but after hearing the man's pleas he performs what he refers to as 'Not really magic...more of a parlour trick' and erases the past few weeks of the man's memories. This action sends Constantine on a familiar path of a headlong collision with the goals and ambitions of manipulative men and Machiavellian demons, very few of whom have his best interests at heart.
The first issue of the collection is superb, with a great underlying idea which Mina executes extremely well, unwinding the string of consequences steadily, convincingly showing us how easy it would be to drive a man mad in this way. Following on from this, though, Mina seems to be stretching the idea slightly and the material subsequently appears substantially thinner and less satisfying.
Although Mina seems to struggle in creating a convincing 'big picture' in which to place her tale, she is skilled at filling in the gaps. There are moments of great interest here that make this volume definitely worth reading. A priest is buried by his monastery only to come back and tell his brother that the afterlife is 'not the way you think it is', much to their displeasure. Constantine is forced to enlist the help of a mystic who uses the tortured soul of her dead brother as a spirit guide. The archbishop of a secret order of heretical priests takes a day job in the civil service in order to accomplish their agenda. Each development contributes to the depth of the world Mina is adding to.
However, there are also some things that I found to be a lot more prosaic. Having the Praexis demons take the form of hoody wearing chavs is just a little too obvious a choice and the nature of 'The Third Place' (no, not the place Playstations come from) is a little too ill-defined and nebulous to provide a convincing threat to Constantine. Also, too many scenes seem to revolve around artificially created interview situations, a familiar device of the crime writer but an unwelcome feature in a 'Hellblazer' comic.
Mina has a handle on Constantine himself, though. She does have a talent for bringing out the character, creating some unforgettable dialogue and capturing exactly the right feel in his relationships to the other characters in the book. This strong depiction of the central character does provide the book with a definite energy and drives us forward to the final moments. The climax is not the best in the 'Hellblazer' series, as the break appears to be a little unnatural. I have a feeling that it will read better when combined with the next collection, completing the storyline that has only just begun here.
These issues also find Leonardo Manco excelling yet again in his role as artist, with his perhaps definitive vision of Constantine leaping up at us from the pages of the book. Manco's style is like reality-plus. It is textured and believable whilst at the same time being ever so lightly skewed from the norm. Reading a Manco book is like walking the street at night wearing sunglasses, everything is that little bit darker, frightening and unsettling. The art is brilliantly accentuated by colourist Lee Loughridge, who continues to do an admirable job on the title.
The cover art is of a high quality, but again it is Manco's piece that stands out. I'd love to see him performing this role more often, although I'd imagine that penning the issues themselves is work enough for two!
'Empathy Is The Enemy' is a good but flawed entry in the series. It does give me hope for Mina's next collection, although as she left after penning only 12 issues, she has not given herself the largest timescale for this development to take place within.
Perhaps once her final collection is released, the true ambition of 'Empathy Is The Enemy' will be clearer to us.
Paul Skevington
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