Hellblazer: All His Engines
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Leonardo Manco
Published by DC Comics/Vertigo, 2005
Commissioned for the purposes of putting something hardcover and classy on the shelf while the film Constantine was in the theaters, All His Engines reads like, well, something hardcover and classy put out to capitalize on a movie. Oddly, the story is not one that incorporates anything from the movie--this is still the same John Constantine who looks like Sting and is absolutely British. The story itself is yet another boring trudge down the road of John-as-flawed-hero, which, if you've ever read Hellblazer, you already know that is about the worst choice a writer can make with John. He is just not believable as a guy who cares about people, and although Engines throws in some decent one-liners and a relatively engaging plot, it's all geared on a premise that strains believability. Manco's art ranges from good to great, but with it being in service of such banality one judges it harsher than it probably deserves. Hellblazer will never be a blockbuster seller, but this work carries more of an insult than that--it's one thing for Hollywood not to respect a comic, hell, that comes with the territory, but Mike Carey should know better. All His Engines stinks of a paycheck, and for that, there's no excuse.
-Tucker Stone, 2006
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