John Constantine: Hellblazer - Dead in America #2
Kevin Rossi
Recap
With the specter of mortality breathing down his neck, John heads to the Big Easy, where he enlists the skills of old friend Clarice Sackville to heal the fractured mind of Alec Holland, the Swamp Thing, and use that elemental power to kickstart his own dead heart. Perhaps she can do that—but it will require a drug-induced journey into distant realms that'll shake John to his rotten core. And meanwhile, Nat and Noah learn the magical lengths Clarice is willing to go to in order to extend her own terrifyingly long life…
Review
John Constantine: Hellblazer – Dead in America came out of the gate hot last month and turned out to be exactly what readers have been asking for since the cancellation of John Constantine: Hellblazer in 2021. Writer Simon Spurrier and artist Aaron Campbell, along with colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Aditya Bidikar, are giving readers a near-perfect Constantine book and the chance to finish what they started. John Constantine: Hellblazer – Dead in America #2 finds Constantine and company in New Orleans to pay a visit to an old friend– Clarice Sackville. The gist of the issue is that John is on a mission to restore Swamp Thing’s memory to enlist their help, so Sackville takes John on a psychedelic and supernatural trip to do so.
This issue contains masterful storytelling on all fronts. Spurrier just knocks it out of the park, especially with the dialogue between John and Clarice which gives readers gems like “All history becomes fiction when it’s retold, but the further back you go the more the fiction elides with fantasy.” Every issue that comes out is more proof of why Spurrier was born to write these characters. Campbell’s art for this book is stellar and it is only enhanced by Bellaire’s colors. This is a visually dark book, so when it’s time to get trippy, Bellaire pulls no stops while still retaining the certain tone and atmosphere that Campbell’s work creates. This is only issue #2 but already there are pages in every issue that are near flawless in execution between the art, colors, writing, and lettering.
Final Thoughts
John Constantine: Hellblazer - Dead in America #2 is packed with incredible dialogue and visuals and a climax that will have readers lingering on every panel to take it all in. It is only two issues into the series so this is a great time to jump in for readers that may have been waiting to read. The entire creative team is doing something wonderful and brilliantly takes the reader on a magical, horrifying, psychedelic trip.
John Constantine: Hellblazer – Dead in America #2: Magical Mystery Tour
- Writing - 10/1010/10
- Storyline - 10/1010/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10