Reviews

Hellblazer, Vol. 3: The Fear Machine by Jamie Delano

nraptor's review

medium-paced

4.0

lannnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaa's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

studaslop's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Has some interesting stories overall, and I enjoyed seeing this new side of Constantine. I was intrigued by the plot, but ultimately it felt meandering and the conclusion felt far too easy. If Delano saw women and the “feminine power” as more than motherhood and sex, it might have been more interesting. 

lookhome's review

3.0

This volume explores interesting aspects of Constantine’s personality and personal demons. The hippy commune at the start of the volume provides and in depth, character driven narrative arc that sets up the climax nicely.
though somewhat long winded, the volume as a whole is composed of a leisurely set of escalating tensions only to be rush at the end.
This had great potential and it does contain streaks of brilliance, however, as a whole, it fails to love up to the sheer brilliance of other Constantine arcs.

crookedtreehouse's review

4.0

This volume started out as a potential five star book, with a focus on characters rather than magic or continuity, and giving us a more human glimpse at who John Constantine is. As the volume gathers momentum, we do get a bit of continuity, and definitely some magic. But then the volume comes to a screeching nonsensical stop at the end. Where, for some reason, there has to be a sex ritual, and then ... and then everything is somehow solved in an incredible anti-climax, and we are led to believe that the next volume might feature an amnesiac Constantine (that is, fortunately, not the case). The ending was such a letdown that I considered dropping it down to three stars, but I am mostly glad that I read this volume.

The political statements are much more subdued in this volume as they serve the story rather than the story serving the politics. But it's still a bit messy and a bit much if you don't enjoy politics in your comics.

keahiinfra's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

soulofsam's review

hyperfixation ended lol

joanarcherknight's review

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

inferiorwit's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

justabookholic's review against another edition

1.0

Ok, I needed time to process this particular volume of Hellblazer because. yikes. But now I can semi-coherently say my thoughts.

If you haven't guessed from my overdramatic intro, I'll say it now; I didn't like this volume. This might be the worst comic I've read in 2020. From the writing to the plot to the decision of giving Constantine that god awful mullet, this was just an amalgamation of terrible choices. The plot was hacky at best; erratic in its storytelling which mainly consisted of telling not showing. That with the weird pseudo-feminist tone it tried to set with the pagan "naked lady" commune subplot and the monogue about a pedophile just made the whole read deeply unenjoyable.