Hellblazer #242

Hellblazer #242 cover

“The Laughing Magician” Part 3 of 3

John Constantine had it so bad enough with the bloodthirsty African warlord/war-mage, Mako, on his trail, that he sent Mako after someone else who has troubled Constantine of late – the powerful, unknown (to him) entity behind the Hunger Hill suicides, Lord Calvin Burnham.  Plus, readers learn the true identity of the “Laughing Magician,” and it ain’t John Constantine.

Hellblazer #242 finishes of “The Laughing Magician” storyline with something more than just a bang.  There are just so many surprises, and the twists and turns are all so inventive.  Each of Andy Diggle’s story arcs, though self-contained, is essentially part of a larger narrative.  It seems as if Diggle stripped John Constantine bare of the rags that had come to cover the character to make him leaner and meaner in order to face the meanness Diggle had in store for him.  What’s even better is that Diggle has the superb Leonardo Manco at his side capturing the nastiness and brutality with the same subtle grace he uses for the quiet moment of wickedness.

A+