John Constantine Hellblazer 10: In the Line of Fire Paperback – February 17, 2015

What can I say but that's what its about ANNIT sod off if John Constantine being a down right asinine bane of Hell an all its inhabitants with a hidden heart of gold doesn't turn your fancy well then bugger off with ya then

Good binding nice artwork mainly self contained stories and one shots

In the continuing adventures of John Constantine, John attempts to turn over a new leaf and leave the worst parts of his past behind him. Sure, he's still a magician, but he's not going looking for mayhem the way he used to. Let's see how that works, shall we?Anyway, this collection is generally pretty good. Paul Jenkins is a fairly talented writer, and he excels in bringing back plot points and characters from earlier in the series to make an impact. The problem though, is how some of those recurring elements are used. Whether you like the new changes may vary, but I couldn't really enjoy his spin on one old character. Plus, this collection lacks a real stand out issue or arc to really make me want to reread it. As a result, I can only give it four stars.

Constantine is the best, Vertigo-era. It was a mistake to pull him out of that imprint.

I found Volume 10 to be a breath of fresh air after spending three volumes with non-stop Ennis/Dillon. Not that I dislike Ennis’s stories. I found his run interesting, but he demystified the world John Constantine walked in. Characters drank lots of beer, hung out together, shared stories, walked around a lot, and never stopped examining their lives, even as they lived it. I enjoy this kind of introspection in fiction. It makes connecting with the characters very easy since you feel what they feel as they feel it, but I loved Hellblazer because I enjoy horror and a character immersed in a horrifying world. Ennis created a fantastic John Constantine, but the world fell flat. The stories were about John and his character and his place in the world, while the world became specifically Christian magic based. Having a gray character operate in a Black and White world wasn't particularly interesting to me. I don’t remember any of the stories in Ennis run except for the big arcs, and while I enjoyed reading the trades as I got them, it’s a bad sign that I haven't thought of going back to those volumes.Jenkins brings back the awesome and terrifying world John Constantine walks in. There’s bizarre magic, weird side characters, and strange situations all around. The broody biting edge of Ennis’s prose is gone. What you get instead is something like Delano but not quite. Jenkins is not as verbose. Jenkins main strength is he ties magic and mysticism to culture and land, something that both Delano and Ennis touch on a few times. John's every step seems to matter more because of this focus. This is quite a feat. We know John Constantine can't really change (something Ennis's run brings home), but the attempt this time seems more honest to the world and to the initial set up as a John the wandering arrogant magician.The art is great all around. There's a lot of playing with perspectives that work especially well with the stories. My favorite one is a top view in a bathroom, with John coming in through the window and an old lay on the toilet. I keep using the word and I'm going to use it again: it's bizarre, wonderfully so. Phillips experiments in the art but it is clear and the action is easy to follow. All in all, though, I’ll take anything that isn’t Steve Dillon.I'm looking forward to rereading this volume and reading the rest of Jenkins run with Volume 11.

Hellblazer Vol- 10: In The Line of Fire" collects issues n º 97 to 107 of the title "John Constantine: Hellblazer".All stories and issues contained within are written by Paul Jenkins, a writer whose work on the title had remained uncollected until the release of these new edition paperbacks, which aim to collect all issues of the title in chronological order. I have been finding Jenkins' work on the title to be absolutely stellar and find it hard to believe that the issues he wrote had remained uncollected for so long. The dialogue he writes flows beautifully and his characterization of both Constantine and those around him is very well established. He really brings forth Constantine's "con-man" persona through engrossing stories that create new challenges and characters for John without for a second failing to effciently reference, expand and develop previous seminal motifs and events presented in "Hellblazer" in a very organic and exciting manner.The artwork of the issues collected in this volume is by Sean Phillips (aside from one issue drawn by Al Davinson). I can't praise his arwork high enougth - it's a perfect fit for the stories and world of Hellblazer and one of the best artists that have ever worked on the title.I am really glad that Vertigo finally took it upon themselves to collect Jenkin's and Phillips' brilliant run on Hellblazer - it's one of the best in the title.

This is a chill out volume with mostly side stories that I feel you can easily skip if you want to save some money; however, the stories are good and entertaining enough.The artwork varies from good enough to good, nothing to write home about.