Hellblazer by Garth Ennis (1994, Paperback)

John Constantine was always a good character. But readers who had followed his exploits for the first 40 issues of the horror comic book, “Hellblazer” were in for a treat when master storyteller, Garth Ennis took over the writing chores with issue 41. Longtime readers were to bear-witness to John Constantine’s transformation from a good character into a GREAT character!

“Dangerous Habits” (originally published in “Hellblazer” issues #41-46) pits Constantine against the demons of Hell in a struggle for his eternal soul- a pretty tough fight, made even harder as the character suffers the painful effects of lung cancer. The storyline establishes Constantine as a take-no-prisoners, hard-core, bad-a** who loves his mates, but is willing to sacrifice anyone in his crusade against the evil forces in the world.

Writer Gath Ennis specializes in characters capable of committing dirty deeds with no qualms or hesitation- either for their own selfish needs or the “greater good” (see Ennis’ long runs on the comic books series, “Preacher” and “The Punisher”). The black humor and realistic dialog keeps the stories from becoming too heavy, and allows readers to recognize the good in Constantine.

If you enjoy the bad-boy protagonist and have a penchant for horror stories, you will love this book. The motion picture, “Constantine,” is loosely based on “Dangerous Habits” and it is the perfect jump-on point for the “Hellblazer” series. It’ll leave you wanting more. Fortunately, several Garth Ennis written, "Hellblazer" trade-paperbacks have been published to fill the need!