The Blight/Forever Evil crossover event plods along, largely without Blight, in Constantine #11. Will John’s never-think-things-through attitude free his beloved from the clutches of the Crime Syndicate?
Positives
John Constantine is often forced to make sacrifices…they just aren’t often self-sacrifices. Ray Fawkes writes the character with such smarmy glee, you end up cheering for his victories and defeats in the same issue. His interactions with Nick Necro here are wonderful and the depictions of his unconscious, “beheaded” state make great plot beats. Aco’s art is absolutely perfect for this series, and deals stunning scenes of ephemeral witchery as well as a sort of mechanical-magic complex central to the story’s plot. There’s a two-page spread of long panels where Constantine and whom we believe to be Nightmare Nurse fighting back the defenses of Nick Necro and Felix Faust that is absolutely stunning.
Negatives
Yes, I think I’m ready for the Blight event to be done now. Though it has switched gears now with Constantine directly freeing Zatanna, I can’t help but feel like we’ve run in place for three months and now we’re suddenly dealing with matters at hand. Taken singularly, this issue is sort of a mess, but if you’ve been following Forever Evil and Blight thus far, you should be able to keep up.
Verdict
3/5
Ray Fawkes and Aco have developed a terrific, magic-based jerk in Constantine, and the pacing and plotting of Constantine #11 is very solid. This story arc is dragging along a bit, and during Blight some characters have proven themselves interesting while other have proven to be…not so interesting. Constantine has definitely proven to be a fascinating, bull-headed mage. I merely think I’d like to see him dealing in more street level action for a while.
