HELLBLAZER #195
Out Of Season, Part 1
Writer : Mike Carey
Art : Leonardo Manco
Cover Artist : Tim Bradstreet
Colors : Lee Loughridge
Letters : Clem Robins
Editor : Will Dennis
Assistant Editor : Casey Seijas
Solicitation Text : “Out of Season,” Part 1 of 2, featuring guest artist Leonardo Manco. Down and out on the
South Coast of England, John Constantine is fleeing a murder charge, an inexplicably obsessed serial killer, a voluptuous
demon and his own past. But unseen powers are working to make sure that each and every one of them catches up with him.
And with a bad case of amnesia, chances are Constantine won't even see the onslaught coming.
Issue Synopsis :
Much to the chagrin of Chas, and to the apparent delight of his ever needling wife, Renee, John Constantine has made the front page of The Sunday Times under the headline "Hospital Slaying : Manhunt".
The Chandler clan is getting ready for an ill-timed trip to the British seaside (in November!) and Geraldine is none too pleased with her parents bickering in front of their niece, Trish, especially when the young girl starts aping her grand dad's use of bad language.
John Constantine sits huddled in the back of a truck full of pork scratchings, trying desperately to get a handle on his
lost memories. When the truck comes to a stop and the driver wanders into a petrol station, John sneaks out and steals the
man's jacket from the truck's cab, along with the pound notes held in his wallet. Wracked with guilt over his actions, John
wonders if he was always like this, if he always found an excuse for screwing some poor bloke over.
Angie Spatchcock and Gemma Masters have set up shop in the Clerkenwell guest house, where they hope to use a little divination magic with an old shirt of John's in order to find the missing magus. Things don't go as planned though when Gemma's scrying spell is interrupted by the vision of a grinning young girl. Constantine's shirt bursts into flames, leaving Gemma with a burnt hand and no clue as to the location of her uncle.
Having found his way down to a desolate stretch of pier, John ponders the man he might have been. Rattled by the flashes
he saw when under hypnosis, Constantine breaks into an amusement arcade in search of food and shelter. John tries his
luck on a slot machine that only serves to draw the attention of an irate homeless man who'd been hiding out in the
building. The man recognises Constantine from an earlier meeting and introduces himself as
Jinx. Later that evening, after the pair share a meal stolen from the arcade's kitchen, John drifts off to a nightmare
filled sleep. Constantine finds himself sitting at a fire, surrounding by The First Of The Fallen,
the Demon Constantine and Triskillian. The trio mocks the terrified John for thinking that he's dreaming them, warning him that they lie waiting for him, several days in the future.
John wakes screaming but finds little solace in the real world as the murderer who attacked him in the hospital stands over
the eyeless corpse of Jinx. The murderer tells Constantine that he remembers everything he felt after being connected to
the human consciousness through the Beast, which is how he knows everyone on the planet but Constantine - the one man whose will never fell to the creature. He reveals that he only noticed John when he used the name Leo Sumner, the name of the last man he murdered. The murderer tells Constantine that his name is Peter and that he has vague memories of John from other people's minds. Peter tells Constantine that his first name is really John.
Elsewhere, a woman sits naked on a throne guarded by terrible demons. Unperturbed by her guardians, the Phantom Stranger
approaches, addressing her as Rosacarnis and accusing her of manipulating John and those around him, creating coincidences
that are straining the fabric of reality. Rosacarnis' face warps into that of Roses and she warns the Stranger that he
can't interfere in the game she's playing. He concedes that point but warns that he will be looking for a chance to make his own move.
Left alone by Peter, John places Jinx' body in the arcade's freezer and ponders the dead bodies left in his wake.
Having arrived at their hotel, Renee, Geraldine and young Trish head inside, leaving Chas to carry in their bags. Peter approaches Chas while he unloads his car, claiming to be a friend of Constantines. Peter has his own heavy sports bag with him and asks Chas to help him carry it into the hotel with him.
[ Previous Month's Issue ]
[ Next Month's Issue ]
|
|
|
Front page news.
|
|
|
The always happy Chandler family.
|
|
|
Well he's not wrong...
|
|
|
Angie and Gemma try a little magic.
|
|
|
The Phantom Stranger confronts Rosacarnis.
|
|
