Review: The Hellblazer Vol. 2- The Smokeless Fire

September 29, 2019 ComicBookWire

Quick Summary

Pros: Some moments are interesting and fun to see play out. The opening chapters have nice artwork.

Cons: The main narrative suffers from a number of distractions. All of the intriguing set-up is wasted, as the volume fails to conclude almost every main story arc. The end of the book is disappointing. Most of the artwork is unappealing and does not fit the tone of the story.

Overall: This book is a massive disappointment. Instead of continuing the compelling storyline developed by its predecessor, this volume gets distracted by meaningless, short conflict. Then, as it ends, it fails to sufficiently address numerous plot threads and, ultimately, makes most of the set-up accomplished throughout this series feel pointless. Readers intrigued by the previous volume and looking for more here will find nothing but disappointment.

Story

The opening volume in The Hellblazer was interesting and exciting. It addressed a unique battle between good and evil and populated this battle with intriguing characters. However, in a few places, the narrative was distracted from its central purpose and started to drag.

The Hellblazer Vol. 2: The Smokeless Fire, by Simon Oliver, makes this problem the centerpiece of the comic. The distracting side quests take over the narrative and occupy most of the reading experience. Constantine and Mercury spend most of their time popping from location to location in order to address issues that are only vaguely connected to the larger problem at hand. While these issues are moderately entertaining, the way in which they distract from the main plot and cause the story to drag makes them unappealing. Then, the entire volume ends without even wrapping up a single plot thread. Given that the next volume has a different creative team and is dealing with completely different characters, it appears that this is another case of a comic book narrative not receiving a conclusion. All in all, this volume is a huge disappointment that hits even harder considering the appeal of the first volume.

(spoilers start here)

As mentioned earlier, the biggest problem in The Smokeless Fire is its inability to focus. Early on, the comic suggests that the protagonists need to find out more about the djinn, confront the djinn with this information, and defeat them in order to save Abigail Arcane and all of London. This volume never makes it past that first step. Instead, Constantine and Mercury go on a wild goose chase that has them thrown into a couple of moderately exciting traps. Meanwhile, events taking place in London reassure readers that the threat posed by the djinn is serious and threatens the entire government.

However, none of this leads to anything. The quest for the djinn ends when Constantine retreats from the situation. Mercury’s growing abilities are never used to do anything. And the massive operations instigated by the djinn never come to fruition, despite no opposition standing in their way. It is a conclusion that feels like a slap in the face to anyone who enjoyed the first volume in this series.

To add insult in injury, the portions of The Smokeless Fire that actually focus on the main narrative are interesting. Flashbacks to the desert give the djinn a mysterious history in the real world, Mercury’s growing powers and inevitable showdown with Constantine seem like a great future plot point, and the threat posed by the villains is packed with suspense. It is unfortunate that this volume is able to do some interesting stuff because none of it ends up being worthwhile.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Like the story, the artwork in The Smokeless Fire is a significant downgrade from its predecessor. The majority of the chapters here, drawn by Davide Fabbri, lack the detail and quality that was present in earlier chapters. It gives the volume a cartoonish quality that doesn’t fit the tone of this comic. It prevents tense moments from having the same impact, as the villains end up looking goofier than they should and, thus, less intimidating.

Luckily, there are a few good-looking chapters in this book. The two opening issues, drawn by Philip Tan, look great and capture the vibe of this story. They make the mysterious elements look more mysterious and make the magical ones look beautiful. Unfortunately, two chapters of solid art are not enough to save the visual integrity of an entire volume.