Hellblazer #288

Huh, check out how high in my comic pile this series has climbed... That just goes to show you what a good job Peter Milligan has been doing with the story here, especially the current story.

Hellblazer #288:

Summary: This issue opens up with Constantine's drunken father-in-law(and notorious mobster) trying to convince Constantine's niece to go to a restaurant with him. Gemma turns Terry down, which leads to him tossing an empty bottle of vodka through Gemma's window. Meanwhile in Hell, Constantine meets up with the First of the Fallen, an uber-powerful demon, and asks the First to allow his sister to leave Hell. The First demands a trade, so Constantine offers up his own soul, which the First scoffs at, since it was Constantine's soul, and it was already tarnished. Instead, the First asks Constantine to agree to the Devil's Wager, which Constantine reluctantly agrees to... What is the Devil's Wager you ask? If Constantine can't convince his sister to leave Hell, then the First gets the soul of Constantine's wife, Epiphany. Back on Earth, Epiphany warns her drunken father to leave Gemma alone, which just serves to piss Terry off even more. After leaving her father, Epiphany is met by the First, who tells her that Constantine had wagered her soul in Hell. The First tells Epiphany that he really didn't want her soul, but wanted the soul of her father instead. That scene ends with the First telling Epiphany that if she promised the soul of her own father to him, her soul would be safe regardless of how Constantine faired in Hell... Back in Hell, Constantine manages to reach his sister and convince her to leave Hell(since she was only there voluntarily)... But with a catch... It turns out Constantine's sister had a child when she was a teenager, and left the baby boy in front of a hospital. Constantine's sister forces Constantine to swear that he would search for this mystery child and see that he was okay. Constantine makes that pledge to his sister, and she agrees to leave Hell, thereby allowing Constantine to defeat the First and win the Devil's Wager. The First congratulates Constantine on his victory, and tells Constantine that he knew Constantine's fingers were crossed when he made the promise to his sister... HA!! Regardless of how he did it, Constantine tells the First that his sister agreed to leave Hell, and as such Epiphany's soul was safe. The First leaves, but not before telling Constantine that there were consequences to making false promises in Hell... This issue ends with the drunken Terry breaking into Gemma's home and brutalizing her.

Thoughts: This was a really, really good comic! Seriously, the story, the art, the pacing of the story, the way Milligan switched scenes, it all made for a great read. Plus, we now know that Constantine has a nephew out there somewhere. And with how messed up the rest of his family is, who knows how screwed up this nephew is! There were a few things I didn't touch on in the review because they really didn't add anything to the story, such as Constantine meeting up with his evil double again, and seeing the bedroom where he was born, but those little touches REALLY helped set the scene of just how fucked up Hell was. Needless to say, I am REALLY looking forward to seeing what happens next between Constantine and Epiphany, Terry and Gemma(and eventually Constantine), as well as Constantine and this nephew of his.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Good old Constantine...