BY JAMIE DELANO, JOHN RIDGWAY, LOVERN KINDZIERSKI, ANNIE HALFACREE AND DAVE MCKEAN
John Constantine returns to England and finds out that his old friend Gary Lester has freed a demon upon New York.
Wow. I had this comic-book in my hands for several years (although it was in Spanish), and while I found it attractive enough, I never gave it the chance, mostly because at the time, I couldn't find the following issues.
So now I read it and I am really impressed. This is the British Invasion at its finest (and Gaiman and Morrison were about to break into the American market as well). The issue is engaging from the first page, and this is a 40 page premiere... It's just too far away from other comics of the time. Sure Swamp Thing has the same level of sophistication, but I found Delano's take a little easier to follow than Moore and or Veitch stories.
It is also a product of its time. This was written, I assume in 1987, when the AIDS stigma was still high, and not too far away from the OXFAM campaigns of the mid-eighties. And those two are obvious influences in the story (OXFAM even shows up in a billboard).
So, what if famine had a supernatural reason to exist? The story doesn't imply that, but it the demon does come from Africa, where it was killing people with famine. And the bugs, walking over their eyes? Come one, that's very close to reality.
And then it hits America, where people are paranoid that this is the next big pandemic.
The issue also introduces new characters that will stay for a long time, Chas, Papa Midnite and... well... Gary Lester.
Now, John doesn't feel as much of a jerk here as he was in Swamp Thing, but it may be a question of time really. We spend most of the issue following the trail of this new menace and introducing characters and backstory, we don't really see John making his... characteristic decisions. But yeah, he is still a jerk.
A jerk with a responsibility.
I am not sure how long this arc is, 10 or 11 issues? I decided to review one at a time. But you should definitely read it!