The timing of the publication of this story is immaculate. The big boss of the Catholic church, the Pope, was just touring around the USA looking for sinners. He found uber sinner Bush at his last straw and some great controversy about small boys and grown up priests. There isn't a better time for the Pope to visit.

So Andy Diggle thought it was time to bring anti-hero John Constantine right into the heart of the Vatican City to create some controversy.

Somewhere in the Vatican a man of the cloth guards a strong wooden door. He guards the door so it will not open. Someone or something is lurking behind it, and the only thing we know it's not a good thing. He fears, as a man of God, that his God will not be forgiving for his mishaps. Despite the fact that he has served God and the church his whole life, he is still a human being. A being born from the legacy of Adam and Eve. A being doomed to sin. Doomed by the history of an apple, a snake and a tree. Forever banned out of paradise. Do we have to condone the actions of this man of God that his hormones are his only weakness?

The priest guards the door with a bloody knife in his hands. Constantine is the priest's answer to his prayers, but we all know John is no angel. No, he smokes and curses, like we, common folk, breath oxygen. The shadows that dwell around Constantine are not the kind you want to meet at a party.

I enjoyed this story immensely, and the experience was heightened by the fact that at the same time the Pope was in New York. I like the symmetry of that.

Diggle is having a good run on Hellblazer; with the last story line ("The Laughing Magician") he had gold in his hands. I feel that the end of that arc hasn't fully played out and isn't yet concluded.

Again, Vertigo contracted an Italian artist for this book. They do have a knack for seeking out great European artists. Camuncoli is no stranger to Hellblazer, having drawn John in issues #168 & #169. Different than regular artist Leonardo Manco, Camuncoli is much lighter with his art with less black and heavy rugged ink lines. The whole is so much lighter to digest, and the backgrounds are more detailed than what regular artist Manco provides. But don't get me wrong: Manco is the best artist at the moment to draw Hellblazer.

The contrast between the first scene in the Vatican's dark under belly and the dream sequence is brilliant. In one page is a transition from claustrophobia to the divinity of heaven. Camuncoli provides a lot a breathing room in the dream sequence panels. A divine intervention optima forma. I need to point out that the colors Lee Loughridge uses are the work of a Renaissance master. He is one of the best mood makers in the business.

Pages 8 and 17, in particular, are amazing, especially in the first panel of page eight where a priest steps into the Sistine Chapel. The composition of the priest's body is dazzling: a long shadow, the head that hangs down in shame, with a hint of Jesus on the cross. The background breathes the enormous history of the Catholic Church.

The loveliness of page seventeen you'll have to find out for yourself. I don’t have to chew all your comic food for you, right? But I will give you a hint: look at the rhythm of the panels and the rhythm of the words within those panels. If we take in account the next page, you know how good sequential art should look like. This is a good example of a writer and artist working in tandem.

This issue is a good jumping on point for new readers who haven't tasted their own blood when biting down on their lips when reading Diggle's take on Constantine.

One last observation: when you dissect the last two numbers of this issue (#243), you get four plus three adding up to seven, the holy number from the Bible. When you do the same with the first two numbers, you get two plus four adding up to six, one of the numbers of the beast, just to let you know.

For more information about this reviewer, go to www.martijnform.com and
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