Hellblazer Vol- 10: In The Line of Fire" collects issues n º 97 to 107 of the title "John Constantine: Hellblazer".All stories and issues contained within are written by Paul Jenkins, a writer whose work on the title had remained uncollected until the release of these new edition paperbacks, which aim to collect all issues of the title in chronological order. I have been finding Jenkins' work on the title to be absolutely stellar and find it hard to believe that the issues he wrote had remained

At first, This whole collection is a series of one-shot independent issues. Most of them are about Constantine and his mates pissing about, but one of them stands out above all. . . Issue #100: "SINS OF THE FATHER."Oh my, I can't remember the last comic book that made me cry, or if there ever was one. But this issue, wow. It was so fucking sad, so fucking harrowing, it broke me. On one hand I felt sorry for Thomas Constantine, and for Constantine to see his dad suffer under Hell's torment. On th...

I really don't know what else to say about Paul Jenkins other than that he is boring the ever-loving shit out of me and I can't believe I still have like two more volumes of this crap to slog through. It's just ...sooo boooooring. There were 11 issues in this and I think they were all random one-shots except one that was a 3-issue arc but even that was complete crap. I can't believe I'm saying this but I would rather have Delano back. I may not have liked his writing but at least he had a consis...

This volume was really, really good! That's a weak adjective, I know. I also know that I will have to go out and buy the next volume tomorrow so I can continue this amazing series as fast as possible.

This collection of one shot stories and shorter multi-parters turned out to be one of my favorite Hellblazer collections so far. Some of the gems included in this one:A ghostly pet that won't leave his home.Constantine gets closure (of a sort) with his dead father.John gave up his dark side to save a child's soul, but now finds himself needing to regain it once again.A look at the poet Coleridge and the real story behind one of his most famous works.A ghost soldier who won't go to his final rest...

Continues Constantine's battles between the darkness of the world and life.

This was pretty weak. I *really* hate what Jenkins elected to do with Ellie; in more deft hands it would have been ok, but it came off as distressingly misogynistic, with no trace of the affection that Constantine has shown toward Ellie in the past. Most of the rest of the stories are just ok; not bad, but not all that great, and often seemingly lacking in focus.

Again with the jumpy timelines, but good solid stories throughout.

Aside from a terrible story about Hooligans, this was filled with good to great stories and careful, quiet characterization. Jenkins's run seems to be a return to actual characterization and depth, especially as the bloodshed and graphic gore that defined Ennis's run is completely elided by the impressive art of Sean Phillips. Instead, we have a measure of Humanity as Constantine works to rediscover what kind of person he is after tampering with and vivisecting his personality at the end of the

Paul Jenkins was the third major writer on Hellblazer, and this is the volume where he's finally getting to tell his own story rather than just cleaning up the loose ends of someone else's. It holds up pretty well for its age, although it doesn't quite have the bite of the Delano run it resembles. The stories are good, but the horror is lacking for the most part (although the image of a man suspended from a forest of coat hangers is one that'll stay with you). But it's still bloody Constantine,

This is generally a very strong Hellblazer volume, especially the major arc that runs from 97-104, concentrating on Constantin's recent changes. However, even the non-arc stories are at the worst, good. Jenkins was a strong Hellblazer writer, so it's great his writing is finally coming back into print.The Nature of the Beast (97). A coda to "Critical Mass", though I suppose it sets up the new Constantine as well. It's one of my favorite Hellblazer stories because it does a great job of defining

The tenth volume of John Constantine, Hellblazer, “In the Line of Fire”, sees the Con-Man come to the vital realization that good can’t exist without evil, especially when it comes to one’s soul.See, in the last volume, John used his magical abilities of manipulation and bullshit to trick the Devil (literally) into getting rid of his dark side, the evil aspect of his personality. Unfortunately, the truth begins to dawn on him: life sucks without his dark side. It’s boring when everything is good...

Paul Jenkins' writing on this series is clumsy. That's the word that I come back to over and over again when thinking about his Hellblazer issues I've read so far. The basic premise of a Jenkins story is usually good - and as I said about vol. 9 I like him for returning Constantine to a sometimes scuzzy, sometimes beautiful, countercultural setting of English ghosts and magic similar to Jamie Delano's at the beginning of the series, and being less focused on the reworked hellfire Christian mytho...

A bunch of smaller stories with an underlying thread running through it. John begins to realize it may have been a bad idea to split his evil side off at the end of the last volume, now he's only his good half. He's become a prat to a certain extent and certainly lost his edge. So he searches out a way to rebalance his i-ching. Jenkins has a good take on Constantine although his stories can be a tad mundane at times. Phillips was made to draw books like Hellblazer.

Free of the demon blood that's coursed through his veins for years, free of the baggage of all his past misdeeds since he created a doppelgänger of himself to be touted off to Hell, Constantine is staying on the straight and narrow, doing good deeds whenever he can and growing closer to his friends. In Ennis' run, Constantine had made an effort to have a "normal" life; in Paul Jenkins run, he's making an effort to lead a "good" life. But misfortune has a way of catching up to ole' John.The art i...

Volume 10 of Hellblazer was quite enjoyable. Paul Jenkins has hit his stride and these stories are a great mix of horror, supernatural and esoteric magic.This volume has a broad range of stories and they are all good. From a demon at a soccer game, to the continuing machinations of demons seeking to earn the First of the Fallen's favor and even fallen soldiers trapped as ghosts. JC's adventures should always be interesting and out of the ordinary. JC's cunning and knowledge is what sets him apar...

Mostly a selection of done-in-ones with a two parter thrown in at the end that are your usual Constantine fare - John finds himself up to the eyeballs in magical buggery and has to bullcrap his way out of it, with varying degrees of success. These vary in quality, with the football story probably being the weakest, whilst the return to Abaton and the dog story being the best ones for me personally. Then there's the three part 'Difficult Beginnings' story halfway through the trade that once again...

This volume has a great deal of focus on John's inner self and thoughts, given the splitting of his soul in two in the previous volume. He must go on a journey to become whole again. There are also several single-issue stories where John uses his magical skill to solve some chilling hauntings that would depress anyone. He can't win every fight, but he trudges on.John stumbles into an old man named Tom who offers to read Tarot cards for him. John's first card is the fox, so Tom compares John's li...

Really sad to wrap up this series. This collection, in general, was a letdown, only because I wanted MORE from the last chunk of the series. What I wanted was some epic storyline or showdown. What I got were a bunch of tiny, unrelated stories (for the most part).

A solid volume that continues to build the plot and characters in Jenkins' arc. Aside from a lame one-off, it's a solid set of stories.#97 The Nature of the Beast 4/5This is technically the start of the "Difficult Beginnings" storyline. It sets a lighter and more optimistic tone for the book while allowing for an eerie ambivalence about Constantine's future. A great start to the book.#98 Walking the Dog 3.5/5A story about a dog haunting that expands upon some of Constantine's supporting cast, wh...