pleecefanclub

In contrast, my favorite part of Ennis's run was after Kit dumped John, seeing his downward spiral until #71 (which I think was a great story and conclusion).

 

See, I found that arc entirely forgettable and silly. Don't get me wrong, I thought there was some great stuff under Ennis, but it sounds like we've got very different tastes--Jenkins is my favorite writer so far. Out of curiosity, what qualities do you really like in a Hellblazer story (art aside, because that's a completely different ballpark)?

I enjoy the gloomy, depressing atmosphere of the book along with John's pervasive cynicism. You don't often see protagonists in fiction being such contemptible bastards. Delano's bitter social commentary is what got me hooked on HB in the first place. For me Ennis was a worthy successor to Delano... the transition between Delano's world and Ennis for me was smooth.

On the other hand, when Jenkins took over it was just a jarring change in the character and setting. I don't think Jenkins ever got what HB was supposed to be about and I think that's what alienated a lot of readers. Jenkins' kinder, gentler John never squared with me. Beyond all that, Jenkins' sense of humor just became self-indulgent, obnoxious and tiresome.

Hi

 

what don't you like about Jenkins' run ?

My big problem with Jenkins is that in every story Constantine is always confidently in control of the situation and he is never seriously tested. In contrast, my favorite part of Ennis's run was after Kit dumped John, seeing his downward spiral until #71 (which I think was a great story and conclusion). With Jenkins, John never seems very troubled at all about much of anything. Even in Sins of the Father, which might have detailed an interesting emotional conflict, it takes John what-- a dozen pages for him to reconcile with his dad? I mean come on... there's just never any suspense at all with Jenkins.

Never mind the most oft-cited gripe which is the mind numbing dullness and forgetability of Jenkins' supporting cast--which I completely agree with.

Hey everyone,

I've been catching up on Hellblazer since issue #1. HB was the first comic I ever read and I absolutely loved Delano and Ennis. But I'm sorry to say-- Jenkins is simply dreadful. I've been slogging through his run, hoping things eventually get better. But after just reading #115, I've nearly lost all faith.

I've lurked on this forum for awhile and noticed that some people actually enjoyed Jenkins' run. I'll never understand how that's possible, but I can respect differing opinions. My question is only for the people who really liked Ennis and Delano... does Hellblazer get better after Jenkins and does it ever again approach the quality of Ennis&Delano? Or should I just stop reading now and move onto something else? (If so, what other comics are in the same vein as the first 70 issues of HB) I am a bit discouraged to keep reading since I've noticed that Azzarello also doesn't seem to get much praise around here.