Dark Entries

Long a fan of Ian Rankin's I decided to give this book a try. Needless to say, it wasn't a bit like I expected, but I really enjoyed it. I have not read much graphic fiction (comics) and am not familiar with Hellblazer or John Constantine, but, as I said, I sure as heck liked this story. I am, after all, a big reader of horror stories and the twist in this one was superb.

Ian Rankin takes the most trivial and inane form of television entertainment, a reality show, and plugs John Constantine into it. A group of people are in a house on a reality show. The house is supposed to be haunted, and one lucky contestant is supposed to find a secret room. Constantine is hired because the house is doing hauntings of its own and the producers don't know why. He goes onto the show as a mole and gets involved with the others. It turns out that everyone on the show has no recollection of how they got there and none of them remember agreeing to be on the show. Constantine discovers why they are there and then he is sucked into Hell, where the demons of his past try to kill him. Can he escape? Why are the people in the house? Great graphic novel entry to the Constantine series was never (as far as I know) serialized in comic book form. Rankin does an excellent job with the character, and the black and white art is stark and very well drawn. This is a serious page turner, I read it in one sitting. Highly recommended to fans of the series. This is also a great place to start if you've never read any other Constantine or Hellblazer stories.

All of the John Constantine HELLBLAZER graphic novels are worthy of reading and this one, by talented auteur terrible Ian Rankin, no less than its many companions. Rankin's take on Constantine is seamlessly in line with previous incarnations and the other characters are also eerily resonant and reflective of past Constantinian agonists, both prot- and ant-. The plot moves appropriately in byzantine coils and the spoofy satire of reality showbiz is wickedly, but darkly funny. This serves as a great introduction to not only the character of Constantine, but also to the graphic novel genre. Lovers of such classics as WATCHMEN, PREACHER, FABLES, THE BOYS, etc., even the grimy grimmest and grittiest Batmanish ilk, will find tons to love here. An exemplar of the form.

Yeah, I always suspected that reality television really originated from Hell- the UK was only a midway point.... Perhaps it is only my state of mind at the moment, but I really got into this little graphic novel. I've followed the character of John Constantine for years now in comics, graphic novels, paperbacks, and movies. Rankin obviously understands the character and handles him about as well as any writer has. Nor did I find any annoying inconsistencies- and I pick up on those fairly quickly when another writer picks up a franchise. Without spoiling anything All I can say is that, other than the involvement of Hell, this is more of a mystery than a supernatural thriller. There are enough storylines being juggled at the same time to keep you interested (I had to finish mine the same day that I received it.) It satisfies. As for the artwork, it also worked without distracting. It takes a rare black and white to satisfy me without irritation, but the noir quality of the tale made it work. The last time that happened for me was the Sin City books. Oh yes, the black margins for the last half of the book also worked for me. But, above all, John Constantine still comes off as a very dangerous man to know.

Dark Entries is the latest graphic novel featuring John Constantine, paranormal specialist who's struggling with some issues of his own (mentally and financially). A mysterious man named Matthew Keene makes Constantine a devilish offer too tempting to refuse. He asks him to join the cast of Dark Entries a red hot reality show that's doing monster television ratings. Keene's price for the guest appearance is too much for him to turn down and joins the other six members who are already residing in the house. Each member has a dark secret and phobia that Keene and his staff is more than willing to manipulate in order to create drama within the house and increase the ratings. Constantine's cast members are somewhat reluctant and peg him as a mole. But he slowly wins them over and after talking to his new roommates, he realizes that everything is not quite as it seems. No one can recall signing up for the show and not all of them are English residents. Who or what is behind the show and how are all of these people connected in some way? The biggest kicker is that even Constantine has a dark secret of his own. To find out the answers to these questions and more check out Dark Entries. Ian Rankin and Werther Dell 'Edera create a highly enjoyable read. I really enjoyed Rankin's writing, his characters and flesh and bone and the story line is riveting. Dell'Edera's black and white artwork is perfect for this graphic novel, it's creepy and ghastly imagery fits like a glove. When I cracked open the book I just couldn't put it down. If you're a big fan of graphic novels, especially one of Constantine then by all means pick up a copy today. You wont regret it. For mature fans only.