John Constantine, Hellblazer: Death and Cigarettes

John Constantine had no intention of tracking down his long-lost nephew, despite the promise John made to his dead mom. But mysterious circumstances and a series of murders set Constantine out to Ireland in search of his forgotten relative. However, after a séance with his late sister Cheryl, Constantine finds that there might be a lot more connections between his nephew and these set of murders than meets the eye. In this penultimate chapter to Vertigo's longest series, Death and Cigarettes is the latest chapter in critically acclaimed writer Peter Milligan's run on HELLBLAZER.

From Publishers Weekly

The long-running British magician known as Hellblazer was recently rebooted into the magic-centric DC universe, where scruffy, snarky John Constantine stands at the center of the usual gang of costumed crusaders. In this final volume of stories from the original series, Constantine's mature-audience swan song is strung together from several shorter works that, if nothing else, get to the center of the kind of supernatural grit Hellblazer specialized in. In one story, Constantine investigates a ghostly suicide bridge. In others, more family problems, including a long-lost relative, demand his attention and suggest that black magic is a curse that runs through a family's DNA. In the finale—no spoiler here—Constantine grapples with his own death, dealing with it in the same way he faces everything else: through disingenuousness and finely-tuned planning to beat the supernatural on its own terms. As usual, the character of Constantine waivers between off-putting charm and sincere untrustworthiness. One of the hallmarks of the Hellblazer series was Constantine's real-time aging, and here, as a tired magic practitioner floating around 60, both he and the series wear their age well. (July)

IGN

"An interesting, amusing, and slightly disgusting look at one of the quieter periods of Constantine's life."

CBR Praise for Milligan's Red Lanterns:

"It's creepy and makes me want to read the next issue, and that's exactly what "Hellblazer" should do."

USA Today

"Peter Milligan is a master of comics writing."

The New York Times

"Remarkable."

Ain't It Cool News Praise for Milligan's Stormwatch:

"Awesome."

IGN

"The book is smart, entertaining, and blessed with just the proper dose of sci-fi flair to keep things unpredictable."

About the Author

Irish writer Peter Milligan joined Vertigo in 1989 with the mini-series SKREEMER and soon became an imprint mainstay, writing both SHADE THE CHANGING MAN, HUMAN TARGET, ENIGMA, GREEK STREET and HELLBLAZER. For the DC Universe, he has written Batman in DETECTIVE COMICS and is acknowledged as the driving force behind the Knightfall event. He began his comics career with England's 2000 AD, notably its Bad Company serial. He was named one of Entertainment Weekly's "it" writers in 2002. Milligan is currently writing JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK and RED LANTERNS for DC Comics as a part of DC Comics - The New 52.

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