Review by Jamie McNeil
Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon had an undeniable creative energy in all their joint work. It’s no different here, whether a gentle paced comedy drama or a sinister supernatural thriller, it leaps from the page to embrace you and drag you in. Dillon brought the best out of Ennis. He wanted to write good stories and those are the kind of stories Dillon loved to illustrate.
John Constantine has a dangerous deal with the Lords of Hell to evade, one the First of the Fallen has every intention of collecting. Taking down some of the cockier members of the Heavenly realm at the same time is part of the plan. Archangel Gabriel is prime target but certain members of high society need Gabriel to give weight to their plans for an Aryan Britain. Constantine has promised girlfriend Kit he will keep his ‘work’ out of their relationship but what happens if it goes looking for her?
It’s not the supernatural encounters, John’s dangerous games with demonic entities or even the plot that makes Tainted Love a great read. It works because of the relatable relationships and personal interactions of every character, old or new, ally or adversary, over every panel on every page. There are two storytellers at work here: Ennis with his words and Dillon with his illustrations. Hatred, regret, anger, remorse, laughter, love, pain, joy, fear, courage, camaraderie, and irreverence are all feature in the characters and what’s more, evident on the page. From a bonkers 40th birthday party featuring Swamp Thing, Phantom Stranger and Zatanna (we know what she’s doing in the JLA watchtower on quiet nights!), to John failing to save yet another friend or feeling the anguish of good things coming to an end, tangible emotion seeps from the pages. Ennis is able to tell a bawdy tale or wring sympathy from an ending with preternatural skill. Dillon illustrates a pub scene so brilliantly you reach the end, rub your hands together and think, “Right. I fancy a pint now.” Tainted Love is simultaneously tense, gritty, outrageously hilarious, tender and unsettling as all hell. This is most apparent in the story ‘Heartland’ which doesn’t even feature Constantine, but does provide an excellent perspective on life during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. It isn’t the extraordinary supernatural themes that set Ennis and Dillon’s partnership apart, but the very ordinary and human moments blended with searing honest observations on politics, religion and life that make Hellblazer stand out.
Ennis wasn’t done with John Constantine yet, his run concluding in the eighth Hellblazer volume Rake at the Gates of Hell.
