So what is it that's so bloody great about this current run of Hellblazer as written by Peter Milligan?  Well, while I sometimes find it hard to exactly pin down, this latest issue is a very good example.  From cover to cover this just "felt" like great Hellblazer comics.  I say this because in many ways Hellblazer is all about atmosphere, about conjuring Constantine's dark and arcane version of the UK, and Milligan taps that perfectly.

After the past couple of issues with the Conservative party as the main bad guys (and now, disastrously, they're actually in power) the gears switch to a story about madness and, as is often the case, someone apparently manipulating John's mind and his surroundings.  The fact that John's London is disappearing around him literally, gives Milligan a beautiful opportunity to pass comment on just how much of the real old London is disappearing as a result of gentrification, Olympic developments etc.  I loved the way that early 'Blazer was an opportunity for strong political commentary and it's a definite plus that Milligan is determined to bring that back.  Then we've got a sinister mental hospital, run by sinister mental health workers (more commentary?) and a mystery that John can only solve with the help of his old acquaintance Shade, The Changing Man.  I've been reading Shade in the new collections of late, but I remember reading the odd issue in the early 90s and it seems like a real treat to see the writer go back to that well.  There's a real air of unpredictability here and it made for a gripping read.

Milligan clearly loves Constantine and he's being written here like he's meant to be written.  He's bitter and cynical, but there's real working class humanity beating away underneath the trenchcoat.  The supporting cast are a bonus too though, between good old Chas and recent addition Epiphany, the alchemist, who I've come to really love reading about.

The art works for me most of the time.  Sometimes I wonder if Cammuncoli isn't a little bright and airy for Hellblazer, always thinking back to those really grey gritty days of guys like John Ridgeway and David Lloyd.  Still he does a suitably tired and worn out Constantine, the horror stuff is spot on and he seems to put a lot of effort into his scene setting.  It's definititely got the feel of London town, and when the script calls for something a little weird or twisted he's spot on every time.

For anyone who drifted away from the title during some of the more derided runs like Jenkins', Azzarello or even Mina (which I kinda liked still), this book is on a real roll at present and I'd recommend you to bring this old friend back into your stack.