Books like Hellblazer: Staring at the Wall

With this volume of Hellblazer we get two stories. The first and far shorter of the two is called ‘Bred in the Bone’ and I just didn’t care for it much. It’s a side-story that follows John Constatine’s niece Gemma while the main plot slowly develops elsewhere. We get a new hybrid monster and the usual mysticism one comes to expect from the series, but there’s nothing really special here. The art is distracting -- the visuals don’t match the tone of the story at all. I didn’t dig it.Up next is ‘Staring at the Wall.’ This is one of the best Hellblazer stories I’ve read. Constantine’s learned of a monster as old as creation is trying to break down the door into our world. In response, Constantine gathers other gifted magicians to combat the threat, but he is hopelessly outmatched. The beast is set loose upon the world of man, bringing madness and death to all the corners of the globe.This is about as epic and apocalyptic as I’ve ever seen the story get and writer Mike Carey handles it all brilliantly. It’s dark, nasty stuff as mankind basically holds hands and slowly goes insane. Much of this is bloody mayhem, but we also get some cool mysticism as it all has so much to do with a shared subconscious that’s under attack. Good, weird stuff.Carey also lends the story a noir attitude with his writing: ‘Through the streets of the cities of men it prowled invisible. The rabid foam of madness trickled from its mouth like sacramental wine.’ Noir horror. Cool.Add in a strong supporting role for Swamp Thing, plus an ending that sets John on a dark road to nowhere, and you’ve got an excellent read.If not for the weak ‘Bred in the Bone’, I’d be giving this a 5. The collection will have to settle for a 4. But it’s a strong 4.