This week I am going to be reflecting on the theologically-rich comic book from DC, Constantine #10. Wow, does this have a lot of blog-fodder. Let's begin with some background. Constantine, sorcerer and leader of Justice League: Dark, is looking for his friends, banished by the Criminal Syndicate way back in Forever Evil #1. Along the way, he has discovered a massive spiritual evil, galvanized by the presence of the Syndicate, who originate from the birthplace of all evil, Earth-3. To combat this evil and find his friends, including the only person he truly loves (Zatanna), he has formed a makeshift "New JLD", composed of Phantom Stranger, Nightmare Nurse, Swamp Thing, and the newly recovered Deadman.
Attempts to fight the being known as Blight have so far failed. So the team, desperate for some hope in all this darkness, go to the very center of all hope in all of the universes: heaven itself. Here Constantine is faced with a reality he doesn't really believe in: God. Standing at the gates of heaven, Constantine questions how there could be a God who could let all that is happening on earth take place. First he faces the terrible power of one of my favorite characters, the Spectre. Spectre despises Constantine and is committed to sending him the hell (which Spectre, being the vessel of God's wrath, believes he deserves). But before Spectre can fulfill his promise, he is stopped by a talking God, which claims to be the Voice of God.
Constantine laughs at the suggestion, but he feels he has no choice but to petition this being for help. Spectre shows great fury at Constantine's doubts, but God acknowledges that in Constantine's heart, despite his protestations to the contrary, there is at least the desire to have faith. This God accounts as 'enough' and thus shares wisdom with each member of Constatine's new supernatural team. Everyone gets a very positive message, except Constantine himself, who only sees reflected back at him his own doubts about his new team.
There is something supremely profound here, and I really liked this issue. The writers are saying, in essence, that Constantine has no more reason to doubt God than he does to doubt those around him, those in whom he has put his trust. God is trying to show Constantine that he is more a man of faith than he thinks. Of course, this goes over the scoundrel's head. Constantine is too prideful and self-centered to see the truth God is trying to reflect to him. But God's response to Constantine's challenge about the problem of evil is not to explain himself, but to give hope to the rest of the team, and to give them one of his top angels to help them on their quest. Heaven's response to evil is to to explain why it exists, but to fight it. What a great message.
This angel tries to get Constantine to see that God was actually giving him hope, too. Not only hope against the evil they face, but hope in that Constantine was allowed to converse with God at all. This is the first time in the New 52 DC universe that we've really been able to see some redemptive possibilities for this hero. And I, for one, like it. It may be more exciting to some to see a character fight without hope, to some this may seem more of a realistic framework for comic books. But I see it as less realistic, not more. For who can really fight without hope? Without light? Everyone has to hope in something. The New 52 Universe has had me down because it has been a less hopeful reality, but some recent issues have reminded me why I'm more a DC guy. There is a sense here that indeed God is on the side of good. And that is refreshing indeed.
Characters like Spawn and Ghost Rider, they get my energy up. They are certainly fodder for good stories, and in fact Ghost Rider was recently featured in a doozy of a story (see: my general comic book reviews when the come up). But I want to feel excited AND uplifted. The one without the other is just a momentary high. Together, they can change you for the better.
On an aesthetic level, I liked this book. The storyline was good, even if lacking in much action. The dialogue was pretty good and the art was good to. Overall: 4.5 Stars. This is one of the best JLD-linked books I've read in a while.
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