Comics
Review: ‘Hellblazer’ #300 – The Final Issue
A can’t miss event, Hellblazer #300 weaves together a fitting end to John Constantine’s journey. Never meant to fade away, the “Hellblazer” series heads to some interesting new places before its final pages. Readers are in for one last batch of revenge, black magic, and crooked deals.
WRITTEN BY: Peter Milligan
ART BY: Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini
PUBLISHER: Vertigo Comics
PRICE: $4.99
RELEASE: February 20th, 2013
After cheating death so many times before, is John Constantine really dead? Constantine’s wife, Epiphany, is certainly wondering that same as she mourns for her husband. Constantine, always the chain-smoking con man and magician, might actually be buried six feet under. But then, who is the person standing in front of Epiphany’s doorstep? Epiphany wants to believe Constantine found some way to come back from the dead. As one last trick is played, angels and demons battle for Constantine’s soul.
Peter Milligan keeps the heavily-driven plot running at full speed, adding so many plot twists, sudden re-appearances, and last-minute surprises. Just when you think you know where the story is going, Milligan pulls the rug out. This is the type of storytelling that has made the previous “Hellblazer” stories such fantastic reads.
Even though this is the final issue, Milligan isn’t steering for a tear-jerking finale. Yes, Milligan does bring back fan-favorites, but he doesn’t overstay their good-byes. This is about giving Constantine the proper bloody sendoff, the type this anti-hero deserves. Milligan closes up loose threads, while providing an ending that is questionable and fitting at the same time. I had to reread the ending twice, not because it was bad, but it was a surprising direction Milligan took.
Artists Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini make this an emotional roller-coaster for Epiphany. The theme about Epiphany’s growth is whether she can live a life without Constantine. Camuncoli and Landini focus on her emotional facial reactions, as she is always on the verge of tearing up. I found the scene between Epiphany and Constantine’s ghost very touching. Given a second chance to say good-bye, they are trying to share one last cigarette.
Camuncoli and Landini also pay special attention to the backgrounds, focusing on the rainy and cloudy atmosphere of the British locations. There is a lot of detail to the London Eye, the less-crowded streets at nighttime, and to some seedy nightclubs. In one of the backgrounds, Constantine arrives at a cemetery where a gravestone is shaped like a grand piano.
Readers will not be disappointed as “Hellblazer” #300 reaches its conclusion. I started reading “Hellblazer” when I picked up, “Dangerous Habits.” My personal favorites of “Hellblazer” are Warren Ellis’ “Haunted,” and Brian Azzarello’s “Hard Time,” which is an unforgettable tale of Constantine’s stint in prison. I am interested in seeing what writers Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes, and artist Renato Guedes will do with “Constantine” #1.
4/5 Skulls
Reviewed by Jorge Solis
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
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