Well. That was a longer break than I expected. But there we go. Welcome to 2022! There’s a lot of exciting things that the Masked Medic has in store for you guys, but for now, let’s return to what I do best. I’d been thinking that as it’s a new year I should make a couple of resolutions. The first of which has been to not be so sceptical of magical characters. I just don’t like magic. Ahaha! So which series is better to return to than the chaotic English mage, Constantine!
‘The Voice In The Fire’ is a novel of many small stories, each one linking to the overarching plot. It starts with John Constantine approaching a mage known as Spellbinder. John, who apparently has been working for the Cult of the Cold Flame, goes under the guise that he’s looking to recruit Spellbinder. In truth, a spell has been placed on John and he’s trying to figure out who put it there. The following story sees John battle a Native American spirit. During the battle, he is shown in a vision that someone taught him the spell that he accidentally used as a kid which burned down his house and kill his mother. He uses the mystical blade with the spirit of one of his vanquished enemies, Mr E, to finish the fight. Mr E. informs him that in order to figure out who taught him the spell, he would have to travel to Hong Kong to find the witch known as Graceful Moon. This witch, however, is no pushover, and Constantine has to pull out all the stops in order to bring her down. What he doesn’t account for is that Mr E. was lying to him and that he only led John there to bring down Graceful Moon who was an ex-student of his. The next story sees John in a forest in Germany where he protects a man known as the Gestalt, who the Cult of the Cold Flame is after. This man, however, is not only an extremely powerful mage but also happens to be a werewolf. The Gestalt reveals that the initial spell placed on Constantine was designed to make him want to be a hero, placed on him by Zatanna. As the Cult realize what Constantine is up to, they attempt to destroy him, only for him to wind up in the past. Can Constantine enact his master plan at bringing down the Cult? Or will he have to sacrifice something far greater than he has?
This novel threw me a little. The reason being, as a whole novel, with the overarching plot I found it to be a tad boring. I’m not really interested in Constantine attempting to bring down this Cult who have been the major villains of this novel for a while, but don’t particularly seem to be a great threat! That being said, individually, the stories are not bad and they do really accentuate Constantine’s great skill. Given the fact that he’s a bit slippery and does things that could be considered a little rogue, his character contrasts quite a bit with heroes like Dr Fate, Zatanna or Doctor Strange. Does he make me hate magic any less? The answer is complicated, so I guess that’s a positive! Aha!
The artwork varied quite a bit in this novel. Given that it seemed like there were a number of one-shots all put together, I can only make an overall comment. Although one or two of the issues had good artwork, for the most part, I just wasn’t a fan. The covers on the other hand were more interesting. Overall, the individual stories were good, but the overarching plot wasn’t great! Hoping that the next novel can rectify it!
Favourite Panel:
Oof. Constantine dishing out those kinds of comments is crazy. Ngl, I would love to see this kinda duel on the big screen!
Favourite Character:
As much as magic annoys me, it’s Constantine. He’s stupidly underrated in my opinion!
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★½
Character Development: ★★★
Artwork: ★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★
Re-readability: ★½
Level: Advanced