Constantine ended its abbreviated first season on NBC about a month ago. Whether the series would see a second is up in the air. Executive producer Daniel Cerone has given us a brief update as to the show’s fate.
Guess it’ll be a few more months before we find out more details.
Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!
We’re bringing back something we haven’t done for a while, what the team thinks. Our contributors are choosing up to five books each week and why they’re choosing the books.
Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.
Brett
Top Pick: Howard the Duck #1 (Marvel) – Chip Zdarsky is generally hilarious. Just search for his history with Applebees. His writing Howard the Duck hopefully will be half as funny. I’m expecting it to be just insane, and beyond entertaining.
Bill & Ted’s Most Triumphant Return #1 (BOOM! Studios) – Hopefully this comic series based off of the two films is excellent and not heinous. While I somewhat expect the latter, I love the first Bill and Ted film, so hoping for the best.
Ninjak #1 (Valiant Entertainment) – Valiant is the best superhero universe out there right now. They consistently put out fantastic comics with great art. This series puts the focus on Ninjak, the sometime MI-6 and Unity team member. It’s an awesome first issue, with amazing art, another solid debut from Valiant.
Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Vol. 3 #1 (Archaia/BOOM! Studios) – Mouse Guard is consistently a fantastic series with a beautiful story and art to match. A new volume is always something to celebrate, especially since the series is perfect for kids and adults alike.
Southern Cross #1 (Image Comics) – NOW BOARDING: Southern Cross, tanker flight 73 to TITAN! Alex Braith is on board retracing her sister’s steps to the refinery moon, hoping to collect her remains and find some answers. The questions keep coming though—how did her sister die? It’s science fiction meets a murder mystery.
Edward
Top Pick: Thor #6 (Marvel) – Neither gods nor readers yet know the identity of the new Thor. Answers are unlikely here, but the path to finding out has been pretty fun so far.
Ant-Man #3 (Marvel) – The first issue was a gem, and the second was a bit of a dud. Which will the third issue be?
Postal #2 (Top Cow Productions/Minotaur Press) – The first issue of this mystery series from Image was compelling, combining unexpectedly engaging characters with a one-of-a-kind setting.
Spider-Gwen #2 (Marvel) – After a near frenzy of excitement over the alternate universe Spider-Woman/Spider-Gwen, the first issue somewhat failed to capitalize on it with a good story. It will be interesting to see if they are going to.
Wonderland #33 (Zenescope) – Calie and the Cheshire go on another quest to rid Wonderland of madness. The first was pretty great, so the second arc looks promising.
Elana
Top Pick: The Humans TP (Image Comics) – My top pick of the year. 1970 outlaw bikers: they are animals! The animals are us! Literally. Tom Neely and color artist Kristina Collantes’ art puts others to shame. Mind blowing scenes of insanity with period-accurate costumes (I’d know) and bikes (they tell me) composed by an artist with the best chops around. It feels like a real underground comic from 70 but more accessible, action-heavy yet character driven. It is living proof of the value of hand lettering. It has an online soundtrack of garage punk/metal/ “is this a john carpenter movie?” soundtrack. https://m.soundcloud.com/the-humans-soundtrack
Oh and it’s by the Henry and Glenn crew. This has a cult-like following. One of us!
Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift #3 (KaBOOM!/BOOM! Studios) – I haven’t read this yet but I need to. She’s a remarkable creation and I’m glad they keep making series with her in the lead. Do you know a kid that digs this series? Let me know in the comments.
Ms. Marvel #13 (Marvel) – Some day your kids will ask you “Parent, did you read Ms Marvel when it was coming out? I learned it revolutionized the industry and was utterly charming.” And you will say yes, or you will be ashamed. SHAMED!
Silver Surfer #10 (Marvel) – I’m no expert Whovian but this book is less Doctor Who then I expected. It’s more something of its own and I think that’s because Surfer’s voice is unique. At times Dawn feels too childlike. But with art this fun I’ve got to keep buying it.
Southern Cross #1 (Image Comics) – The panels from this that have been trickling out on social media are stunning. Colleen Doran’s art is dark and beautiful. I don’t even know the concept. I’m getting it anyway
Nevada
Top Pick: Roller Girl (Dial Books) – Junior high school was a really difficult time for me so I can relate to Roller Girl’s challenges as she navigates that minefield. Wish I would’ve had roller derby—can’t wait to see Roller Girl in action!
Artist & Models: The Glamour Art of Kent Steine (Binary Publications) – Love the cover of this volume and look forward to perusing the pages filled with glamour art & photographs as well as commentary by Mr. Steine.
Constantine #23 (DC Comics) – I’m a big fan of the show and new to the comic so I look forward to giving this a look to see Constantine on the page. Love his attitude and supernatural noir sensibility.
Juxtapose #171 (High Speed Productions) – I always feel so in the know and cutting edge when I read Juxtapose, with its up to the minute art and graphic news and lavish layouts; this Underground Art issue looks like one not-to-be-missed.
Lisa Simpson Figurine (Monogram Products) – I love Lisa and share many of her interests and concerns, so I’ll have to get this figurine for my desk to inspire me when I’m feeling somewhat misunderstood—just keep playing that sax, Lisa! Also it makes me want to listen to jazz music.
John and Zed return to New Orleans when Detective Jim Corrigan asks for their help in the case of a missing girl. Papa Midnite takes steps toward exacting his revenge on John. Meanwhile, the truth behind the Rising Darkness comes to light.
Constantine wraps up its abbreviated season on a bit of a mixed note. There’s some cool stuff here, and some other things that are very blah. It’s definitely a step back from the quality that was the last few episodes.
Really, the highlight is the last five minutes or so with Zed and Corrigan talking and her explaining how she saw his death. It’s something that we comic fans are waiting for in a rather odd way.
The episode fits into the whole evil closing in on Constantine, and the night’s bad guy is a pretty nasty one. But really there’s little conclusion otherwise to the over-arching story. In fact the story is left hanging even more so. We need a second season!
The trio of Constantine, Zed and Corrigan are actually really solid. If the series gets a second season, I really hope we see more of them together, it’s somewhere the show can go, and go strongly. The first season was beyond uneven, but we saw what the series could be. Now, we need a television exec to take a chance, and give the series a second chance. Its proven it deserves at least a bit of one.
Overall rating: 8
John asks Manny to help him investigate a mysterious attack at a hospital; while a health issue prompts Zed to question her visions.
When Constantine got its groove. It took quite a while, but it looks like the show has finally found its voice, and style. And while doing so, it’s shown what solid entertainment it can be.
The episode is a good one, with a nice mix of humor and horror and while not the best of the season, it definitely has a lot of what made the last episode solid.
Here’s the bad. The make-up for this week’s villain is atrocious. Each week you see better design on SyFy’s Face-Off. It was bad, laughably bad. Luckily we only see it for only a little bit, so it doesn’t bring down the episode that much.
The good is Constantine’s relationship with people further being explored. The episode is a lot about his relationship with Zed still, and whether he feels guilty over her gift and what it might cause to happen to her.
To help him through that is the Angel Manny who has taken on human form. The back and forth between the two is fantastic and watching Manny deal with human emotions is beyond entertaining. I want a buddy team-up show with just them two.
What’s really great is the small details of the show, which really is something that’s not mentioned enough about the show. Towards the end, John lights his cigarette on a candle in the church, it’s a small move that adds so much.
Overall, the show has found it’s groove. Too bad we only have one episode left.
Overall rating: 8
John is sent to help an old friend at Ivy University, where students have figured out how to get to an alternate dimension – only to be met by a killer.
Its been eleven episodes, but with this one Constantine shows off what it could be. I had some expectations for the series, that we might get a horror infused X-Files, and it never quite reached that potential. Well, the series finally got there with a story involving a killer in an alternate dimension. It’s the X-Files meets A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Constantine heads back to catch up with his friend Richie, a character we were introduced to in the first episode, then quickly went away. A character with a hell of a lot of potential, and never was really used well.
The bad of the episode is that actor Jeremy Davies as Richie has some issues with his accent, jumping around a bit, but finally settling on something. That’s the worst part of the episode.
What’s great is there’s actual horror! Folks die. There’s blood. I was creeped out at parts! It took so long, but this is exactly what the series should have been doing. I want to be scared. I want some gore. Up until this point the series has really felt limited by what you could put on NBC. Here, its shown that you can do some great scares without tons of gore. Bravo!
There’s just two episodes left in the season, and it’s this point the pull potential is shown off. Here’s hoping the final episodes are just as solid, because this was absolutely my favorite episode of the year.
Overall rating: 8.75
When thousands of people in Brooklyn – including Chas’ daughter – slip into comas, John must locate and defeat the evil forces responsible.
Constantine is an interesting show. It’s rather hit and miss for me, with glimpses of what it can be, and then as soon as that excellence begins, the show veers into rather forgettable safe horror. It did that numerous times in the episode while ignoring its greatest strength, the characters and their relationships.
We see that here tonight as there’s lots of talks with souls, and some demons, as Constantine battles Felix Faust. But really, the show is about Chas, and specifically shows off how Chas can die and keep coming back.
Through clips, we see what’s made Chas rather resilient, something that could have been pushed much further. And with Chas’ ability and partnership with Constantine, we see how its impact his relationship with his family. If the episode really focused on that more, it would have been all the more stronger.
Instead we get Zed and Constantine having a chat about her role, and why she was attacked… that’s not brought up for the rest of the episode. We get their battling some demon due to a deal with Faust. And we have extraneous moments that could have been cut out. The episode would have been strongest focusing on Chas’ relationship with Constantine and his family and leaving the rest as extraneous stuff. The battle to free everyone’s soul could have lasted 5 minutes if the rest was strong enough.
What’s interesting is, the episode ends with Constantine and Zed, and a nice moment between them, showing that folks seemed to get that the character interactions would have been the best route to go. This was an episode that would have been stronger shaking off the scares and horror and instead simplify itself by just focusing on the people.
Overall rating: 7
Just before the Golden Globes, The CW confirmed it was renewing both The Flash and Arrow for new seasons. It’s not much of a shock considering both series have been juggernauts and a bright spot for the network.
Fox made it official that Gotham will also be getting a second season. The show based on Batman has had consistent and decent ratings making this not surprising at all.
The other comic turned television show Constantine isn’t looking as solid. NBC discussed the series’ future. The show has its Friday timeslot changed to an earlier 8pm from its 10pm time when the show returned from its winter break. That switch actually led to lower ratings and didn’t help.
NBC president Jennifer Salke at a TCA press tour said:
Still talking about [whether to renew the show]. We wish the show had done better live. It has a big viewership after [live airings] in all kinds of ways, and it has a younger audience. The live number is challenging. It hasn’t kind of come out of Grimm the way we wanted it to. We love the show. I think it’s fair to say we’re really still talking about it.
Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt added:
We got on the bandwagon of these shows based on comic books, and maybe there are too many of them. It’s a popular series of comics, but it’s not The Flash. It’s not Batman, so maybe it suffers a little bit there. But as Jen said, it’s a show we really liked. We love Matt Ryan, who is the star of it. I think we did right by the fans who didn’t like the film that was made of it, and I think the future is still up in the air on that show.
Not encouraging at all for fans of the show.
Picking up where the winter break left off, Constantine is shot, bleeding, and a weird demon thing is about to attack him and Zed is in the back of a van kidnapped being taken to her father. Basically, things aren’t looking good for either of them.
Constantine is back kicking off the rest of its first season and continuing on the two plot threads.
And what feels like the first time, the stakes are amped up a bit and it feels like Constantine might really screw up here and pay for it. Shot and bleeding, he decides the best way to survive and heal is to let a demon in his body. That turns him into a raving mad loon and winds up in jail, and putting the hurt on folks while possessed. The issue now comes up, how do you fight a possession and perform an exorcism when a person is in jail? That leads to the team coming together to help save Constantine.
The story itself is a bit choppy with Zed just kind of popping up to help them and Annie just kind of helping out after she shot him. It’s kind of odd with not enough of a build as to why and feels like a lot of things have been cut out. It almost feels like things are missing….
But, the highlight is Matt Ryan, who as Constantine gets to snarl, spit, and thrash about as a man literally possessed. He continues to be the best thing about the series, and no matter what happens, here’s hoping he gets to continue as John Constantine elsewhere if need be.
The episode had some of the better moments of the year, and it felt like there was actual danger for Constantine, any issues here seem to have fallen on whomever edited the two-parter.
Overall rating: 7.5
It’s Monday and that means another dive into Facebook‘s data. This week the second release of a multi-part study where I gather throughout the television season. This data breakdown concerns television shows based on comic books that are currently on the air and have debuted. There’ll be a couple more looks including the spring launch, and then when the seasons are complete.
When we did our initial report in late October, Arrow had the strongest female following, while its sister show on The CW, The Flash had the least. I also included the percent of the individuals in the coveted 18-49 demographic. The Flash was the best when it came to the 18-49 demographic, while Arrow was the worst.
Below are the raw stats and data from Facebook of those who like each show in the United States.
Flash forward almost two months and here’s where things stand now.
In total likes for their pages, Agents of S.H.I.E.D. is the only show to have lost likes in the past two months. Constantine gained over a million likes, while The Flash earned about 1.9 million likes, over doubling its count.
When it comes to fans in the United States, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Gotham both lost fans.
For gender, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Gotham both lost male likes, while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, Gotham, lost female likes. The Walking Dead now has the highest percentage of female likes while The Flash continues to have the least.
In the coveted 18-49 demographic, The Flash continues to be the best, while Arrow is still the worst.
Check out below for the full stats.
Anne Marie, a member of the Newcastle crew, asks John and Chas for help in Mexico City — bringing them close to the heart of the rising darkness; Zed is haunted by her past.
The religious aspect of Constantine is finally kicking in, two episodes in a row we’re dealing with religion. Last week was a faith healer and snake handling, and this one is straight up children being abducted and a church.
The episode is split though. While Constantine deals with stolen babies, Zed is wandering around back in town, and meeting up with Eddie, who we know something is up. And…. we finally get more of an idea about Zed. We know her name is Mary, and we know her father heads some cult, and she’s some sort of savior for it.
The episode gives us background not just on Zed, but also on Constantine, of whom we meet an old flame of his. And even though he’s been a bit of an ass the rest of the season, especially towards women, he seems to actually care about this one.
What’s solid about this episode is that there’s actually some creepy imagery, especially with some demons at the end. There’s some odd moments though, like Chas coming and going, and the end is a little odd as far as choices.
This is the series’ first two-parter, so we’ll see how ti concludes next week, but another decent entry into a series that’s clearly finding its footing.
Overall rating: 7.75
