Publisher's Weekly Review
Popular mystery novelist Rankin writes fan-favorite John Constantine, from the long-running comic Hellblazer, in this original tale from the new Vertigo Crime imprint. Although the character has a history dating back to Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing, Dark Entries requires no prior knowledge. Paranormal investigator Constantine is recruited by a television executive to look into a locked-room mystery reality show that appears to be haunted. The guests, already on edge, are tormented by terrifying visions that only they can see. Of course, the only way for John to investigate is to join them. The job becomes very personal very quickly as Constantine comes to know and care about the people who share his privacy-free prison. The show's producers are more concerned with ratings than the human suffering before them, and in a way, they seem almost as inhuman as any horror Constantine has gone up against. Dell'edera's work is expressive and crisp, done almost entirely in sharp pure black inks with barely a hint of shading in sight, with an elegance to horror sequences that's far more Dante than slasher film. Possibly the best Hellblazer work in years and a strong ghost story in its own right. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
The other book (besides Filthy Rich, 2009) launching the Vertigo Crime imprint isn't the genre exercise one might have expected. It features cynical magician John Constantine, star of Vertigo's comic-book mainstay Hellblazer. Contributing crime-genre bona fides is Rankin, Edgar-winning author of the Inspector Rebus mysteries, who places Constantine in a modern-day variant of the classic locked-room mystery. A Big Brother-like reality show puts six contestants in a haunted house full of bogus terrors. When it turns out that the mansion houses genuine supernatural elements, the producers send in Constantine as a surprise contestant to investigate. Rankin's treatment of Constantine as a paranormal investigator workably tweaks his customary role as know-it-all sorcerer, even if it doesn't exploit the character's backstory and smartass personality as effectively as Hellblazer does every month. Dell'Edera's sketchy black-and-white art moves the story along efficiently, although additional detail might have enhanced the tale's ominous mood. The book will probably attract more Constantine fans than mystery buffs, but Rankin's devotees should check it out, too.--Flagg, Gordon Copyright 2009 Booklist
