Hellblazer #236 - Vertigo

Our story takes a giant leap forward this issue. First John, after almost getting killed by a train last issue, decides to go and get some information from a Professor that he knows. He has a marking, that was on the antler guy that he saw while his body was possessed, that he shows him. The Professor seems to feel that it's a Celtic kind of magic that's being used. So he goes back for his lodestone, to see if he can get some reading off of it's mystical energies. But it's already gone. He does however have the bag that he was carrying it in. With some divination he figures out that the energy has come from Lynchgate. It's the community that we saw in West Sussex last issue, where the people were moving in to what seemed like a Utopia. Then we as readers find out, that it is indeed coming from this community. There seems to be a labyrinth of tunnels that run under it, and connect all the houses. Lord Burnham, whom apparently owns the estate, has found a stone, of quite a bit energy, under it. With it, they can transfer their essence in to other bodies. The long and short of it is, he targets the guy who just moved there who's child was killed by the Hunger Hill Massive. He offers him a way to get revenge. Which they do, and he does, with the Lord Burnham along for the ride. But, after they kill him, Lord Burnham doesn't appear to be done. He wants to have a go at the dead blokes teenage sister. "Sweet seventeen, and ripe as a peach. What do you say? . . . . shall we take turns?" So it appears Lord Burnham is in to this for more that just revenge. Also, wasn't the kid who hit this guys baby girl also possessed at the time? So really it was Lord Burnham's fault, than it was the kids. Or is he just weaving this huge web just to trap all these people? And if so . . . why? Fantastic story by Andy Diggle. He really seems to have a handle on these characters. And he's perfect for this type of story. And as I've said before, I have to give huge props to Leonardo Manco for really upping his game for this story-arc. It's seems everybody, creatively, is really getting in to this story. Hopefully this unity will continue on to the next story-arc. This is Constantine in his prime.