NEAR-MYTHS: DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL (2021-2022)

I've not reviewed many of DC's "Elseworlds" projects-- which is what DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL is, even though it does not use that tag-- because they tend to be no more than gaming-scenarios, where the creators move various characters into new positions for nothing but novelty's sake. An example of such an aesthetically nugatory work is 2015's DOOM THAT CAME TO GOTHAM. An awful lot of STEEL consists of just the usual aimless moving of franchise chess-pieces around for little effect, so in one sense there's not much that's special about this effort by writer Tom Taylor and artist Yasmine Putri (assisted by various artists drawing in her style).

The basic concept: Krypton still explodes, but this time Jor-El and his still pregnant wife Lara escape their doomed world and migrate to a "high-fantasy" version of DC-Earth. By "high fantasy" in this context, I mean that there's no necessary connection with anything in real-world history or with anything in regular DC-Earth, which theoretically is "our" Earth with superheroes and magical critters. The STEEL world is made up of assorted faux-medieval kingdoms inhabited by rough facsimiles of DC characters, and although magic is a regular presence, science is just barely getting started. 

Through assorted contrivances Jor-El and Lara ascend to the monarchy of one land after the deaths of the previous rulers, Thomas and Martha Wayne. In addition to Lara birthing Kal-El, she also births "Zala Jor-El," a.k.a. Supergirl, who seems to have been partly named for her "real" DC-Universe father "Zor-El." And then there's Bruce, who goes around in a Bat-helmet and is one of the few double-identity characters called by his superhero name. He's called a "bastard" in the genealogical sense, for reasons not revealed until halfway through the story, and the relationship of teenaged Bruce and teenaged Kal-El was the one or two elements that kept me curious about how the story would turn out.

The other thirty and forty characters are all spawned on the high-fantasy Earth and range from close approximations to the originals (John Constantine, "court jester" Harley Quinn, Princess Diana, Jefferson Pierce) to '"in-name only" congeners (The Metal Men, a bunch of knights who use the names of metals). We get two lesbian relationships, one more or less canonical (Harley and Poison Ivy) and one out of the blue (Diana and Zala), but they don't consume a lot of space. John Constantine gets the second longest arc, as he's responsible for a doomsday prophecy that seems to condemn the El Family. The prophecy appears to come true in such a way that three major kingdoms go to war, but Constantine eventually discovers that the menace behind the conflict is tied to a different flavor of DC-alien. I confess Taylor surprised me with his subterfuge here.

I said that the witty, lively relationship between Kal-El and Bruce was one of the things I esteemed about STEEL. The other is Putri's art. In a period when an awful lot of comic-book art is banal and ugly, Putri's designs possess a grandiose quality that reminds me of the strong fantasy-work of stellar figures like Richard Corben and Craig Russell, just to name two. Even when Taylor's just giving readers a jejune rehash of "How Oliver Met Dinah," Putri's art has an elevating quality foreign to most 21st-century comics art. I can see myself coming back to enjoy STEEL years from now, just to see how Putri gave the various DC heroes a "Brothers Hildebrandt" treatment.

HELLBLAZER: ALL HIS ENGINES (2005)

I have only an irregular acquaintance with the HELLBLAZER series, starring John Constantine, ruthless, seemingly hellbound occultist, but most of what I've read so far amounted to near-myths. However, ALL HIS ENGINES shows considerable inventiveness in presenting the liberation of a "Persephone" from both pagan and Christian conceptions of Hell.

To be sure, only once do writer Mike Carey and artist Leonardo Manco evoke the Persephone myth, and even then, Carey uses the Roman name for the Greek woman taken to hell by the god Pluto, in the opening chapter title "Proserpine Gathering Flowers" (the phrase derived from a Victorian painting depicting the famed myth). The innocent virgin this time is Trish Chandler, who is one of several persons struck down by a mysterious coma. Trish's father Chas happens to know something about the world of the occult inhabited by his mate Constantine, and he calls upon his old buddy to sort things out.

A divinatory ritual sends Constantine and Chas to Los Angeles, and there they meet a corpulent demon, Beroul, who has trapped the spirit of Trish in his capacious gut. Beroul holds her hostage to ensure the cooperation of Constantine in Beroul's big project: to knock off all the other demons floating around the City of Angels.

Constantine then decides that he must play along with Beroul to preserve Trish's life, and thus, he must find a way to kill all those other demons. He decides his best course is to take advantage of the many persons of Hispanic heritage in L.A., or rather, of a select few who are still tied to the Aztec death-god Mictlantecuthli. (I"m just going to type "Deathgod" henceforth.) The modern-day believers lead Constantine to the Deathgod while Chas eventually ends up enjoying a booty call with a comely young Hispanic woman, Melosa. The name is a Spanish variant on "Melissa," which in Greek myth signifies a priestess of the bee-goddess cultus, though Melosa is not an actual priestess of anything and in fact is pretty much a practical modern woman.

Constantine converses with the Deathgod, essentially mocking him with his inability to enjoy the glory days of his ancient pantheon. He plays the ancient death-deity, egging him to strike out at these latecoming Judeo-Christian parasites. Accordingly, Constantine traps all of Beroul's enemies in a deconsecrated church and the Deathgod devours them all. However, Beroul then shows up and forges a deal with the Deathgod, and then refuses to honor his pledge to release Trish from his demonic male womb.

On top of that, Chas has a crisis of confidence, believing that he'll never see his daughter freed-- and there's a strong implication that he sees himself starting a new life with Melosa. Thus, even though Melosa isn't a pagan priestess, there's a sense that she provides a temptation that can cause Chas to stray from his righteous course. But Constantine makes a special deal with the Deathgod to betray Beroul, liberating Trish from the demon's gullet-- after which Constantine must also manage to liberate the innocent "Persephone" from the control of the Deathgod.

The conclusion is actually fairly upbeat for a HELLBLAZER story, except that Chas, reunited with his daughter, essentially breaks things off with Melosa. One can trust Constantine to put a pessimistic spin on any salvation, though, as he ends with his meditations on the unadvisability of "giving any hostages to fortune," because "you're on your own in the end." This recalls the context of the Milton quote that provides the novel's title. In PARADISE LOST Milton pictures Satan being hurled to perdition despite "all his engines"-- and throughout the narrative, Carey and Manco suggest that Constantine will never be able to save himself as he saves others.