Hellblazer #102

Kicking off a three-part arc, Hellblazer #102 presents "Difficult Beginnings" with a cover by Sean Phillips that bathes John Constantine in a moody wash of deep blues — cigarette dangling from his lips, collar up, one fist thrust accusingly toward the viewer as an enormous coin looms behind him like a fateful omen. The imagery of that single-sided coin perfectly mirrors the story's title and sets a brooding, ambiguous tone that writer Paul Jenkins clearly relishes. It's a compelling opening chapter from a creative team — Jenkins and Phillips — that brings real atmosphere to DC's Vertigo imprint in 1996.