An interesting issue that focuses on Chas, one of the longest mainstays of the Constantine universe. After the battles of the previous issues where Chas was possessed by Nergal. He retreats from the carnage only to find the carnage has followed him. Chas walks away from Constantine to find himself in a world of rage and madness. After going with a prostitute he returns
home to find his domineering wife waiting for him, worried sick. As Renee questions him relentlessly, Chas snaps and attacks her. He then
leaves her sobbing and retires to the
pub where he throws his money (and his weight) around while being observed by some of the pub's less friendly regulars. On leaving the pub he finds the men waiting for him, which is what he wanted. He prepares for the fight but the thugs are suddenly frozen.
Maria- Constantine's
demon spawn offspring invites Chas to enjoy himself with the frozen thugs and Chas does. She then follows him home while reading his mind seeing in there the loss and confusion that Nergal's possession has left. Planning to kill him when they get back, they end up talking about
life. Chas’s failed life and Maria’s future. Chas explains a few home truths to Maria about how she is simply a product of what her parents made her. She flies into a rage when she realizes that most of her movements in her very young life have been entirely dictated by her demon mother and to an extent her father She slams Chas around and tells him why he's been acting like he has. She then removes the stain on his soul left by Nergal (realizing in the process who it is).
With Chas in a
broken heap, she leaves telling him that this isn't over for him and the touch of Nergal merely brought to the surface what was always there. She leaves and he crawls upstairs to find his wife lying on the floor brandishing an iron swearing she will kill him if he comes any closer. The curtain falls on Chas, a broken man sitting by his bedroom door while Renee weeps.
More reviews about the Hellblazer No.206