John Constantine: Hellblazer #160 (May 2001)
Plot summary[]
Drawn by the sound of gunfire, Dwight bursts from the bathroom clutching a pistol of his own, to find Waylon's bullet embedded harmlessly in an old cattle skull hanging from one of the saloon's wooden columns. Lamar, the wounded man, also makes his return from the bathroom and he too has a weapon drawn. Dwight orders the assembled patrons to take a seat and Lamar notes that neither John Constantine nor Pete are present. Marnie tells Waylon that both men were outside checking out the corpse when he pulled his gun and shot the skull. Dwight figures that the pair would have run off when they heard the gunshot so he orders Waylon to lock the saloon door.
Outside in the raging blizzard, Constantine and Pete take stock of their position. John's hopes of getting Pete to drive them to the nearest police station are shot when Pete reveals that he doesn't own a car and that normally he gets a lift in with Keith and Hope. Faced with no alternative, the two decide to head off on foot. Constantine tries to convince Pete that there's no such thing as the Iceman but realising that, if nothing else, Pete's fear of the Iceman is very real indeed, John decides to let him in on an untold secret. Back in the saloon, Waylon makes lewd comments to Hope while her husband does his best to patch up the bleeding Lamar's wounds.
Keith goes behind the bar to get some whiskey to use as a makeshift painkiller for Lamar, stashed under the bar is a pump action shotgun but he decides against using it. Across the bar, Waylon pistol whips Alma and orders Hope onto her feet. When Dwight asks what he's doing, Waylon replies that since they've already committed robbery and murder that night that he might as well go ahead and do some rape too. An angry Keith is about to tackle the gunman but Lamar talks him out of it, telling him that everyone in the saloon will die if he goes for Waylon. Outside in the snow, Pete stands in shock - clearly horrified by whatever secret it was that John chose to bestow upon him. Constantine, meanwhile, disgards his empty packet of cigarettes and makes his way back towards the saloon.
Keith tells Lamar how he ordered Hope from a catalogue that offers "Philippine women seeking American men for love and marriage". For seven years the couple have lived very happily together but now he feels guilty for having brought her to America. In the saloon's kitchen, Waylon gets a frying pan to the head when he tries to get into Hope's pants. Angry, Hope grabs a carving knife and rushes from the kitchen and finds herself staring down the barrel of Dwight's gun. Lamar doubles over in pain as his wound flares up and Waylon staggers from the kitchen, bleeding from a cut over his eye. Dwight tries to talk his wife down, begging her to drop the knife but Waylon catches her off guard and punches her to the ground. A sudden knock on the front door distracts everyone, Waylon opens the door and orders the grinning Constantine in at gunpoint. John claims to be responsible for the murder of the man found with an icicle sticking from his chest.
Continuity[]
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Discontinuity[]
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Goofs[]
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Notes[]
- Enjoy the soundtrack while you read the story.