عادات خطيرة

" العادات الخطيرة " هي سلسلة قصصية من ستة أعداد من سلسلة "هيلبليزر " ، من تأليف غارث إينيس ورسوم ويل سيمبسون ، ونشرتها دي سي كوميكس ، ثم لاحقًا تحت علامتها التجارية فيرتيغو . تتألف "العادات الخطيرة" من الأعداد من 41 إلى 46 من سلسلة " هيلبليزر ". تدور أحداث القصة حول المحقق المتخصص في الخوارق جون كونستانتين، الذي يُصاب بسرطان الرئة في مراحله الأخيرة ، ويحاول خداع أسياد الجحيم للحصول على علاج له.

حققت قصة "العادات الخطيرة" نجاحًا نقديًا وتجاريًا كبيرًا، وتُعتبر غالبًا من بين أفضل قصص هيلبليزر وأفضل أعمال إينيس. ^{[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]} وقد ساهم نجاحها في انطلاق مسيرة إينيس المهنية في صناعة القصص المصورة الأمريكية.

كتب غارث إينيس قصة "العادات الخطيرة" ، الذي تولى كتابة سلسلة "هيلبليزر" عام 1991 بعد انتهاء فترة جيمي ديلانو في كتابة السلسلة. وكانت "العادات الخطيرة" أول قصة يكتبها إينيس لهذه السلسلة. وكانت "هيلبليزر " أول عمل رئيسي لإينيس في صناعة القصص المصورة الأمريكية. ^{[ 4 ]}

بعد معاناته من نوبات سعال حادة، دخل جون قسطنطين المستشفى. هناك، شُخِّصَ بسرطان الرئة المتقدم والمميت ، وأُخبرَ بأنه لم يتبقَّ له سوى وقت قصير. عند سماعه ذلك، عزم قسطنطين على علاجه وإنقاذ نفسه، مدركًا أن روحه ملعونة وأن الجحيم سيأخذها بعد موته.

يزور جون صديقًا له وساحرًا مثله في أيرلندا يُدعى بريندان فين طلبًا للمساعدة. عند وصوله، يعلم أن بريندان لا يستطيع مساعدته وأنه هو الآخر يحتضر. يشعر جون وبريندان بخيبة أمل، فيقرران قضاء ما تبقى من وقتهما في الشرب معًا. يُخبر بريندان جون سرّ تحويل يسوع الماء إلى خمر . ويقوده إلى الأقبية، حيث يُحوّل بركة من الماء المقدس إلى غينيس. يسكر الاثنان معًا ويتناولان كأسًا أخيرًا بينما يلفظ بريندان أنفاسه الأخيرة. وبينما يغادر جون، يلتقي للمرة الأولى بالشيطان ، المعروف باسم "أول الساقطين "، الذي جاء ليأخذ روح بريندان.

The First tells Constantine that Brendan sold his soul in exchange for the largest wine collection in the world, and that he agreed to the deal because he finds a hopeless drunkard like Brendan amusing. The deal decreed that the First must collect Brendan's soul at midnight the day he died, or the deal would be null and void. The First suspects that Brendan may have been trying to cheat him due to the fact he hid himself inside an undetected holy place. Angered by the discovery, John attempts to save his friend's soul from being dragged into Hell. Five minutes before midnight, he invites the First for a drink, offering him a glass. Unbeknownst to the First, the drink is actually holy water that has been transformed into alcohol. The First drinks it and is poisoned. With the First in a weakened state, John mutilates him with a shattered bottle and sends him back to Hell. With Brendan's soul failing to be collected within the allotted time, his soul is sent to Heaven instead of Hell, thus saving him from eternal damnation.

John then seeks to enlist his demonic ally Ellie's aid in his search for a cure. Ellie reveals that the First is furious with John and that upon Constantine's death, his soul will be claimed by Hell and tormented like none before it. Now understanding that he cannot afford to die, John crashes a gentlemen's club and seeks aid from the Angel Gabriel. John reminds the angel of his debt to the conman, but Gabriel is unfazed. Believing that no mortal can issue orders to an angel, Gabriel rebukes him, saying that he deserves Hell for all the mortal sins he's committed. Realizing that he can only rely upon himself, John sets about saving his own life, though only after stopping to give his good-byes to his lifelong friend Chas Chandler and to an old man and fellow cancer patient whom John has befriended.

On the eve of his death, Constantine sells his soul to the other two Lords of Hell, Azrael and Beelzebub, doing so separately such that each believes himself to be the only one who has claimed John's soul. As John dies, the First of the Fallen arrives to taunt John during his dying minutes. The First, however, is shocked when the other two Lords also arrive to claim John's soul. The three Lords are faced with a dilemma: if Constantine dies with all three Lords claiming ownership of his soul, they will be forced to go to war for it, causing unbalance in Hell and creating an opening for Heaven to attack. However, each of the three Lords is too proud to simply cede John's soul to the others; surrendering a deal is seen as humiliating, and all three wish to uphold their reputations. Unwilling to accept either outcome of John's death, the three decide to heal him of his cancer. Once the healing is complete, John taunts the Lords of Hell, flipping the First of The Fallen the finger.

"Dangerous Habits" has been praised by critics as one of the greatest stories in Hellblazer.^[2] It maintains a score of 4.30 out of 5 on social cataloging website Goodreads.^[5] Writer Jim Pascoe praised the comic, saying "The result is a tense supernatural drama that begins with Constantine being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Though this book only hints at the freeform casualness and over-the-top vulgarity that became Ennis's trademark in the Preacher series, this is an immensely enjoyable read with strong characters and dynamite plot twists."^[6]

"Dangerous Habits" was voted the best Garth Ennis story on Comic Book Resources, ahead of his work on Preacher, The Boys and The Punisher.^[3] The popularity of Ennis and Dillon's run on Hellblazer is also credited for influencing Vertigo to agree to publish their seminal series Preacher.^[7]Empire called it "rightly one of the most celebrated in comic book history".^[8]

The story was reprinted and collected in trade paperback released in 1994. The book includes an introduction by its author, Garth Ennis.

• Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits (ISBN 1-56389-150-6)