While Ian Rankin is writing his own Hellblazer story, due in 2008, the current scribe bringing occult anti-hero John Constantine to life is fellow Scots crime author Denise Mina. In this direct sequel to her Empathy is the Enemy collection, the Empathy Engine is still causing pain and despair across Glasgow. It’s confined to the city for now, and it’s up to the chain-smoking Constantine and his rag tag band of followers to prevent it reaching across the UK and the rest of the world.

Intelligently written as always with appropriately moody art from Leonardo Manco, and worth a purchase just to witness the ‘unusual’ confrontation with a horde of demons in the city’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery. (Henry Northmore)