It spoils little to reveal that this final chapter of John Constantine: Hellblazer: Dead in America concerns the death of the Laughing Magician. Precisely what that death entails, however, is up for debate. So are the final pages of the comic, which may represent a coda for The Sandman Universe as a whole. It may also be a capstone for the original Vertigo Comics universe, now that the Vertigo name is being appropriated for DC Comics’ new creator-owned imprint.

The future of the Sandman Universe itself is also a subject for debate. As a franchise, The Sandman is still going strong. The series on Netflix has a second season coming soon and the final chapters of the Audible audiobook adaptations are also in the works. However, with other adaptations of Neil Gaiman’s work being cancelled right and left in the wake of the allegations of sexual impropriety against him, it doesn’t seem likely that anyone wants to keep using the characters he created.

Those discussions will take place in the future, I am sure. Today, however, my concern is the finale of miniseries that closed out the story of a masterful revival that was cut short too soon.

Whatever else may be said about the finale of Dead in America, it did what a good John Constantine story should do. It kept you guessing. It kept you astonished. And above all, it entertained. That’s the best you can hope for beyond survival when you’re on an adventure with John Constantine. And as far as an ending to his adventures goes, this is a far more fitting one than the infamous ending of Hellblazer #300.

What Simon Spurrier, Aaron Campbell, Jodie Bellaire and Steve Wands wrought with this issue was pure magic. As was this series, and the Hellblazer book that came before. If you’ve been reading it, as I have, you will love it. If you’re a fan of John Constantine, you will treasure it. And if there is any justice in this world or the next, this will not be the end of this creative tam working together. It certainly will not be the end of John Constantine, no matter what may actually have happened here.