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= = = Setting and protagonist = = =
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Hellblazer was set in a contemporary world , albeit a world of magic and supernatural conflict behind the scenes . Although issue 14 made a passing reference to superheroes , the series since developed its own pocket universe in which the supernatural or paranormal did not play a large role in the lives of most ordina... |
John Constantine , the main character of Hellblazer , was portrayed as a kind of confidence man and occult detective who did morally questionable things , arguably for the greater good . He usually triumphed through guile , deceit , and misdirection , but often made more enemies in the process than he defeated . Indee... |
Constantine made appearances in other comic book titles , such as Crisis on Infinite Earths , Infinite Crisis , Green Arrow , Green Lantern , The Sandman , Lucifer , and Shade , the Changing Man . He was a recurring supporting character in both Swamp Thing and The Books of Magic throughout their numerous incarnations ... |
John Constantine was reintroduced into the DC Universe in 2011 , initially in the Brightest Day crossover event title Search for the Swamp Thing , and in the ongoing The New 52 title Justice League Dark .
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= = = 1988 – 1991 : Jamie Delano ( # 1 – 40 , # 84 ) = = =
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Having previously worked on D.R. & Quinch for 2000 AD , a title made popular by John Constantine 's creator Alan Moore , Delano was selected to start the character 's first run in his own comic by then editor Karen Berger in 1988 . Delano 's run was characterised by his political satire , taking on late 1980s and 1990... |
There were five main storylines in the run . The first , collected as " Original Sins " , deals with John travelling to America to exorcise a demon , Mnemoth , and investigate a strange cult known as Damnation 's Army , crossing paths with a demon called Nergal ( from whom he gains demon blood ) , and having to be res... |
This was followed by a lengthy nine @-@ issue story arc , " The Fear Machine " , revolving around a masonic plot to collect people 's fears , in order to resurrect a Cthulhian god known as Juntakillokian , and his efforts to prevent this with the help of environmentalists , including Mercury , a young psychic girl , a... |
Delano 's run ended with " The Golden Child " , where John is reunited with Marj and Mercury , who help him discover that he murdered his more perfect twin in the womb , culminating in an extended story , in which we are shown what would have occurred had the other twin survived in his place . During his run , there w... |
Jamie Delano returned to the title on several occasions . Between the Garth Ennis and Paul Jenkins runs on Hellblazer , he finally told the story of why John 's best friend Chas ' owes ' him , and he returned again for one of the five Christmas stories in issue # 250 . He also wrote the mini series The Horrorist in 19... |
= = = 1991 – 1999 : Garth Ennis ( # 41 – 83 , # 129 – 133 ) and Paul Jenkins ( # 89 – 128 ) = = =
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Irish writer Garth Ennis then took over the title in 1991 , again from 2000 AD , where he had been working on Judge Dredd . He proceeded to write the longest run for any writer on the title . His take on the title was more personal than Jamie Delano 's , with John 's relationships coming to the fore . It also had a st... |
His run started with " Dangerous Habits " ( 41 @-@ 46 ) , which was the basis for the 2005 film Constantine , and dealt with John Constantine contracting lung cancer , and the desperate deal he makes with the First of the Fallen , and various other lords of Hell , to save himself . In the course of trying to save hims... |
The next major arc , " Fear and Loathing " ( issues 62 @-@ 67 ) covers a high point of John 's personal life , with his relationship with Kit going well , and a fortieth birthday party where his friends Ellie , Zatanna , and the Swamp Thing attend , and use their various abilities to create a large quantity of Bushmil... |
Following a brief interlude by From Hell artist Eddie Campbell , the series ' direction was taken over by Paul Jenkins in 1995 . He had been former editor of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other Mirage Studios lines . He had pitched to several comic houses , having tired of editing , and eventually managed to gain s... |
Major storylines in this run include " Critical Mass " , where Constantine is forced to use magic to purge his darker side into another human body , in order to avoid being damned to Hell as part of a trade to save the possessed son of a friend , thus creating the antagonistic character , Demon Constantine , with the ... |
The tenth anniversary issue breaks from the usual format , in breaking the fourth wall , and addressing the reader as if they are in a pub with Constantine for a monthly get together to hear his stories . Over the course of the issue , most of the characters from Constantine 's history appear , along with Death of the... |
Ennis briefly returned to the title in 1998 with " Son of Man " , filling the gaps between Paul Jenkins ' and Warren Ellis ' runs on the title . This more irreverent story is about the consequences of Constantine resurrecting the dead son of an East London gangster , using the spirit of a demon . He also had two speci... |
= = = 1999 – 2002 = = =
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= = = = Warren Ellis ( # 134 – 143 ) = = = =
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Warren Ellis took over the title in 1999 , after his work on Transmetropolitan which had moved to the Vertigo imprint , following the closure of Helix Comics . He was meant to become a full @-@ time writer for several years , as Delano , Ennis and Jenkins before him , but left the title early after DC refused to publi... |
His brief run began with " Haunted " , a London @-@ based story in which John investigates the brutal murder of a former girlfriend , Isabel by an Aleister Crowley style magician , Josh Wright . The story introduces , or reintroduces many characters who became an important part of the Hellblazer universe , including I... |
= = = = Brian Azzarello ( # 146 – 174 ) = = = =
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Following a brief interlude by Croatian writer Darko Macan , the series was then taken over by Brian Azzarello , once again hired on the strength of his own series for Vertigo , 100 Bullets . Azzarello 's run is one large meta @-@ story , that follows John Constantine on a trip across America , starting with his incar... |
= = = 2002 – 2006 : Mike Carey ( # 175 – 215 , # 229 ) = = =
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Following Azzarello 's run , writer Mike Carey took over the title , following his Eisner award @-@ winning title Lucifer , set in the Sandman universe . Carey 's run attempted to return John Constantine to his roots , with the title largely set back in London , and featuring many characters from former runs on the ti... |
The start of his run introduces Angie Spatchcock , a fellow magician , and reintroduces his niece , Gemma Constantine , who has also fallen into magic use , to her uncle 's consternation . After ridding his sister 's house of an evil spirit , and finding out Gemma has gone missing , John returns to London , to find hi... |
John 's preparations have no effect , however , as he is tricked into killing the guardian that had been preventing the tragedy , freeing a beast which can control the collective unconsciousness of mankind . John Constantine cuts his own wrists , in order to free himself from consciousness , and plays a confidence tri... |
Carey 's final run followed the attempts of John 's three new children attempting to kill all of his family and friends , culminating in the death of his sister , Cheryl , at the hands of her possessed husband . John then travels into Hell to try to rescue her soul , with the assistance of Rosacarnis ' father , Nergal... |
Mike Carey returned to the title for a single issue between Denise Mina and Andy Diggle 's runs on the title , and also wrote the well @-@ received Hellblazer graphic novel All His Engines about a strange illness sweeping the globe .
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= = = 2006 – 2013 = = =
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= = = = Denise Mina ( # 216 – 228 ) = = = =
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Denise Mina had not written for comics when she took over the title in 2006 , but had three acclaimed crime novels to her name , the Garnetthill trilogy , the first of which won the CWA award for best debut crime novel . Her run on the title took John to Scotland , to attempt to stop a plot to make everybody empathise... |
= = = = Andy Diggle ( # 230 – 249 ) = = = =
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Andy Diggle , having previously written the Hellblazer special , Lady Constantine , and Vertigo titles The Losers and Swamp Thing , took over the title in 2007 , another former writer for 2000 AD to have done this . He left the title in 2009 after accepting an exclusive contract with Marvel .
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The run starts by introducing two main antagonists , an aging politician , who is using a strange portal to enter other people 's minds and commit crimes , and Mako , a cannibalistic mage who devours other magicians in order to obtain their power . Constantine 's attempt to play them off one another only succeeds in m... |
= = = = Peter Milligan ( # 250 – 300 ) = = = =
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Peter Milligan , a veteran of the Vertigo line , having written both Shade , The Changing Man and Animal Man at the publisher 's inception , then took over , starting with a short story in the landmark 250th issue , and taking over full @-@ time following this . His run implemented several major changes , including Jo... |
In a rare change , Milligan 's run on the title starts with John living in domestic bliss with a nurse , Phoebe . Over the course of the first storyline , several new characters are introduced , including Epiphany Greaves , the alchemist daughter of a notorious London gangster , and Julian , a Babylonian demon . Over ... |
Afterwards , John 's coat ( which Gemma sold on eBay ) began to manipulate its various new owners into murder , suicide , or other horrific acts until coming into the hands of a man from the U.S. , who tried to kill John and Epiphany . During the time the coat was missing , John 's magical abilities had begun to go ou... |
On October 8 , 2012 , the series was announced as ending with issue 300 , following which a new title , Constantine started at the main imprint of DC comics . By 2013 , Constantine was contacted by the Three Fates , who tell him that he will finally meet his end in five days . Having lived a good and adventurous life ... |
So John left Epiphany in Ireland and returned to England to confront Gemma . He stole the last dart holding the concoction that killed his demon twin , but ultimately gave it back to Gemma and told her either she could kill him , and live her life without him in but consumed with guilt for killing him , or she could l... |
= = Justice League Dark , Constantine and cancellation = =
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In 2011 , it was announced that a younger John Constantine would feature in Justice League Dark , one of the new titles launched as part of September 2011 's DC Universe reboot . He was to be part of a team including Shade , The Changing Man , Deadman and Madame Xanadu , known as Justice League Dark . As part of the D... |
On November 8 , 2012 , DC announced that Hellblazer would be cancelled following its 300th issue , and would be replaced by Constantine written by Robert Venditti and drawn by Renato Guedes starring the younger New 52 John Constantine , rather than the version from Hellblazer , depicted as being in his late 50s . The ... |
= = Themes and style = =
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Hellblazer was first published during the early days of the Modern Age of Comics , and so its themes were dark , edgy , politically and morally complex as its contemporaries . Hellblazer mixes supernatural and real life horror , akin to contemporary gothic , with noire , surrealism and occult detective fiction element... |
When Garth Ennis took over writing , he included his trademark representation of racism and religious fanaticism , as well his depictions of the Falklands War . The most controversial writer , Brian Azzarello , tackled issues such as Neo @-@ Nazism , prison rape and homosexuality . During Warren Ellis ' run , he inclu... |
As stated by Warren Ellis , Hellblazer 's major themes were cynicism , nihilism and " sudden violence " , with the protagonist oftentimes narrating the story in dark proses with occasional breaking of the fourth wall . In many story arcs every victory Constantine makes has a negative side effect and often leads to tra... |
= = Reception = =
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Over the two decades that it had been published , Hellblazer had normally been quite well received . While not attaining the sales of ' mainstream ' comics , it had sustained healthy figures , consistently being one of the top selling Vertigo titles , and was sustained by healthy sales of trade paperbacks . Hillary Go... |
Jamie Delano 's original run on the title is looked on fondly , with journalist Helen Braithwaite stating , " His take on the character of John Constantine has never been equalled . Delano 's Original Sins graphic novel should be in every comic book fan 's collection . " She added that , " His writing evokes an incred... |
Garth Ennis ' run is also much loved , particularly Dangerous Habits , which was voted the best Garth Ennis story on Comic Book Resources , ahead of his work on Preacher , The Boys and The Punisher . In the same article Brian Cronin describes John 's one time love , Kit Ryan , as one of the series ' most memorable cha... |
The creator of the protagonist , Alan Moore , praised Jamie Delano 's portrayal of the character , commenting " [ Delano ] demonstrates brilliantly that English horror didn 't vanish with the fog and gas lit cobblestones at the end of the Victorian era . " Moore also liked Brian Azzarello 's run on the series , commen... |
The character received positive critical reception while starring in the series . Empire Magazine ranked Constantine third in their 50 Greatest Comic Characters of All Time , while IGN ranked him # 29 in their Top 100 Comic Book Heroes , and the character ranked # 10 in Wizard Magazine 's Top 200 Comic Book Characters... |
= = = Legacy = = =
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The comic book 's initial cancellation , and the introduction of the character to DC led to many negative feedback and reception . I , Vampire writer Joshua Hale Fialkov expressed sadness he would never get to write " the ' real ' John Constantine " , noted crime author and former Hellblazer writer Ian Rankin stated t... |
Hellblazer boosted the popularity and image of the occult detective fiction genre and shaped it to its modern form . Many modern examples of the genre such as Hellboy , Supernatural , Grimm , The Originals , and The Dresden Files have been influenced by it , and many imitators of both the series and its character flou... |
= = Publications = =
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= = Collected editions = =
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= = = Trade paperbacks = = =
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