John Constantine (),Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #73, John corrects Chester Williams's "Constanteen" pronunciation; Hellblazer #34, letters column; Hellblazer #40, rhymed with "design" in a song. also known as Hellblazer, is an antihero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, and John Totleben, and first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985). Initially a supporting character who played a pivotal role in the "American Gothic" Swamp Thing storyline, Constantine became popular with readers. As a result, he received his own comic in 1988 titled Hellblazer, which became the longest-running and most successful title of DC's Vertigo imprint. In the DC Universe, Constantine, the titular Hellblazer, is portrayed as a working-class warlock, occult detective, exorcist, and con man from Liverpool who is stationed in London. Known for his cynicism, deadpan wit, ruthless cunning, and constant chain smoking, he is also a passionate humanitarian with a deep desire to make a positive impact.
The character has received a mix of acclaim and criticism over the years. He won the Eagle Award for 'Favourite Supporting Character' twice in 1986 and 1987, and has been listed among the greatest comic book characters. He was praised for his charm and resilience despite his flawed nature. However, he has faced criticism for his portrayal in certain contexts, including controversial depictions of his bisexuality and relationships.
The character made his live-action debut in the film Constantine (2005), played by Keanu Reeves. On television, Constantine was played in the television series Constantine by Matt Ryan, who later reprised the character in the Arrowverse series Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash, and several animated productions. Jenna Coleman later portrayed a female version of the character (and her ancestor) in the television series The Sandman, adapting both Constantines' roles from the comic series.
Publication history John Constantine first appeared in 1985 as a recurring character in Swamp Thing, in which he acted as a "supernatural advisor" to the main character.
In these early appearances, Constantine was depicted as a sorcerer of questionable morality, whose appearance was based on that of the musician Sting (specifically, as Sting appeared in the films Brimstone and Treacle and Quadrophenia). Alan Moore created the character after artists Stephen R. Bissette and John Totleben, who were fans of The Police, expressed a desire to draw a character who looked like Sting."Alan Moore On (Just About) Everything", The Comics Journal #106 (March 1986), p. 41 They had already drawn at least one character in Sting's likeness, a briefly glimpsed background figure wearing a black-and-red-striped T-shirt in Swamp Thing #25. In his earliest Swamp Thing appearances, the character is drawn with a marked resemblance to Sting, and in Swamp Thing #51, Constantine appears on a boat with the name The Honourable Gordon Sumner on the bow. Sting's connection to Newcastle (the singer's childhood home) was also incorporated into the character's story.
John Constantine's official debut was not until Swamp Thing #37, when he was drawn by Rick Veitch and Totleben. Crisis on Infinite Earths #4, his second official appearance in a cameo role, shipped two weeks after the release of Swamp Thing #37. In that issue, written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by George Pérez, Constantine is wearing a green suit as opposed to his more traditional black suit and tan trenchcoat ensemble. Moore describes Constantine as being drawn from a number of "really good ideas ... about serial killers, the Winchester House, and ... want[ing] to draw Sting in a story"."Alan Moore On (Just About) Everything", The Comics Journal #106 (March 1986), p. 42 Calling these disparate strands a "big intellectual puzzle", Constantine was the result of "fit[ting] it all together". Initially created "purely to get Sting into the story", by the time of the 1985 San Diego ComicCon, Moore stated, "It's turning into something more than that now." Veitch's contribution was to give Constantine an earring, something he considered risque for 1985.
Asked in 1985 about the similarities between John Constantine and the character Baron Winters (from Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan's Night Force), Moore revealed that he was a "big fan" of Wolfman and Night Force, but that "no intention to rip off Baron Winters" existed. He said:
Constantine and Winters met each other during Moore's run on Swamp Thing and again in Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic.
Speaking to comics magazine Wizard in 1993, Moore elaborated:
In 1988, Constantine was given his own title, Hellblazer. In 1993, at the launch of DC's Vertigo Comics imprint, Hellblazer was made an official Vertigo publication. It was the longest continuously published Vertigo title. Before the launch of the Vertigo line, Constantine appeared in several DC Universe titles, but for many years afterwards, editorial policy forbade him from appearing outside the Vertigo line. The policy was reversed in 2011, when a version of Constantine appeared in the DC Universe crossover series Brightest Day. In 2011, Peter Milligan added him to the inaugural key roster of The New 52 series Justice League Dark. Milligan began writing Justice League Dark while also writing the Vertigo's Hellblazer series, being a writer of both series at the same time. In an interview, Milligan told Newsarama:
Beginning in Justice League Dark #9, Jeff Lemire assumed writing duties on the series, replacing Milligan, who had remained on the Vertigo title. Lemire said he considers Justice League Dark his dream gig at DC Comics because Constantine is one of his all-time favourite characters not just in comics, but in all fiction. Lemire also teased that while Constantine, Zatanna, and Deadman would remain on the roster, the team would change in his opening arc and expand.
Fictional character biography Youth In John Constantine's early appearances in Swamp Thing, his past was a mystery; his life as a child and young adult was not developed until Jamie Delano's Hellblazer stories. He was born in Liverpool on 10 May 1953, the son of Mary Anne and Thomas Constantine. Mary Anne died giving birth to him and his stillborn twin brother because an earlier abortion, forced on her by Thomas, had weakened her womb. Since he was unable to accept responsibility for his wife's death, Thomas blamed John, so that from early on, the pair had a deep dislike for each other. While in the womb, John strangled his twin brother with his own umbilical cord; in a parallel universe, the twin survives to become the well-loved and well-adjusted magician John never was.
In their childhood, John and his older sister Cheryl lived briefly with their aunt and uncle in Northampton to escape from their father's alcoholism and subsequent imprisonment for stealing a female neighbour's underwear. They moved back to Liverpool when their father was released. John's bloodline and ancestry were known as the Laughing Magicians, legendary mages who have the power over synchronicity and were infamous for bluffing and tricking gods. This ancestry later drives John to embrace his lineage and practice magic. One of John's first acts of magic, as a child, was to hide all of his childhood innocence and vulnerability in a box to rid himself of it. Later, in the 1960s, a teenaged John ran away from home after a botched curse caused his father to become withered and frail. John eventually made his permanent home in London in 1969, rooming with Chas Chandler, who would later become his closest and longest-surviving friend.
During the 1970s, John became involved in occult circles in London. He travelled to other countries and visited San Francisco, where he began dating Zatanna Zatara, a female magician he had previously met in New York City. He also became a fan of punk rock; after seeing the Sex Pistols at the Roxy Club in London in 1977, he cut his long hair short, called himself Johnny Con-Job, and formed a band called Mucous Membrane. Its members included Chandler (as a roadie), a drummer named Beano, and fellow Liverpool native Gary Lester. They released an album called Venus of the Hardsell. John also performed as a stage magician in the 1980s, where he became famous for predicting the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan.Hellblazer #1
John's first venture into occult "heroism" was a disaster. On tour with Mucous Membrane at the Casanova Club in Newcastle upon Tyne, he found the aftermath of a magical orgy gone horribly wrong; an abused child named Astra Logue had conjured a hideous monster that took revenge on her father, the club's debauched owner, and the other adults who were tormenting her, but the monster refused to leave. With typical recklessness, John enlisted his bandmates and several occultist friends to help him summon a demon and destroy the monster. Unfortunately, the demon turned on them, tormenting John's friends before taking Astra to Hell. John would later realize that he had used the wrong name to summon the demon instead of its true name, Nergal, and by doing so had given the creature the power to cross over into the human world freely. Nergal went on to be a regular antagonist throughout the series. John suffered a nervous breakdown after this incident, and was committed to Ravenscar Psychiatric Hospital, which he drifted in and out of over the years.
The guilt of Astra hung over John for many years. In his mid-40s, he finally managed through trickery and magic to free her and the souls of all other children trapped in Hell. As for the rest of the "Newcastle Crew", the incident left the group both physically and psychologically scarred. After helping Dream retrieve his sands from John's own dying ex-girlfriend Rachel, Dream in turn relieves Constantine of the nightmares that had plagued him since the incident.The Sandman (vol. 2) #3
Occult "hero" John is later freed from Ravenscar by London gangsters, who threaten to torture and kill his sister and her family unless he helps to resurrect a mob boss's dead son. Knowing that resurrection is impossible even by magical means, John instead summons a demon to take the boy's place; a desperate act that has bloody consequences many years later. Years later, John was able to reconvene the surviving members of the "Newcastle Crew" to help with his investigation of the Brujería cult, as seen in Swamp Thing #37–49. The cult murdered most of them, including John's then-lover, Emma. These people, and others who have died due to John's carelessness, have continued to appear to him as silent, reproachful ghosts. Chas is the most prominent, one of very few human friends to have survived a long-term association with John.
John first met Swamp Thing in 1985, after being interested in the creature. John later acts as Swamp Thing's protector, guide, and voice of omen, even teaching the Thing to amplify his powers. Both would have further adventures with each other, such as John introducing the Thing to the Parliament of Trees, Thing using John's body to make love to his wife and father a child named Tefe, and fighting off the Damnation Army from summoning the Anti-Christ. Both carry a dull, but nevertheless fruitful friendship with each other. Constantine even invites Swamp Thing to his 40th birthday and assures the Thing he will try not to bother him again. In 1991, while in his late 30s, John contracted terminal lung cancer. During this time, he sought the help of a dying friend, Brendan, who had sold his soul to the First of the Fallen, the most powerful lord of Hell. When the First came to collect the soul, John tricked him into drinking holy water, which rendered him helpless and prevented him from collecting the friend's soul at the appointed time.