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Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. Its central character is the streetwise magician John Constantine. It has been published continuously since January 1988. It is Vertigo's longest running title, and the only remaining publication from the imprint's launch.[1]
[edit] OriginsAfter favorable reader reaction to John Constantine's appearances in the comic book series Swamp Thing, where he had been introduced by Alan Moore during his authorship of the title, the character was given his own comic book series in 1988.[2] [3] The series was intended to bear the title Hellraiser, but this title was revised before publication due to the contemporaneous release of Clive Barker's unrelated film of the same name.[4] The initial creative team was writer Jamie Delano and artist John Ridgway, with Dave McKean supplying distinctive painted and collage covers. Delano introduced a political aspect to the character: "...generally I was interested in commenting on 1980s Britain. That was where I was living, it was shit, and I wanted to tell everybody."[3] The book, originally published as a regular DC Comics title, became a Vertigo title with the imprint's launch in March 1993 (issue #63 of the series). It is the only title published during the imprint's launch that continues to be published today.[1] [edit] Other creatorsMany notable writers have had lengthy runs on the series, such as Garth Ennis and Mike Carey, who respectively have had the longest and second-longest runs on the book to date.[1] Other writers who have written for the series include Paul Jenkins, Warren Ellis, Darko Macan, Brian Azzarello, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Eddie Campbell, John Smith, Denise Mina, Andy Diggle, Jason Aaron and currently Peter Milligan. Peter Hogan also wrote two Hellblazer spinoff stories, entitled Love Street and Marquee Moon. Numerous artists have worked on the series as well, such as John Ridgway (the original series artist), Lee Bermejo, Simon Bisley, Mark Buckingham, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Richard Corben, Guy Davis, Steve Dillon, Marcelo Frusin, Doug Alexander Gregory, John Higgins, Mike Hoffman, Jock, David Lloyd, Leonardo Manco, Dave McKean, Sean Phillips, Steve Pugh, Richard Piers Rayner, William Simpson, Cameron Stewart, Bryan Talbot, &c. Notable cover artists have included Dave McKean (who designed the first run of the series' covers), Tim Bradstreet (who designed the most), Glenn Fabry, Kent Williams, David Lloyd, Sean Phillips, & etc.[1] [edit] Setting and protagonistHellblazer is 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 has since developed its own pocket universe in which the supernatural or paranormal does not play a large role in the lives of most ordinary people, and in earth-threatening circumstances no superhero interventions are shown or hinted at, suggesting that superheroes no longer exist there. However, some DC Comics characters—most notably the fringe supernatural characters such as Zatanna, The Phantom Stranger and Swamp Thing have made appearances. John Constantine, the main character of Hellblazer, is portrayed as a kind of confidence man who does morally questionable things, arguably for the greater good. He usually triumphs through guile, deceit and misdirection, but often makes more enemies in the process than he defeats. Indeed, it is a common theme in the book that Constantine is unable to effect any lasting change or enjoy unequivocal victories. While sometimes striving for the good of mankind, Constantine is often manipulative and a dangerous person to have as a friend, as the lives and souls of those around him become perilously involved in his misadventures. He takes pains to protect himself from direct attacks, but his friends and relatives are often endangered in order to strike at him. The spirits of deceased friends haunt him, individually or as an entourage of ghosts.[1] Constantine has made appearances in other comic book titles, such as The Spectre, 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. [edit] Publications[edit] Collected editionsHellblazer has been incompletely collected as a number of trade paperbacks by DC Vertigo. In chronological order, they are:
Other collections include: Constantine: The Hellblazer Collection is a movie tie-in which collects the official film adaptation as well as Hellblazer numbers 1, 27 (written by Neil Gaiman), and 41. All of these issues are available in other collections: #1 in Original Sins, #41 in Dangerous Habits, and #27 in Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days, a collection of Gaiman-penned stories. Hellblazer Special: Papa Midnite, collects the five-issue spin-off mini-series written by Mat Johnson. It is set during the early part of the "Staring at the Wall" story arc. Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine collects Andy Diggle's four-issue spin-off miniseries. Hellblazer Presents: Chas - The Knowledge collects Simon Oliver's five-issue miniseries. [edit] Currently Out of Print Trades
[edit] Uncollected issuesThe following issues are not currently available in any collection: 34, 36-40, 51, 57, 58, 85-128, 144-145, 229, 245-246, 250* (Most of 250. 4/5 stories), 256+ [edit] Graphic novelsThere have also been a number of original graphic novels: All His Engines by Mike Carey involves Constantine trying to solve the mystery of a strange sickness sweeping the globe.[5] It also includes a character summary and history of the series taken from Vertigo Secret Files: Hellblazer. Hellblazer: Pandemonium by Jamie Delano and Jock, is scheduled for release in 2008, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the series. (Due to delays, Pandemonium has been re-scheduled to the 21st anniversary). [6] Dark Entries [7][8] written by Ian Rankin, art by Werther Dell'Edera and with a cover by Lee Bermejo. A 216 page black and White original hardcover graphic novel under Vertigo Crime "sub-print" [9] which will star John Constantine without the Hellblazer Banner below his name, much like the The Horrorist which was released as a two-part, prestige format mini-series. [edit] Writers[edit] Main Series
[edit] Specials and spin-offs
[edit] Short stories
[edit] Cover artists[edit] Main series
Note that Tim Bradstreet also supplied cover art for an unpublished version of issue 141. The story that would have appeared in this issue, "Shoot" by writer Warren Ellis and artist Phil Jimenez, was deemed unsuitable for publication after the Columbine shootings, as it focused on an FBI agent investigating school shootings.[2] Additionally, there were two covers commissioned for issue 218: the solicited one by Greg Lauren showing John Constantine being crucified, and the published one by Lee Bermejo showing Constantine lighting a cigarette in the wind. The reasons for the change of cover remain unknown. Other Hellblazer covers have also been commissioned but not used, and are available for viewing here. [edit] Specials and spin-offs
[edit] Main interior artists[edit] Main series
Note that Hellblazer #75 and #142 each contained two stories by two different artists. Issue 75 contained "Damnation's Flame part 4: Hail to the Chief" with art by Steve Dillon and "Act of Union" with art by William Simpson. Issue 142 contained "Setting Sun" with art by Javier Pulido and "One Last Love Song" illustrated by James Romberger. Phil Jimenez supplied art for "Shoot", a Warren Ellis-penned tale focusing on high-school shootings that would have been the original issue 141. It was removed from the publishing schedule after the Columbine shootings occurred.[12] [13] [edit] Specials and spin-offs
[edit] Short stories
[edit] Other media[edit] NovelsAuthor John Shirley has written three Hellblazer-related novels: an adaptation of the film Constantine, released in 2005, and War Lord and Subterranean, a pair of original novels based around the Constantine seen in the comics, both of which were released in 2006. [edit] FilmThe first adaptation of Hellblazer ever filmed for the screen is one of the scenes in the documentary feature film The Mindscape of Alan Moore and was shot in early 2002. The dramatization consists of the John Constantine character wandering through London and in the film ending experiencing a mystical epiphany of sorts. In 2005 Constantine was released, a feature film that did not use the same title as the comic book, although the protagonists were of the same name(though Constantine was pronounced differently), and the main plot was loosely based on the Dangerous Habits story arc (Hellblazer #41 - 46). DC comics announced a sequel to the 2005 Constantine movie was in the works, with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura linked to the project. He stated: "I'd love to do it...We want to do a hard, R-rated version of it. We're going to scale back the size of the movie to try and persuade the studio to go ahead and make a tough version of it."[14] [edit] References
[edit] External links
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