HellBlazer Question

[Kathy Kane]

Hellblazer Question

I just started to read Hellblazer by Brian Azzarello, and I'm thinking of getting some TPBs of earlier Hellblazer stories by Ennis, so can anyone recogmend a good TPB.
I already read Goood Intentions. Man,what a messed up story.
:eek:

Also I'd like to know more about John Constitine (sp?), origin maybe, and why he's such a wanker.
Plus what exactly can he do magic wise??

Call me Kane :dot:

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

JC got his start in the new Swamp Thing stories written by Alan Moore. I highly urge you to grab the 4 TPBs that collect those stories (Saga of the Swamp Thing, Swamp Thing: Love and Death, Swamp Thing: The Curse, and I think Swamp Thing: A Murder of Crows). He was responsible for spurring Swamp Thing/Alec Holland to discover more about himself and stop a great evil from destroying the world.

If you can get a TPB of the original Books of Magic series by Neil Gaiman, I'd suggest you do so as well. In addition to providing a good primer on Magic in the DC Universe (at least at the time), JC plays a fairly prominent role and gets some great lines in the process ("Bloody Hell, I hate this. If I didn't hate getting up in the mornings more, I'd chuck it all and get a proper job tomorrow."). I'd also suggest a copy of Hellblazer #27, also written by Gaiman, which was reprinted in a "miscellaneous stories" TPB a while ago.

I started reading the monthly Hellblazer comic with the Dangerous Habits storyline, which I believe has been collected into TPB form. I think it's one of the best JC stories not written by Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman.

As for who JC is, I don't know if it's ever been made entirely clear. He's a smart-assed British chain-smoker who knows a lot about magic and the occult, but who has no magical power to speak of. He has an amazing knack for finding trouble, getting neck-deep in it, and getting out again, although a lot of people around him tend to get killed in the process. He was romantically involved with Zatanna, one of the foremost magicians in the DC Universe, but they're just friends now. He's also the biological father of Tefe Holland, daughter of Abigail Cable and the Swamp Thing/Alec Holland (it's a long story). There is demon blood flowing in his veins for some reason -- I think it was explained in an early Hellblazer, but I don't remember exactly why.

The Constantines have apparently been "wankers" for generations. Lady Johanna Constantine figured into the Sandman comic a few times (once as an antagonist, once as an agent for Morpheus, and lastly as a name on a headstone). There was another John Constantine who was hanged in Britain for witchcraft who knew Jason Blood/the Demon.

Last note is that he was modeled physically after Sting (from the Police), and the resemblance is especially pronounced in the early Alan Moore stories. Nicholas Cage is slated to play JC in the Hellblazer movie in production.

-- Ed/Ace

[Clayface]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS



Actually, John does indeed have magic powers. What they are has never really clearly been defined, but he can do magic.

His origin has indeed been told in the comics - he was a twin. His twin was destined to become the greatest mage ever known, and John was destined to die - his energy given up to his twin. But in the womb, ol' Johnny-boy threw things off kilter - his twin was strangled to death and John's own destiny was thrown into chaos as a result - its implied that he's got his twin's magical powers. Or at least, that's what I think I remember of it - its been a while since I've read that storyline (whichever one it was!).

One book I can recommend is VERTIGO SECRET FILES: HELLBLAZER. Its a rather recent release (should be able to find it fairly easily), and has a lot of the background info you're looking for. It also has a timeline of his life.