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Frequently Asked Questions If you have any questions on Hellblazer that aren't answered here, then please, drop us a line and ask. Misc Questions 1. What is Hellblazer ? 2. Where did the Hellblazer title name come from ? 3. Which Hellblazer tradepaper backs are available ? 4. Is there really a connection between John Constantine and Sting ? 5. How well is Hellblazer currently selling ? Continuity Questions 1. Where did John Constantine first appear ? 2. What exactly happened at Newcastle ? 3. How did John Constantine end up with demon's blood in his veins ? 4. What's the relationship between John Constantine and Tefe Holland ? 5. Is there any connection between the demon/angel child born in the pages of Hellblazer #60 and Genesis from Preacher ? 6. Has Constantine appeared in any titles outside of Hellblazer and related specials ? 7. Dates of interest Creative Team Questions 1. Which creators have worked on the Hellblazer monthly title ? 2. Why did Warren Ellis leave Hellblazer so soon ? 3. Official websites for past/current Hellblazer creative teams Movie Questions Check out our Movie Section for the lastest on the upcoming Hellblazer flick. Misc Questions
Hellblazer is a mature reader's comic book, published monthly by DC/Vertigo. The tales told therein are based around the con-man come magus John Constantine. Born and raised in Liverpool, England, Constantine's childhood was less than ideal. His mother died giving birth to him - something which his father, Thomas, could never forgive him for. John became interested in the occult at an early age, as a school boy he went so far as to curse his own father using his bare bones knowledge of magic. This curse would come back to haunt the adult Constantine when his father dies but is unable to pass on to whatever passes for the afterlife because of that curse made so long ago. Trapped as a ghost, the shade of Thomas Constantine would haunt his grandchild Gemma until John steps in to break the curse he made as a boy. John's rough formative years led to his running away to London on several occasions and eventually he settled in the nation's capital with the help of his best friend Chas. It is here that Constantine has spent the bulk of his adult years, roaming the streets and becoming involved in more than his fair share of bad weirdness. John has a strong knowledge of the occult and at times he appears to wield strong magical powers but he has also become known as something of a con-man, more likely to talk himself out of trouble than pull a rabbit out of a hat. Charastmatic in his own 'wide-boy' way, John makes friends easy but his dangerous lifestyle has left most of those who know him as such dead. Despite his strong affinity for London, and his background as a native of Liverpool, the most important event in John's life actually occurred in the dingy confines of the Casanova Club in Newcastle, wherein Constantine met the child Astra and doomed her soul to hell. Back to top of page 2) Where did the Hellblazer title name come from ? Hellblazer was originally going to be entitled Hellraiser which was more in keeping with the tone of the lead character, John Constantine. Unfortunately the release of Clive Barker's project of the same name threw a wrench in DC's plans. Hellblazer was the best that the folks at DC could come up with as a replacement in the short lead time afforded them before the title was due to ship. Back to top of page 3) Which Hellblazer tradepaper backs are available ? Jamie Delano Original Sins (Reprints Hellblazer #1-9) The Devil You Know (Reprints Hellblazer #10-13, Hellblazer Annual #1, The Horrorist) Garth Ennis Dangerous Habits (Reprints Hellblazer #41-46) Fear And Loathing (Reprints Hellblazer #62-67) Tainted Love (Reprints Hellblazer #68-71, Hellblazer Special #1, Vertigo Jam Hellblazer story) Damnation's Flame (Reprints Hellblazer #72-77) Rake At The Gates Of Hell (Reprints Hellblazer #78-83) Son Of Man (Reprints Hellblazer #129-#133) Warren Ellis Haunted (Reprints Hellblazer #134-#139) Setting Sun (Reprints Hellblazer #140-143) Brian Azzarello Hard Time (Reprints Hellblazer #146-150) Good Intentions (Reprints Hellblazer #151-156) Freezes Over (Reprints #157-163) Highwater (Reprints Hellblazer #164-174) Mike Carey Red Sepulchre (Reprints Hellblazer #175-180) Black Flowers (Reprints Hellblazer #181-186) Staring At The Wall (Reprints Hellblazer #187-193) Stations Of The Cross (Reprints Hellblazer #194-200) Reasons To Be Cheerful (Reprints Hellblazer #201-206) The Gift (Reprints Hellblazer #207-215) - August 2007 Denise Mina Empathy Is The Enemy (reprint Hellblazer #216-222) The Red Right Hand (reprint Hellblazer #223-228) - July 2007 Movie Tie-Ins Rare Cuts (Reprints Hellblazer #11, #25-26, #35, #56, #84) Constantine - The Hellblazer Collection (Movie Adaptation, reprints Hellblazer #1, #27, #41) Original Graphic Novel All His Engines (OGN) Back to top of page 4) Is there really a connection between John Constantine and Sting ? There is indeed,speaking in an early issue of Wizard, Alan Moore had the following to say - "Basically, when I take over something as a writer, I always try to work as closely as I can with the artists on the book, so I immediately did my best to strike up a friendship with Steve Bissette and John Totleben. I asked them what they would like to do in Swamp Thing. They both sent me reams of material. Things that they had always wanted to do in Swamp Thing, but never thought they would get away with. I incorporated this into my scheme of things, and tried to pin it all together. One of those early notes was they both wanted to do a character that looked like Sting. I think DC is terrified that Sting will sue them, although Sting has seen the character and commented in Rolling Stone that he thought it was great. He was very flattered to have a comic character who looked like him, but DC gets nervous about these things. They started to eradicate all traces of references in the introduction of the early Swamp Thing books to John Constantine's resemblance to Sting . But I can state categorically that the character only existed because Steve and John wanted to do a character that looked like Sting." Continuity Questions
Technically speaking, Constantine's acknowledged debut occurred in the pages of Swamp Thing #37, Growth Patterns. However, Constantine actually made a brief one panel cameo appearance back in Swamp Thing #25 (next to an unfortunate victim of a stuffed swordfish). Saga Of The Swamp Thing #37 was reprinted in the Swamp Thing TPB, The Curse. Back to top of page 2) What exactly happened at Newcastle ? Digest version : Constantine buggered up an exorcism which doomed an innocent girl to hell. Full details of the Newcastle incident are available Here. This story was told in the pages of Hellblazer #11. Back to top of page 3) How did John Constantine end up with demon's blood in his veins ? London bound by train, John Constantine finds himself plagued by the ghosts of the Newcastle Crew. Emotionally distraught and physically worn following the recent death of yet another old friend, a disorientated Constantine is overcome with the need for air and leaps from the still moving locomotive! A heavily bandaged John regains consciousness in the intensive care ward of a hospital and receives an unwanted visitor in the form of the demon Nergal. Unaware of the role the demon played in his downfall at Newcastle, Constantine finds himself press-ganged into the ongoing war between Nergal’s Damnation Army and the Resurrection Crusade. Anxious to exploit the relationship between John and Zed, the young woman on whom the Resurrection Crusade’s plans for victory rest, the demon threatens to slaughter a maternity ward full of children unless the magus deigns to work with him. Faced with little choice, Constantine reluctantly agrees to twart the Resurrection Crusade’s plans. In order to get John back on his feet, Nergal gives him an infusion of his own demon blood. Following the events of Critical Mass, John briefly lost the demon blood but regained it after an..er...intimate...encounter with the succubus Ellie. Constantine's unique blood type has proven to be quite useful in the past, not least when he found himself at the mercy of The King Of The Vampires. John received the demon blood in Hellbazer #8 Back to top of page 4) What's the relationship between John Constantine and Tefe Holland ? Constantine is her surrogate father. When Abby and Alex Holland wanted a child, the Swamp Thing possessed Constantine's body and used it to make his wife pregnant. This story, from Constantine's perspective, was told in Hellblazer #10 Back to top of page 5) Is there any connection between the demon/angel child born in the pages of Hellblazer #60 and Genesis from Preacher ? In short, no. Garth Ennis is the author of both and has stated that there is no relationship between the two. Back to top of page 6) Has Constantine appeared in any titles outside of Hellblazer and related specials ? John has a habit of popping up, in various different forms, in all sorts of unexpected places. John Goodrich does a good job of keeping track of the errant mage on his Ultimate Hellblazer Index site. Back to top of page 7) Dates of interest Text taken from the pages of Secret Files : Hellblazer : Back to top of page Creative Team Questions
Writers/Artists, in order of issues worked on : Cover artists have included Glenn Fabry, Tim Bradstreet and Dave McKean. Back to top of page 2) Why did Warren Ellis leave Hellblazer so soon ? Warren left after DC/Vertigo refused to print one of his stories, more details available Here. You can read the unpublished comic at any of the following sites : Back to top of page 3) Official websites for past/current Hellblazer creative teams Official websites for persons who have worked on John Constantine in some form or another : Back to top of page |