Aging Along With John: 20 Years of Hellblazer, Part 1
By David DelGrosso
The 20th anniversary of Hellblazer provides an opportunity to look back on the history of this unlikely success story that has showcased the talents of some of the best writers, artists, and cover artists in comics. As well as to look ahead at the projects Vertigo will be publishing later this year to celebrate this milestone.
The Jamie Delano Years: Sacrifice, Politics and Sins Past (H. #1-40, 1988-1991
Like any spin-off, the challenge of starting Hellblazer would be to make it distinct from its parent title. "Clearly Constantine is going to have his own world outside of Swamp Thing," says Berger, "and to do a series and keep Constantine in Swamp Thing's world doesn’t make sense considering the potential of what you have when you’re starting a new series. You want to take the character and put him in his own direction. So the idea was to take Constantine and set him off as the start of his own book in his own world with his own adventures."
This task fell to the Northampton-born English writer Jamie Delano, whom Alan Moore personally recommended for the job. Delano, at that time, had written some Captain Britain and Doctor Who stories for Marvel UK, as well as a few stories for 2000 AD. Being the founding writer of a new DC series represented a great professional opportunity for Delano, and it would not be the last time that Hellblazer would provide a British writer the chance to break through to the American mainstream comics audience. Delano recalls the opportunity. "In 1987 I had written a few things for British publishers but was only semi-professional, supplementing my income working as a taxi driver. The opportunity to develop Constantine as a character capable of supporting an ongoing monthly book was a considerable step up the creative ladder for me. I was extremely lucky--not only in having Moore’s recommendation and Karen Berger’s willingness to take a chance--but also in having a character such as Constantine to play with."
Alan Moore had introduced the personality and reputation of John Constantine and had left hints about his history. Delano would pick up those glimpses of Constantine's past and turn them into a history for the character, and often use them as a hook into what motivates Constantine in his own series. For example, the failed exorcism at Newcastle, which Constantine is so dismissive about in Swamp Thing, is used by Delano as a defining moment in John's life. In the Hellblazer series, John is haunted by that event and by the innocent young girl whose soul was lost. John even sees ghosts of several of the "Newcastle team" that died that day, and those who have died blaming him since.
Delano made a strong shift in tone and perspective when establishing John as the lead character. In Swamp Thing, the reader always saw John from the outside, as Swamp Thing did--through his hard, confident stare, and that cigarette, like armor, kept between himself and whomever he was regarding. However, from the very first issue of Hellblazer, Delano took the reader past that bravado and into the real life of John Constantine. It is a great life to watch, but probably not one you'd want to have yourself.
That is another unusual element of John Constantine as a successful comics lead--he is not an aspirational character. Through most of the series, you are compelled to watch John, but you don't want to be him. By the end of his first story on the title, Delano established that hard-luck tone. John succeeds in defeating a powerful Hunger Demon and saving New York City, but he will have to sacrifice his old friend Gary Lester to do it. In the world of John Constantine, magic costs, and there is a often a lot of human suffering that comes with mortals' experiments with power. Delano makes it clear that John does not use magic to become wealthy or influential, as his foe and foil in the story, Papa Midnight, does. Sure, John may use his skills to get the money he needs through gambling and grift, but he's not rich. The forces that John may access have not made his life easier; in fact, it is quite the opposite. There are few moments of pleasure for John Constantine in the pages of Hellblazer, and victories are both rare and costly. Following John's life is a very different reading experience from, say, escaping into a story that makes you wish that you, too, could fly.
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