HELLBLAZER has long been my first or second favorite comic of all of them. It changes positions from time to time with my other favorite, Transmetropolitan (which ended back in 2002), but only for the past year has it ever really sucked like it does here at its end. And it does need to end, not be brought back as a lamer, weaker clone.
A dark day as DC rebrands the character, waters him down and eventually turns him from a blonde British mage into an American goofball pseudo-detective with “magic powers.
Ultimately, with everything spinning out of control in the world, this doesn’t matter, but the character meant so much to a handful of people—and it was sad to see the character of John Constantine disintegrate due to the horrible writing of the series’ current and last writer ever, Peter fucking Milligan. Some people loved his run, but I question their love of the character if they have enjoyed what Milligan has inflicted upon him.
People can argue all day long about what really killed Hellblazer—the fact that the character has existed in comics for 25 years, changed only by the POV of certain writers: the rebranding will water the character down and make an adult character into a palatable mush suitable for children. But the poor writing over the past few years under Milligan was the stake to its heart. In the past few issues, Milligan made the character cheat on his wife in a casual flippant way and on the same page, murder someone outright. John Constantine IS a bastard, but not that kind of bastard. After so many bad issues of the comic, many of us thought it was time to end the book. But with the cancellation of Hellblazer comes the introduction of the new series, John Constantine (no longer pronounced “-TYNE (rhymes with sign)” but now “-TEEN (rhymes with and is for teen).” It is based on the long running VERTIGO character, but stripped of all his most appealing qualities and made into a PG character who no longer says “fuck” and will probably stop smoking and drinking as well. Not a healthy image for teens, after all.
It is my humble prediction that John’s current nemesis in Justice League Dark (step two in DC’s rebranding of the character, a wholly uninteresting book of occult-type characters who fight occult-type criminals), Nick Necro (who is exactly like the character of John in the film Constantine[-teen]) will somehow switch bodies with John in order to bring the comic up-to-date with the 2006 film—because re-branding means consistency across the board, and consistency across the board is needed for marketing purposes, and marketing is an industry devised by the devil himself and comprised of demons.
So, a year from now, John Constantine, Hellblazer will probably have gone from this:
to this:
in order to more closely resemble this:
A pathetic effort that should have been avoided by casting the character correctly for the film.
There lies the body of John Constantine, Hellblazer soon to be exhumed and reanimated as New (now more palatable and non-threatening) John “Constanteen,” Pseudo-Detective by an American writer. (Understand, the difference in the name pronunciation is the least of anyone’s complaints, but it DOES help to differentiate the old classic John from the New 52 soda pop John). And like the entire roster of DC’s 2011 reboot of every one of its characters (including Superman, Batman, et al), this too will be doomed to fail—because when you strip a character of the qualities that made him interesting and compelling to read, the character logically becomes uninteresting and no one will care to follow his exploits in the funny pages. DC’s reboot is a failure as far as I’m concerned. They may have gained more fans, but they lost many in the process. So, to basically break even, they ruined everything that used to be good about their comics. Even the writing of Grant Morrison couldn’t make the new Superman interesting. And that’s saying something.
RIP old son.
November 8, 2012
By: Adam Bernstein
Bittersweet news today for John Constantine fans as DC Comics announced that Hellblazer, the longest running Vertigo title that first began as a spinoff of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, will soon be wrapping up its run with #300 in February of next year. Featuring the chain-smoking character of John Constantine, the British occult expert and mage, "Hellblazer" first launched in 1988 and has since grown to become one of the most successful books in Vertigo's stable of titles.
Fortunately for fans, Constantine won't be gone for long as the publisher also revealed that a brand new series is set to arrive next year for the current Justice League Dark member.
DC Comics has confirmed that Robert Vendetti and Renato Guides will be launching a new ongoing series for the anti-hero detective that will be set within the DC's relaunched universe.
"He's going to be the same age that he is in "Justice League Dark" and the same character that people know and recognize — the drinking and smoking, the con man aspect of him — that's going to be very much part of the series," said Robert Vendetti. "I like the idea of him being so layered. There's always machinations going on underneath with Constantine and that's what makes him such an enjoyable character to read and write."
View the official press release below:
HELLBLAZER, Vertigo's longest-running series which currently headlines John Constantine, will end with issue #300 in February.
Hellblazer Ends, CONSTANTINE Begins - In The DCU!
By Lucas Siegel, Newsarama
Hellblazer, the long-running Vertigo series that follows occult detective John Constantine through his darkest adventures, is coming to an end with February's issue #300, the AP reports. The series finale will be handled by writer Peter Milligan, who has been with the title for several years, and drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini.
But the bigger news, at least when it comes to reaction from the fans of the character and series, is that Robert Venditti and Renato Guedes will be launching Constantine, a new solo series for the character that takes place not in the mature subset of DC Comics, but instead in the "New 52" DC Universe. That means his solo adventures will now take place alongside characters like Superman and Batman, instead of being isolated to his own little corner of the world.
John Constantine rejoined the DC Universe shortly before the relaunch that reset the entire line of titles to first issues, and has been a member of the Justice League Dark team of supernatural and magical characters since its launch in September 2011. Venditti said that he'll be drawing from both Hellblazer and JLD for his take on the character.
"He's going to be the same age that he is in Justice League Dark and the same character that people know and recognize - the drinking and smoking, the con man aspect of him - that's going to be very much part of the series," Venditti told the AP. He added that the character's depth will be a large focus.
"I like the idea of him being so layered. There's always machinations going on underneath with Constantine and that's what makes him such an enjoyable character to read and write," said Venditti.
Venditti recently relaunched another character at the reborn Valiant Entertainment, X-O Manowar, which he says makes him uniquely suited to the job of handling Constantine's new series.
"The mission is very much the same," he said in the AP's article. "While I'm aware of all the rich history, I can't look at it from 'How am I going to compete with that?' I am going to come to the book and tell the best stories that I can."
HELLBLAZER Canceled at Vertigo, Industry Reacts Strongly
By Lucas Siegel, Newsarama posted: 08 November 2012
The news of Hellblazer #300 being canceled, to be replaced by Constantine #1 set in the DC Universe has set twitter ablaze with reactions from those who've written and drawn the series, as well as those who aspired to. We've also reached out to several folks and will have those comments later, but for now, here are some reactions from around the twitterverse. In the spirit of Vertigo, we're leaving these comments uncensored.
Rob Williams
"Kind of sad to see Hellblazer ending."
Andy Diggle
"Desperately sad to hear that HELLBLAZER will be coming to an end after 300 issues. I cannot overstate the importance of that book, and the character of John Constantine, not only to my work but to my worldview. I was lucky enough to write Hellblazer a few years back, and it was like meeting up with an old friend. I just *knew* him. I don’t mean that in an arrogant way. Just that I’d been following him since his first appearance in Swamp Thing when I was 15 years old. True fact: John Constantine is the reason I started reading (and eventually writing) American comics. Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing led me to my first comic shop to hunt for back issues. Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing led me to my first comic shop to hunt for back issues. Fuck, I feel like I’ve lost an old friend. (we have---Jef)
Trish Mulvihill
""Hellblazer" is ending? :("
Joshua Hale Fialkov
"one of my great regrets is never getting to write the "real" John Constantine."
Warren Ellis
HELLBLAZER cancelled, replaced by PG version. Sad to see that place for British horror stories go.
Brian Wood
"Ugh! [in reply to Ellis]" "Seems very likely if I had launched The Massive at Vertigo as originally conceived, they would have cancelled it by now."
Ryan Kelly
"The only Hellblazer I'll ever get to draw is crappy fan art. I'll be at the bar, sobbing."
Kieron Gillen
"RIP Hellblazer. One of the greats. The end of Planetary 7 comes to mind. "Time to be someone else".
(Part of me also thinks "You're not a real British Comics Writer unless you've written Hellblazer". So that's me doomed)"
Declan Shalvey
"What the...... god dammit"
Jock
"sad news about HELLBLAZER."
"would it be crass to say that HELLBLAZER: PANDEMONIUM, by @jamiedelano and myself is still out, full of swearing, politics and blood?"
Dave Gibbons
"[in reply to Andy Diggle] Know what you mean. I wrote a couple of short stories and it's a cliche, I know, but Constantine just spoke for himself."
Jordan White
"I cannot tell you how upset I am that Hellblazer is ending. It's probably my favorite book DC is doing. I hope they give it a good ending."
David Gallaher
"Bummed about the loss of Hellblazer. Image Comics has largely made Vertigo irrelevant. Can't say I'm surprised."
Paul Cornell
"I guess I always sort of assumed that one day I would write Hellblazer."
Si Spurrier
"[in reply to Cornell] Me too, mate. Closest I ever got was a pisstake in Bec and Kawl. Now I feel bad."
Tim Seeley
"That's kinda the nail in the Vertigo coffin, yeah?"
Mark Millar
"WTF? Hellblazer CANCELLED"
Ian Rankin
"Just heard Hellblazer comic book is for the chop. Only series I've ever written for. Only one I wanted to write for. Constantine RIP..."
Leah Moore
"Really don't see point of ending Hellblazer. Really doubt Constantine will replace it."
Axel Alonso
"Vertigo "Hellbazer" cancelled for DCU relaunch!? NOOOOOO!!!!!"
A dark day as DC rebrands the character, waters him down and eventually turns him from a blonde British mage into an American goofball pseudo-detective with “magic powers.
Ultimately, with everything spinning out of control in the world, this doesn’t matter, but the character meant so much to a handful of people—and it was sad to see the character of John Constantine disintegrate due to the horrible writing of the series’ current and last writer ever, Peter fucking Milligan. Some people loved his run, but I question their love of the character if they have enjoyed what Milligan has inflicted upon him.
People can argue all day long about what really killed Hellblazer—the fact that the character has existed in comics for 25 years, changed only by the POV of certain writers: the rebranding will water the character down and make an adult character into a palatable mush suitable for children. But the poor writing over the past few years under Milligan was the stake to its heart. In the past few issues, Milligan made the character cheat on his wife in a casual flippant way and on the same page, murder someone outright. John Constantine IS a bastard, but not that kind of bastard. After so many bad issues of the comic, many of us thought it was time to end the book. But with the cancellation of Hellblazer comes the introduction of the new series, John Constantine (no longer pronounced “-TYNE (rhymes with sign)” but now “-TEEN (rhymes with and is for teen).” It is based on the long running VERTIGO character, but stripped of all his most appealing qualities and made into a PG character who no longer says “fuck” and will probably stop smoking and drinking as well. Not a healthy image for teens, after all.
It is my humble prediction that John’s current nemesis in Justice League Dark (step two in DC’s rebranding of the character, a wholly uninteresting book of occult-type characters who fight occult-type criminals), Nick Necro (who is exactly like the character of John in the film Constantine[-teen]) will somehow switch bodies with John in order to bring the comic up-to-date with the 2006 film—because re-branding means consistency across the board, and consistency across the board is needed for marketing purposes, and marketing is an industry devised by the devil himself and comprised of demons.
So, a year from now, John Constantine, Hellblazer will probably have gone from this:
to this:
in order to more closely resemble this:
A pathetic effort that should have been avoided by casting the character correctly for the film.
There lies the body of John Constantine, Hellblazer soon to be exhumed and reanimated as New (now more palatable and non-threatening) John “Constanteen,” Pseudo-Detective by an American writer. (Understand, the difference in the name pronunciation is the least of anyone’s complaints, but it DOES help to differentiate the old classic John from the New 52 soda pop John). And like the entire roster of DC’s 2011 reboot of every one of its characters (including Superman, Batman, et al), this too will be doomed to fail—because when you strip a character of the qualities that made him interesting and compelling to read, the character logically becomes uninteresting and no one will care to follow his exploits in the funny pages. DC’s reboot is a failure as far as I’m concerned. They may have gained more fans, but they lost many in the process. So, to basically break even, they ruined everything that used to be good about their comics. Even the writing of Grant Morrison couldn’t make the new Superman interesting. And that’s saying something.
RIP old son.
++++++
November 8, 2012
By: Adam Bernstein
Bittersweet news today for John Constantine fans as DC Comics announced that Hellblazer, the longest running Vertigo title that first began as a spinoff of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, will soon be wrapping up its run with #300 in February of next year. Featuring the chain-smoking character of John Constantine, the British occult expert and mage, "Hellblazer" first launched in 1988 and has since grown to become one of the most successful books in Vertigo's stable of titles.
Fortunately for fans, Constantine won't be gone for long as the publisher also revealed that a brand new series is set to arrive next year for the current Justice League Dark member.
DC Comics has confirmed that Robert Vendetti and Renato Guides will be launching a new ongoing series for the anti-hero detective that will be set within the DC's relaunched universe.
Titled Constantine, the upcoming series promises to keep many of the strongest elements that have helped to define the character in the past while adding additional twists too as he finds his way in the New 52 universe.
"He's going to be the same age that he is in "Justice League Dark" and the same character that people know and recognize — the drinking and smoking, the con man aspect of him — that's going to be very much part of the series," said Robert Vendetti. "I like the idea of him being so layered. There's always machinations going on underneath with Constantine and that's what makes him such an enjoyable character to read and write."
View the official press release below:
John Constantine has been a constant presence in the pages of DC Comics, having first appeared in SWAMP THING in the 1980s and up through his current adventures in the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, ANIMAL MAN and SWORD OF SORCERY.
Now, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS announced this morning that the chain-smoking British occult detective will headline his own ongoing comic book series as part of DC Comics-The New 52.
Launching in March 2013, CONSTANTINE will be written by upcoming DEMON KNIGHTS writer and New York Times bestselling author of The Homeland Directive and the sci-fi graphic novel series The Surrogates, Robert Venditti, with incredible art by Renato Guedes (SUPERMAN).
"Few characters in comics are as complex and entertaining as John Constantine, and I'm finding him to be every bit as enjoyable to write as he is to read," says Venditti. "It's my goal to have the new CONSTANTINE series be equal parts familiarity and surprise. This will be the Constantine we all know and love, but facing new and unexpected challenges from both inside and out."
HELLBLAZER, Vertigo's longest-running series which currently headlines John Constantine, will end with issue #300 in February.
+++++++++++++++++++
Hellblazer Ends, CONSTANTINE Begins - In The DCU!
By Lucas Siegel, Newsarama
posted: 08 November 2012
John Constantine rejoined the DC Universe shortly before the relaunch that reset the entire line of titles to first issues, and has been a member of the Justice League Dark team of supernatural and magical characters since its launch in September 2011. Venditti said that he'll be drawing from both Hellblazer and JLD for his take on the character.
"He's going to be the same age that he is in Justice League Dark and the same character that people know and recognize - the drinking and smoking, the con man aspect of him - that's going to be very much part of the series," Venditti told the AP. He added that the character's depth will be a large focus.
"I like the idea of him being so layered. There's always machinations going on underneath with Constantine and that's what makes him such an enjoyable character to read and write," said Venditti.
Venditti recently relaunched another character at the reborn Valiant Entertainment, X-O Manowar, which he says makes him uniquely suited to the job of handling Constantine's new series.
"The mission is very much the same," he said in the AP's article. "While I'm aware of all the rich history, I can't look at it from 'How am I going to compete with that?' I am going to come to the book and tell the best stories that I can."
+++++++++++++++++++
HELLBLAZER Canceled at Vertigo, Industry Reacts Strongly
By Lucas Siegel, Newsarama posted: 08 November 2012
The news of Hellblazer #300 being canceled, to be replaced by Constantine #1 set in the DC Universe has set twitter ablaze with reactions from those who've written and drawn the series, as well as those who aspired to. We've also reached out to several folks and will have those comments later, but for now, here are some reactions from around the twitterverse. In the spirit of Vertigo, we're leaving these comments uncensored.
Rob Williams
"Kind of sad to see Hellblazer ending."
Andy Diggle
"Desperately sad to hear that HELLBLAZER will be coming to an end after 300 issues. I cannot overstate the importance of that book, and the character of John Constantine, not only to my work but to my worldview. I was lucky enough to write Hellblazer a few years back, and it was like meeting up with an old friend. I just *knew* him. I don’t mean that in an arrogant way. Just that I’d been following him since his first appearance in Swamp Thing when I was 15 years old. True fact: John Constantine is the reason I started reading (and eventually writing) American comics. Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing led me to my first comic shop to hunt for back issues. Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing led me to my first comic shop to hunt for back issues. Fuck, I feel like I’ve lost an old friend. (we have---Jef)
Trish Mulvihill
""Hellblazer" is ending? :("
Joshua Hale Fialkov
"one of my great regrets is never getting to write the "real" John Constantine."
Warren Ellis
HELLBLAZER cancelled, replaced by PG version. Sad to see that place for British horror stories go.
Brian Wood
"Ugh! [in reply to Ellis]" "Seems very likely if I had launched The Massive at Vertigo as originally conceived, they would have cancelled it by now."
Ryan Kelly
"The only Hellblazer I'll ever get to draw is crappy fan art. I'll be at the bar, sobbing."
Kieron Gillen
"RIP Hellblazer. One of the greats. The end of Planetary 7 comes to mind. "Time to be someone else".
(Part of me also thinks "You're not a real British Comics Writer unless you've written Hellblazer". So that's me doomed)"
Declan Shalvey
"What the...... god dammit"
Jock
"sad news about HELLBLAZER."
"would it be crass to say that HELLBLAZER: PANDEMONIUM, by @jamiedelano and myself is still out, full of swearing, politics and blood?"
Dave Gibbons
"[in reply to Andy Diggle] Know what you mean. I wrote a couple of short stories and it's a cliche, I know, but Constantine just spoke for himself."
Jordan White
"I cannot tell you how upset I am that Hellblazer is ending. It's probably my favorite book DC is doing. I hope they give it a good ending."
David Gallaher
"Bummed about the loss of Hellblazer. Image Comics has largely made Vertigo irrelevant. Can't say I'm surprised."
Paul Cornell
"I guess I always sort of assumed that one day I would write Hellblazer."
Si Spurrier
"[in reply to Cornell] Me too, mate. Closest I ever got was a pisstake in Bec and Kawl. Now I feel bad."
Tim Seeley
"That's kinda the nail in the Vertigo coffin, yeah?"
Mark Millar
"WTF? Hellblazer CANCELLED"
Ian Rankin
"Just heard Hellblazer comic book is for the chop. Only series I've ever written for. Only one I wanted to write for. Constantine RIP..."
Leah Moore
"Really don't see point of ending Hellblazer. Really doubt Constantine will replace it."
Axel Alonso
"Vertigo "Hellbazer" cancelled for DCU relaunch!? NOOOOOO!!!!!"
+++++++++++++++++++
by Sonia Harris
November 8, 2012
Today I found out that Hellblazer is cancelled, and John Constantine is moving into the main, general DC universe (see the CBR piece for more about the mechanics on that.)
Unable to come up with any decent new ideas, DC has gone from fiddling with one 30 year old Alan Moore creation – Watchmen – to messing up another: Hellblazer.
Of course DC has forced itself to continue this practice of pillaging it’s own powerful history of creations because it has hobbled the creation of new ideas. A champion against creators rights, and infamously instituting a policy of marketing-driven, decision-making-by-committee, the comic book publisher has become a bastion of tired ideas and restrictively tedious comic books. In this brave new world, there is obviously no space for a renegade division like Vertigo, and the gradual dismantling continues apace, as they hand the reigns of Constantine over to an American writer and place John Constantine (a character who’s very raison d’etre is the juxtaposition of his own very British strangeness) within the mundane “real” world.
Two weeks ago, when I wrote about my distaste for the liberties Justice League Dark #0 had taken with John Constantine and then saw that laughably bad storyline continued in Justice League Dark, I knew what it meant. It was obvious then that DC was gearing up for something stupid, and today they did it. Now that I have stopped buying Justice League Dark, my consumption of DC comic books has dropped to zero. Clearly they did a great job on their bloody relaunch, in that they completely pissed off most of their existing readers.
I understand that DC wants to make more money from Hellblazer, so here are some ideas, but primarily I want to say that if DC wants to make money out of Hellblazer, stop messing about with the comic book and spread out:
1. Make a GOOD movie
A Chris Nolan type of thing. Dark and adult. Use Warren Ellis’s storyline. Make it look like a Tim Bradstreet drawing. British writers are working on tons of DC titles, yet they won’t be letting a British writer write this established British character? Realistically, how is it possible that Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman have ALL been played by British actors, yet they cannot make a film with a British actor playing John Constantine?
2. Make a TV show
Think about licensing it as a TV show. If Grimm, Supernatural, and Elementary can make money, why isn’t an old-school mage like John Constantine out there?
3. Package entire runs as digital bundles
Make it simpler for digital readers to catch up and collect. Try selling digital packages of storylines in bundles for new readers who want to catch up.
4. Number the trade paperbacks
I know, crazy idea, but people ALWAYS ask me about that. It would make it much easier for new readers.
5. Repackage the trade paperbacks for an older, broader audience
Give them covers which look more like a novel, more appealing to people who read horror. Look at popular novels in the horror genre and go for that market in regular book stores.
6. Repackage (and commission more) premium books for the book store audience
A nice little number – Dark Entries – was produced by Ian Rankin not so long ago, but a black and white graphic novel has a narrower audience, even if I do prefer it myself. Another beautiful one – Pandemonium – by Delano and Jock, suffered from targeting only a comic book reading audience. If money is to be made by a mature-readers horror book, it has to aim for a wider audience.
These aren’t revolutionary ideas. I’m sure other have thought of them, I’m just trying to be constructive and positive here. The main thing I’m trying to get across is that the way comic books make money is no longer purely through the direct market and not just on the current book itself. The monthly, ongoing comic book is really just the tip of the iceberg and should be treated as such. By trying to flog comic books and make money like they did in the past DC is screwing them up a lot.
Move on, DC! The world has changed and your inability to deal with that is totally fucking up my comic books. Your marketing department is delusional, the money you can make from comic books directly is very limited. Be realistic, no print media market is growing right now, the entertainment market is disseminating. Deal with it and stop flogging a dead horse.
You can take all of your marketing ideas and channel them away from the comic book and into various other areas of entertainment like licensing and publishing options, making money from the comic books indirectly, and letting the comic books be the rich, unfettered breeding ground for the ideas to grow in. Alan Moore was right, you’re still picking over things he made 30 years ago and it is embarrassing. Just stop it, please.
