John Constantine

John Constantine is a comic book character created by British writer Alan Moore and artist Steve Bissette. He deputed in the pages of Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 where he became a supporting character of that title. Constantine was presented as a smarmy, chain-smoking occultist, mage and con man with a cynical outlook on life and a bad attitude. Although Constantine has no true mystical powers, he usually gets by on knowledge, wits and creativity. Constantine proved to be a very popular character and was given his own title Hellblazer in 1988. The Hellblazer comic series became one of DC's flagship titles when it introduced its "Vertigo" imprint in the early 1990s. Vertigo specialized in "sophisticated suspense" and while many of its titles shared continuity with that of the mainstream DC Comics universe, many titles were also set outside the canonical reality. To date, Hellblazer is the longest running Vertigo title still in print. The 2005 film Constantine is loosely based on the character of John Constantine and borrows several elements from the comic series.

Notes & Trivia

 * John Constantine was created by writer Alan Moore and artist Steve Bissette. Moore based John's appearance on British rocker Sting.


 * Constantine's name (in the comics) is actually pronounced Kon-stin-tyne.


 * Although the passage of time in comic books is greatly condensed from that of the real world, the events from the Hellblazer comic book series usually takes place in "real time".

Constantine (2005)
In 2005, John Constantine was the titular hero of the film Constantine starring Keanu Reeves. Reeves' version of the character was a dramatic departure from the original, who was an American with dark hair operating out of California. The film loosely adapts elements from the "Dangerous Habits" storyline written by Garth Ennis.