It’s Time For DC Comics To Bring Hellblazer Back–With a Twist

Two of the most iconic elements of DC Comics are legacy and horror, which also happen to be the primary ingredients of John Constantine’s Hellblazer series. Hellblazer was Vertigo Comics’ longest running series, spanning 300 issues until the series was concluded in 2013. Following the harrowing adventures of John Constantine, a sometime conman, warlock, and occult detective, Hellblazer mixed gritty realism with fantasy for twenty-five years of publication history. With Vertigo now defunct and replaced by DC’s Black Label prestige format, there is a creative void in DC’s lineup that a Hellblazer revival could easily remedy.

While Constantine is currently a part of DC’s Infinite Frontier era, as a member of the Justice League Dark, he deserves to have his original series brought back in one of DC’s other imprints. With their Black Label imprint, DC has found success in creating stories not bound to current continuity, giving creators free rein to reimagine DC’s most iconic characters in new contexts. In addition, DC has also created the DC Horror imprint in an effort to merge existent Warner Bros. properties like The Conjuring into comics, while also providing a dedicated space for original horror stories. By bringing back Hellblazer, DC would have the chance to kill two birds with one stone, as Hellblazer falls under both the mature scope of Black Label and its emergent DC Horror imprint.

What makes Hellblazer such an iconic series is that, at its best, it balances political commentary, horror storytelling, and character studies about ordinary people at the fringes of British society. By combining all of these elements, Hellblazer sought to get at a larger truth about modern British life, one that was too awful to be recognized on face value. Coupled with the fact that it brought together some of the best emergent talent in comics, including the likes of Jamie Delano, Dave McKean, Steve Dillon, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Peter Milligan, and Garth Ennis, Hellblazer was a creatively expansive series from its inception. With these three elements in play, Hellblazer was ahead of its time more than thirty years ago, and its perspective has never been more necessary.

Despite what some may think, comics have always been political, and Hellblazer has never tried to hide this fact. Constantine himself is an openly bisexual, working-class man from Liverpool, noted for his hatred of Margaret Thatcher’s policies and the Royal Family. Early Hellblazer comics depict Constantine’s clashes with xenophobic racists, a fact which feels all too relevant today in the age of Brexit. With British politics in a current state of turbulence, it is safe to say that Hellblazer would continue to provide an insightful look at society’s ills.

In addition, the entire ethos behind John Constantine’s character is truth–a value that speaks closely to current times. He uses magic as a way to reveal the darkest parts of society, keeping the fantasy elements of his story grounded in current times. Despite being a conman, Constantine’s refreshingly honest experience of reality makes him an unsung hero in the DC Universe. John Constantine has never felt more necessary in a world where the notion of objective truth has become a political weapon, and by bringing back Hellblazer, DC Comics has the chance to spotlight one of its most important sentinels.

About The Author

Jules Chin Greene
(245 Articles Published)

Jules Chin Greene is an editor, filmmaker, and animator based in Los Angeles. She has a B.A. in English and Cinema Studies from Oberlin College, where she was awarded Excellence in Critical Writing for her thesis on Indigeneity and Anti-Imperialism in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In her free time, she enjoys roller-skating and horror movies. You can find her on Twitter at @JulesChinGreene.

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