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John Constantine is a character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Constantine was created by writer Alan Moore and artists Steve Bissette, John Totleben, and Rick Veitch and made a cameo in The Saga of the Swamp Thing #25 (May 31, 1984) before his first official appearance in Swamp Thing #37 (May 31, 1985). In the DC Universe continuity, Constantine is a working-class warlock, occult detective, and con man based in London. An antihero, Constantine is cynical and foul-mouthed, known for his ruthless cunning, deadpan snarking, and constant chain smoking. Constantine was originally introduced as a member of Swamp Thing's supporting cast before spinning out into his own comics, in which he battles demons and other supernatural threats.

Moore developed Constantine so Bissette and Totleben, who were fans of the band The Police, could draw a character who looked like Sting. To insert a Sting lookalike into the Swamp Thing mythos, Moore decided to create a charismatic character who subverted the typical trend of older, polite comic book mystics. Constantine proved popular among readers, and was given a spin-off, Hellblazer, in 1988; the first Hellblazer writer, Jamie Delano, considerably fleshed out the character with an origin story and supporting cast. After Hellblazer was adopted by DC's Vertigo imprint in 1993, Constantine rarely appeared outside his comic. The Brightest Day (2010–2011) crossover event and The New 52 (2011) reboot reintroduced Constantine to DC's main comic line.

Creation and development

• https://comicbook.com/dc/news/the-secret-origin-of-john-constantines-first-appearance/
• https://www.vulture.com/2014/10/secret-history-of-john-constantine.html
• http://www.qusoor.com/hellblazer/Sting.htm

Concept

The development of the character that would become John Constantine began early in British writer Alan Moore's 1984–1987 run on DC Comics' Swamp Thing (then titled The Saga of the Swamp Thing), when Moore and American artists Steve Bissette and John Totleben were working on a storyline featuring a crossover with Etrigan the Demon. In Swamp Thing #25 (June 1984), Bissette and Totleben drew a background character who resembled Sting, the principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist of the rock band the Police. Bissette and Totleben were fans of the Police and notified Moore "via snail-mail exchanges of letters, 'You better do something with [Sting], because we're not going to stop drawing him.'" The involved parties' accounts of the story differ slightly; Bissette said that he was the one who asked Moore to create a Sting lookalike, but editor Karen Berger recalled it was Totleben, who was impressed by Sting's performance in the film Brimstone and Treacle (1982). However, Bissette said that Berger and the rest of DC were unaware of their plans.

Moore recalled that it was both Bissette and Totleben who made the request, as when he began writing Swamp Thing, he told the two to send him "[t]hings that they had always wanted to do ... but never thought they would get away with" so he could try to incorporate their ideas in his stories. Moore agreed to continue developing the character from Swamp Thing #25 for fun, and began to ponder how to incorporate Sting into Swamp Thing. Moore said:

I have an idea that most of the mystics in comics are generally older people, very austere, very proper, very middle class in a lot of ways. They are not at all functional on the street. It struck me that it might be interesting for once to do an almost blue-collar warlock. Somebody who was streetwise, working class, and from a different background than the standard run of comic book mystics.

Moore drew inspiration for Constantine from the traditions of English mysticism, which he had been exploring at the time, and the Eddie Campbell character Dapper John. Dapper John was a "wide boy", an archetype that Moore decided to lift for Constantine. Moore described Constantine as having been drawn from a wide variety of sources, including ideas about Winchester Mystery House and serial killers. Calling these disparate strands a "big intellectual puzzle", Moore described Constantine as the result of "fit[ting] it all together." Asked in 1985 about the similarities between John Constantine and the character Baron Winters (from Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan's Night Force), Moore revealed that he was a "big fan" of Wolfman and Night Force, but that he had "no intention to rip off Baron Winters". Moore explained that "I just wanted this character who knows everything, and knows everybody—really charismatic. Who knows nuns, politicians, and bikers, and who is never at a loss for what to do. I suppose there is a similarity with Baron Winters in that he is another manipulative character who has a bunch of agents working with him."

Swamp Thing

See also: Swamp Thing (comic book)

John Constantine's first full appearance came in Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985), which introduced him as a "supernatural advisor" to the main character, Swamp Thing. Constantine's introduction was penciled by Rick Veitch; Veitch's contribution was to give Constantine an earring, something he considered risqué for 1985. In his introduction, Constantine seeks out Swamp Thing in Louisiana and offers to teach him about his powers in exchange for favors. Swamp Thing #37 established many of Constantine's core characteristics, including his tendency to visit people when unexpected, his beige trench coat, and his eloquent, restrained speech. Constantine went on to become a recurring character in Swamp Thing, appearing in the next dozen issues.

Hellblazer

Main article: Hellblazer

Return to the DC Universe

Between 1992 and 2010, writers were generally restricted from using Constantine outside of Hellblazer. At the time, editorial measures prevented characters from DC's mature readers line regularly crossing paths with mainstream superheroes. Some writers created Constantine analogues to get around the measures. Grant Morrison created the Doom Patrol character Willoughby Kipling and Phil Foglio created the Stanley and His Monster character Ambrose Bierce after they were both denied permission to use Constantine. In Stanley and His Monster, Foglio mocked the measures by having other characters repeatedly confuse Bierce for Constantine. Constantine's appearances outside Hellblazer were mostly restricted to cameo appearances. By 2010, the distinctions between DC's main comic line and Vertigo had become, as journalist Rich Johnston put it, "pretty moot", and DC decided to retire the separation madate.

Literary analysis

• https://www.cbr.com/john-constantine-hellblazer-from-bayou-to-abyss-excerpt/