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Constantine’s debt due to a past favor; Papa Midnite, a powerful African magus who
has had an antagonistic relationship with the hero; and Gemma, Constantine’s niece
who plans to carry on her uncle’s work.
In his Sandman series, Gaiman introduced Lady Johanna Constantine, John’s
Elizabethan ancestor. With this character, Gaiman implies that the Constantine
family serves important historical roles as magic users and tricksters, and other
writers have expanded this list of Constantine ancestors. In 2005, a film version
of the Hellblazer series, titled Constantine , was produced, starring Keanu Reeves as
the hero. The film featured many of the characters from the series, including Papa
Midnite and Chas, and particularly borrowed elements from Ennis’s run on the
series.
Andrew J. Kunka
HELLBOY. Mike Mignola’s signature character, a red, muscular half-demon with
sawed-off horns and the Right Hand of Doom (an oversized rock-like hand that can
bring about the end of the world) made his debut in 1993 at the San Diego Comic Con.
From his humble beginnings as a
section in a Dark Horse Comics
giveaway, the confl icted demon
has successfully crossed over into
other media, including fi lms, prose
novels, and merchandise.
In 1994, as part of Dark
Horse’s Legend imprint, Hell-
boy: Seeds of Destruction was
published as a four-issue minise-
ries. Scripted by John Byrne , it
introduced the origin of Hellboy:
summoned by Nazi occultists in
World War II to help bring about
the destruction of the world,
the baby red demon is rescued
when the ceremony is inter-
rupted by U.S. troops. Professor
Trevor Bruttenholm (pronounced
“Broom”), a British parapsychol-
ogist working for the U.S. Bureau
of Paranormal Research and De-
fense (B.P.R.D.), adopts and raises
the demon as a son. Hellboy is
secretly trained and educated as
a paranormal investigator by the
Ron Perlman as Hellboy, in the 2004 live-action film by the
same name, directed by Guillermo del Toro. Sony/Photofest
