298 HORROR COMICS
Th e title also introduced readers to John Constantine, a blue collar warlock who bore a
striking resemblance to the musician Sting, who would go on to star in his own series
Hellblazer. Stories used traditional horror icons and themes with a contemporary
twist, such as using lyncanthropy as a metaphor for menstruation. Moore took Swamp
Th ing all across America to explore the dark side of contemporary society and then
sent him headlong into space to explore issues of lost love. Th e darker side of human
relationships is also explored through society’s negative reactions to the inter-species
relationship between Swamp Th ing and Abigail Arcane, a female supporting character
that Moore had inherited and made his own. By issue #64 Moore had established a
signifi cant reputation for himself as a writer in U.S. comics, and he saved Swamp Th ing
from cancellation, helping the title to become one of DC’s biggest sellers. Th e series
would continue after Moore’s departure, although never reaching the same levels of
critical acclaim.
Hellblazer is an ongoing monthly comic fi rst published by DC comics in 1988.
Originally conceived under the title Hellraiser , the name was changed due to the release
of the Clive Barker fi lm of that name. Th e original creative team on the series was
writer Jamie Delano and artist John Ridgway, with covers supplied by Dave McKean.
Th e series has attracted a wealth of creative talent, including writers Garth Ennis ,
Mike Carey, Warren Ellis , Brian Azzarello , Neil Gaiman , and Grant Morrison , and
notable artists such as Steve Dillon, Cameron Stewart and Bryan Talbot. Th e comic
is still being published at the time of this writing, and has been collected in a series of
trade paperbacks. A fi lm version starring Keanu Reeves was loosely based on Ennis’s
“Dangerous Habits” storyline (issues #41–46), although much was altered in terms
of the plot and the central character, who was now transformed into a dark-haired
American.
Th e comic book series focuses on John Constantine, the British, working-class
warlock who fi rst appeared in the Moore, Bissette and Totleben issues of Swamp Th ing.
His facial appearance is modeled upon the musician Sting, as Bissette, and Totleben
were fans, and had drawn a Sting look-alike as early as issue #25. Th e Constantine
character offi cially appeared for the fi rst time in issue #37. He originally operated on
the fringes of the DC universe during his time in Swamp Th ing , and while there have
been appearances by various supernatural characters in Hellblazer , including Swamp
Th ing, the Phantom Stranger, and Zatanna, the series operates very much within its
own universe, set apart from the mainstream DC superhero universe.
Constantine was born in Liverpool, but he relocated to London during his mid-
teens. He became involved with the occult and later formed a punk rock band called
Mucous Membrane. He suff ered a nervous breakdown following an incident involving
an abused child and a demon, which left him psychologically scarred. He is often por-
trayed as wearing a trench coat, with shirt and tie (and sometimes with a suit jacket),
although he has experimented with a leather jacket at one point in the series. He is
perhaps best described as an occult detective fi gure, and has proclaimed himself to be
a “weirdness” magnet. He has had relationships with both men and women and is a
