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In case you just surfed in here and don’t know what this is, it’s a fanboy’s listing of his favorite comic book character’s appearances, both in his own magazine, and others. If this frightens you, run away now. Still with me? John Constantine is the most intriguing character in comics today. Created by comics legend Alan Moore in 1985, Constantine is a working-class mage, a thief, a con-artist, former punk, and savior of the known universe. Constantine is by turns a total bastard, a drunk, a trickster, an adrenaline junkie, a womanizer, and sometimes, when no one is looking, a nice guy. He has no superpowers, only a sharp wit, a little bit of magic, and a reputation Aleister Crowley would envy. In 1993, John was moved from the mainstream DC universe into the Vertigo universe. The Vertigo imprint provided a more mature atmosphere apart from the regular DC titles, and allowed the characters to use unpretty words. While in his Vertigo title, John actually aged, so a character that began at thirty-five years old was close to sixty when the Hellblazer series ended. Nineteen years later, in 2012, the DC universe was rebooted, and Constantine was drawn back into the DC mainstream, where he now interacts with superheroes again. And his language is less foul than is used to be. Still, he is a fascinating character. Where other mages and magical character are usually some sort of nobility, John is a working-class mage. His motivations are seldom heroic, and he can be very selfish. This complexity and loose moral code give him a depth and a humanity that is often lacking in mainstream comics characters. Although the New 52 version of John is watered down and more in keeping with the more heroic vision f the DC Universe, every now and then, some of the nasty and thoroughly selfish John Constantine pops into his dialog. He's still worth following.
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