It has been over a year since I recommended Alan Moore’s “Swamp Thing” in this very column. Surely, by this point all of our readers have acquired and read every volume of this amazing run by now, right? I thought so. Even if you haven’t, though, odds are pretty high that you have heard of a certain John Constantine. You know: the trenchcoat-wearing, mysterious magician played by Keanu Reeves in a terrible movie? Following his debut in Alan Moore’s “Swamp Thing,” Constantine was given his own Vertigo series, “Hellblazer,” in 1988, a series that is still running to this day. Many writers have had their hands on the laughing mage since the series began, but the very first writer to touch Constantine after Alan Moore left “Swamp Thing” was Jamie Delano. Like Moore, Delano had previously written “Captain Britain” and “Doctor Who” comics before making his big break with DC Comics — or, in this case, Vertigo. “Hellblazer” is without a doubt one of the most influential ongoing series of the late 80s, patenting that trademark Vertigo feel, and it’s all because of the brilliant mind that is Jamie Delano.
While Vertigo has branched off in a variety of directions in the past decade or so, when you heard the publisher’s name in the 1990’s you thought one thing: cerebral and somewhat surreal comics that stood in the middle of a Venn Diagram of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. “Swamp Thing” might have laid this foundation, but it was Jamie Delano’s “Hellblazer” that made this the norm. Sure, conformity isn’t something that should be praised, especially when it comes to an imprint such as Vertigo, but it couldn’t be helped; those first four years of “Hellblazer” had that level of quality that others could not help but try to capture. Within only 40 issues — less, counting the three guest issues — Delano wrote stories of all kinds, from chilling one-and-dones to a massive and intense final arc. Of all his issues, only a few fail to impress, while almost every other issue is completely knocked out of the park. Like many of the Vertigo and other “street level” paranormal series that followed it, Delano’s “Hellblazer” was steeped in the countercultural occultism of its time, and brought the psychological/philosophical implications that often accompanied such thought. Unlike much horror of today, it was horror that made you think — sure, you might find some of the ideas at play a bit ridiculous or hard to believe, but at least it got you scratching your noggin. But don’t worry — except for a couple of the most “heady” issues, Delano was able to keep his stories both mentally provoking and adequately terrifying; like a few of the other Brits of his generation, Delano could display an imagination that was simultaneously sickening and enthralling (and probably still can).
But being the original is not what makes Delano’s “Hellblazer” run stand out from the hordes of imitators. When Delano began writing John Constantine, the character was essentially a blank slate. Under Moore’s pen, Constantine appeared to be a mysterious, manipulative bastard — of course, this being Alan Moore, there was more to the character than was frequently seen, but we never got up close and personal with the character. After all, his name isn’t John “Swamp Thing” Constantine, is it? Delano could have easily kept John at a distance, revealing as little about his character as possible, but instead chose to do the opposite. His run on the title defined Constantine to a degree that, while not legally, gives him as much of a right to the title of co-creator of the character as Moore; gone were the smoke and mirrors, revealing a man who, despite all of his cunning and drive, was truly living in emotional and physical squalor. The true draw of Delano’s “Hellblazer” run above all others is the expert character work. Within #40 issues, Delano was able to convert this relatively new character into one of the most complex and fascinating characters in comics at the time, and did such a good job cementing this that John has had little problem with his characterization being shifted along with his shifting writers, especially when compared to characters in similar situations. The final arc of the run is, surprisingly for a horror book, almost completely character-based, and truly gets to the core of who John Constantine is. It’s a rocky, scary ride, and the final issue is particularly wild, but when you come out on the other side, you will have found it a journey well worth taking.
Delano also had a veritable who’s who of artists working with him, some of whom are now some of the biggest names to work in the industry. Expert artists such as Mark Buckingham, Sean Phillips, and Steve Pugh, to only name a few, were essential to the process of crafting a truly horrifying landscape. While this is one of those runs that only had a consistent writer, rather than a consistent artist, that doesn’t mean the art of Delano’s “Hellblazer” run is not to die for. Even though a variety of artists worked on it, the series maintains a visual consistency that does not jar the reader, and even then while preserving a sense of visual diversity. Perhaps the only jarring difference is Delano’s final issue, which is illustrated by Dave McKean — and, let’s be honest, all is forgiven when you’re talking about the amazing force of artistic nature that is Dave McKean.
Currently, Vertigo is in the process of reprinting Jamie Delano’s “Hellblazer” run, which is a good thing, but they’re doing it in a bit of a regrettable manner. It seems like, in order to avoid their covers looking dated, the imprint has been reaching out to more contemporary artists to do the covers. Because, as we all know, Jim Lee and John Cassaday are timeless, while Dave McKean was only a passing late 80s/early 90s fad. Still, the new edition of ‘Original Sins’ collects crossover issues with “Swamp Thing” that the previous printings left out. In the end, it’s up to whether you prefer a more complete experience or judging a book by it’s cover… but seriously, that Cassaday cover for the ‘The Devil You Know’ trade is so terrible. Either way, any comic fan owes it to themselves to pick up Delano’s first trade, ‘Original Sins,’ and any fan of horror and/or early Vertigo is morally obligated to own the rest. Get on it, people.
