Hellblazer Son Of Man TP Garth Ennis Preacher 1st print Vertigo John Constantine

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John Constantine, Hellblazer: Son of Man Paperback
by Garth Ennis (Author), John Higgins (Illustrator)

Written by Preacher co-creator Garth Ennis with /War Story’s John Higgins. John Constantine’s pulled a lot of shady stunts over the years, but perhaps none as bad as the time he “resurrected” organized crime boss Harry Cooper’s 5-year-old son, Ronnie. Now, 15 years later, he’s got to deal with the ungodly consequences of his actions as the now-adult Ronnie prepares to bring an unprecedented evil into the world. Cover by Glenn Fabry.

Collecting Hellblazer #129-133

Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Vertigo

Preacher creator Garth Ennis’ brief return to writing Hellblazer wound up being this storyarc collected here, which why it may not be his best work on Hellblazer, it’s certainly an admirable work. Son of Man finds chain smoking, master of black magic John Constantine struggling to save the life of his best mate Chas Chandler when he’s wrongfully implicated in a botched murder, and soon enough Constantine is left to fend off a demonic child, who he resurrected years earlier, with the fate of the world in the balance. Son of Man is worth reading for fans of Hellblazer and Ennis, just don’t expect another Dangerous Habits or anything influential (bits and pieces of the overall storyline were supposedly used in the recent big budget movie adaptation), but despite all that it’s still a more than solid and horriffic tale in the Hellblazer mythos.

Cynical sorcerer John Constantine practices the mystic arts and stirs up trouble in London’s back alley in the comic book Hellblazer. In this collection, his usual necromantic demimonde intersects with the criminal underworld when his hapless mate, Chas, is implicated in the botched murder of crime boss Harry Cooper’s brother. As often happens, Constantine’s past resurfaces to haunt him: 16 years ago, Cooper forced the young magician to raise his five-year-old son, Ronnie, from the dead. Now, just as Ronnie prepares to unleash an unimaginable evil upon the world, Constantine reenters the picture. This story arc reteams writer Ennis and artist Higgins, his collaborator on the crime-noir graphic novel Pride & Joy; Higgins’ slightly cartoony art accentuates the tale’s broad, over-the-top aspects but undermines its horrific elements. Still, the denouement and the fate of the gangsters are genuinely chilling.

Constantine appeared in the 2005 film Constantine portrayed by Keanu Reeves. The film used some elements from Garth Ennis’ “Dangerous Habits” story arc (issues No. 41–46) and others—such as the inclusion of Papa Midnite—from the “Original Sins” trade paperback. The film changed several aspects of the source material, however, including a number of cosmetic changes to the lead character, e.g., his name is spoken as “constan-teen”, and Reeves played the role with his natural accent and hair colour, as well as the film basing him in Los Angeles (although the director pointed out that the comic book was not exclusively set in London either). Other differences to the comic were made, for example giving him a psychic ability to see “half breeds” as they truly are—a curse that caused him to attempt suicide which in turn damned him to Hell. He was also given the ability to render invisible beings in his proximity visible by using the incantation “Into the light I command thee” and two magical glyphs (called “The Perfect Red King” from Eugenius Philalethes’s “The Speculum Veritatis”) on his arms to combine, which he uses to uncloak the archangel Gabriel directly after he attacked his friend Chas. Unlike the comic version, Constantine’s exorcism tools are primarily based on Christian relics rather than generic supernatural items; the novelisation expanded on this by explaining that, as Constantine comes from a Christian culture, he has a greater natural understanding of the power of Christian relics that makes it easier for him to use them. Constantine’s exorcisms are motivated by a desire to redeem himself for his past suicide, yet they are constantly doomed to fail as everything he has done has fundamentally been for his own benefit rather than for the selfless betterment of others. The resolution of the lung cancer plotline in the film was also amended, with Lucifer saving the redeemed Constantine to give him a second chance at failing after Constantine willingly sacrificed a chance to save his own life to ask Satan to send the innocent Isabel Dodson to Heaven (Isabel having committed suicide to prevent herself being used as a host for a demonic incursion). Lucifer also removed the tumors from Constantine. The film version would later become a piece of DC canon in November 2019.

A live-action Constantine TV series was developed for NBC with Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer writing and executive producing the series. Welsh actor Matt Ryan was cast in the title role, for which he adopted Constantine’s blond hair. The show, which lasted thirteen episodes before cancellation, followed John’s journeys across America alongside his friend Chas and a young woman named Zed who is being hunted down by a demon. Along the way, he solves supernatural mysteries, vanquishes demons, and clashes with officious angels sent to watch over him. Despite a positive reaction from fans, poor ratings led to the show not being renewed. A decision not to explore Constantine’s bisexuality in the show caused some consternation with fans, although the character continued to be portrayed as bisexual in the comics. Following his reintroduction into the Arrowverse, Constantine is confirmed to be bisexual.

Following the cancellation of Constantine, a crossover episode with The CW’s TV series Arrow aired, with Matt Ryan reprising his role as John Constantine in the episode “Haunted” as a guest star. In flashbacks, he first meets Oliver Queen on the island Lian Yu where he introduces Oliver to magic and gives him a tattoo for magical protection after Oliver saves his life. In the present-day narrative, set five years later, Oliver calls in a favor from John, who helps him restore the soul of his friend Sara Lance after she is resurrected by the Lazarus Pit. Constantine’s off-screen adventures are subsequently referred to in the episodes “Taken” and “Genesis” including Oliver’s announcement that Constantine is in Hell.

Matt Ryan reprised his role in the third season of Legends of Tomorrow in a recurring capacity. Aboard the Waverider, John Constantine requests Sara Lance’s help in performing an exorcism on a young girl possessed by what turns out to be Mallus, the Legends’ current demonic adversary, and offers the Legends advice on how they might be able to overcome their enemy. In season 4, Constantine joined the Legends with Ryan as a series regular. He was also in two episodes of the five-night crossover extravaganza “Crisis on Infinite Earths” in which he attempted to assist Mia Smoak in resurrecting Oliver Queen but only ended up bringing back his body due to being unable to bring back his soul due to the antimatter wave causing the pillars of magic to crumble. As a result, he takes Mia and John Diggle to Earth-666 where it is revealed that he is friends with Lucifer Morningstar, a.k.a. the Devil, who assists him in traveling to Purgatory to rescue Oliver’s soul. In Purgatory, his friendship with Jim Corrigan aka the Spectre is also revealed when Corrigan’s ghost appears and passes his powers on to Oliver, tasking him with saving the Multiverse and preventing him from going back.

Johanna Constantine and her great-great-great-grandmother of the same name appear in the first season of the Netflix streaming television series The Sandman in a main capacity, portrayed by Jenna Coleman. Depicted from the eighteenth-century to the present day, both Constantines serve as occult detectives who encounter the forces of creation.

HBO Max’s Constantine series is set to mix urban action with body horror and the supernatural in the newly revealed synopsis.

Back in January 2020, it was announced that J.J. Abrams, and his production company Bad Robot, were working on a series of movies and shows centered around DC Comics Justice League Dark, a branch of the Justice League dedicated to fighting mystical and supernatural threats. Not much news came from the projects until February 2021 when it was announced they would be teaming up with HBO Max for a new Constantine series, and now we are getting some plot details.

According to a report by Knight Edge Media, fans can expect the new series to be a blend of urban action, body horror, and the supernatural.

In DC Comics, John Constantine is a sorcerer and occult detective created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John Totleben. He is a fan-favorite part of the mystical side of the DC Universe, often seen fighting demons and teaming up with fellow Justice League Dark members Swamp Thing, Madame Xanadu, Zatanna, and Detective Chimp.

From the newly released synopsis of the series, it seems that the series will be tackling the origins of the character. Rather than the experienced and jaded character that fans come to expect from Constantine, they will get to see the early days of the character as he first gets pulled “into the dark and treacherous world of the occult.

Read the full synopsis below:

The series blends urban action, body horror, and the supernatural on the streets of modern-day London. It follows a young man whose entire world is upended when a chance encounter with a young girl pulls him into the dark and treacherous world of the occult.

The first casting call adds some credence to the theory that this will be tackling Constantine’s origins. In the comics, the characters tragic backstory involved a young girl who he failed to save, and she ended up getting dragged to hell, with that mistake and failure haunting him for much of his career.

This series will be the third live-action adaptation of the character. He was first played by Keanu Reeves in the 2005 film Constantine. The character was then played by Matt Ryan in the NBC series Constantine and then would reprise the role in Arrowverse shows on the CW, eventually becoming a series regular on Legends of Tomorrow. The character has also appeared in a number of animated films, series, and video games over the years.

This new Constantine series for HBO Max is scheduled to begin filming this September in London and Morocco.

Collecting Hellblazer #129-133. Near mint, 1st print.