Johnny California

That was a great scene. I loved that it looked so ridiculous and then, BOOM, we're in hell. I also liked the fact that a long time in hell is barely a second on earth. That sounds like it was stolen from something else; was it?

Also, the idea that rain indicates the onset of demons was very interesting considering we just went through the Hell of Rain here in LA.

Whilst he has a predisposition for taking up magic and being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I don't think there's anything about him that makes him more magically gifted than anyone else. I feel that his talent for magic comes from practice and immersing himself in magical cultures from around the world, and having an excellent working knowledge of the basic rules of magic, which he can adapt to fit whatever he's doing at any given time.

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I haven't read it until Carey took over, but doesn't John still have Demon's Blood.

I thought they didn't even film that?

 

No zombies in the script. Certainly no piers that I know of. Could be from some of the Hell scenes, but I doubt it; isn't LA landlocked?

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It depends. Technically, it is unless you include the county and the Los Angeles pier and Marina, but really Los Angeles is as "coastal" as New York. I live in the Valley and the ocean is only 20 minutes drive (depending on traffic).

You notice that we never got an answer to the "There's water in Hell?" question. I could see the water in the ocean being a conduit allowing the damned to return to Earth. That was probably how Gabriel planned to bring about the reign of Hell, but it could've been a bit much for a PG-13 (and the movie was already confusing enough).

Though the idea that Hell is so dry because Satan has to ration water to prevent people from using it to escape is pretty interesting.

I know they cut the scene where he's in bed with a demoness (Ellie?) right after he finds out that he has cancer. That scene is supposed to go back in on the DVD.

You from the Millarworld board, Johnny?

Yep, looking for a more Vertigo/Indy and less superheroic discussion forum.

I wouldn't read a comic book based on the American Constantine, because I don't find him or the world which he inhabits interesting in the least, certainly not when I've got the undiluted version rolling in each month under the pen of Mike Carey.

 

I'm interested to see Mr. Shirley's take on the proper John Constantine, though.

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Cool.

On that note, have you enjoyed other digressions from the character in the comics. I found that Carey's is my favorite of the magician style Constantine. In fact, he seems more "magick" under Carey than any run including Ennis, but I also quite enjoyed Gaiman/McKean's and Morrison/Lloyd's singles when he seemed not magical at all. The Morrison version seemed to almost be a completely different character. More of a psychic or medium than a magician.

This is not really a "which did you like better" thread.

After seeing the movie CONSTANTINE, I was really disappointed in the story but enjoyed the tranformation from a working class British magician dealing with all sorts of mystical threats to a film niorish occult private detective caught between demons and angels.

I feel that the movie Constantine has the same relation to the comic book that Rick Deckard of BLADE RUNNER has to the main character PK Dick's novel, DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP.

Even though I wouldn't like to see the movie again, I would like to see more of that particular John Constantine and the world in which he operates. I don't think that the current comic book should change anything, but I would like to see a separate book or comic about the character from the movie that set film noir and pulp crime themes and narratives in the cold war between the underworld and heaven.

Would you read an American CONSTANTINE series or mini-series? Would Vertigo even consider publishing one?

What I find interesting is that they got a really great science fiction writer, John Shirley, for the movie novelization. I wonder if the Los Angeles Constantine could have a life in prose if they got Shirley or equally good authors for future novels or anthologies. Has Vertigo ever gotten into prose publishing before? Shirley is writing novels with the regular British Constantine, but is that through Vertigo or Warner Books?