Rassmguy

Tefe Holland is never born!

*Phantom Stranger's shoes remain piss-stainless

LOL!

OK, so if Milligan has retconned out Constantine's existence as a magic user by making him just a normal guy (as some have suggested), how does that change the rest of the universe?

* Swamp Thing possibly never learns about the Parliament of Trees or the nature of his true powers.

* Tim Hunter possibly never embarks on a career as a magician.

* Cheryl and Gemma continue to be abused by Cheryl's cult-following dickhead of a husband.

* Most of John's friends are not killed by supernatural causes, though some, such as Gary, might still face grim fates.

Continue...

By the way, I have helpfully coined a term for the condition that explains odd, out of character behaviour of the last 40 or so issues of The Hellblazer Comic.

 

The Dementia Constantine.

NICE!

It's a shame that no one continued to write Hellblazer after Andy Diggle left the series as writer. Two hundred fifty issues is a solid enough number at which to end a long-running comic, but you'd think they would have at least gone on to a full 300. I have missed Hellblazer ever since it's last issue four-plus years ago. Do any of you think it will ever be revived? And if so, who will be Diggle's successor? I look forward to DC/Vertigo someday publishing an issue #251 so we can find out whatever became of John, Gemma, Chas, Nergal, the First of the Fallen and John's past girlfriends. Sadly, we may never know. RIP: Hellblazer... 250 issues is nothing to sneeze at, and it was a mostly solid 250-issue run at that.

Oh! BAD Blood. Gotcha. That makes much more sense than Royal Blood. Thanks. :)

And no, I doubt Milligan--who doesn't seem to have a clue about Hellblazer history--either has read it or will be consistent with that miniseries.

Do you think Milligan will acknnowledge "Royal Blood"? Do you think he's even aware of it?

Hmm... I've been staring at your question, trying to recall what it is about "Royal Blood" that you're referring to, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not making the connection. Help!

If this group does a massive read-through, I'm in. I've been quiet on the forum for the past couple of years, for the simple reason that Milligan's take on Swamp Thing has been too horrible to waste time discussing. But I'm definitely aboard if you all start a re-read.

Yeah, Paul Bettany would also be a great choice.

My casting suggestions:

Swamp Thing: Aaron Eckhart

John Constantine: James Marsters

Etrigan: Michael Fassbender

Zatanna: Olivia Wilde

I hear Benedict Cumberbatch will be portraying Khan in this movie.

Guillermo del Toro is making a serious movie involving Swamp Thing, John Constantine, Etrigan and Zatanna?

:::faints:::

The reasons are varied and many:

* He displays very little understanding of what makes John Constantine tick.

* He shows only a cursory knowledge of Constantine's history and gets the details wrong when he tries to mine it.

* His plotlines are dull and uninspired.

* His new characters are one-dimensional and lifeless.

* His use of established characters, particularly Gemma and Angie, is usually very off the mark.

* Epiphany is one of the worst characters in Hellblazer history, and easily the least interesting love interest.

* His stories go nowhere and often lack a proper resolution.

* He rarely goes beneath the surface of John's psyche, although I think he believes he does.

* He made John time-travel, the trenchcoat talk, Gemma become a boring emo loser, and Cheryl have a never-mentioned son.

* He made John time-travel, the trenchcoat talk, Gemma become a boring emo loser, and Cheryl have a never-mentioned son. (I know I already listed that bullet point, but those developments were so stupid that it's worth repeating.)

* He goes for the cheap gag instead of skillfully developing a story.

* His run is very forgettable. I recall details of Ennis' and Delano's issues far better than the Milligan issues I read during the past six months.

I'm sure I could come up with more, but I've lost interest with his run and don't want to give it much more thought. I used to say that Azzarello's and Mina's runs were the worst, but I no longer do. Azzarello made some major mistakes, but his storylines were creepy and his side characters were often quite cool. And Mina, while failing to live up to the hype of her story, had a great grasp of John's character and how he speaks. Milligan utterly fails in both respects.

Not only do I not give a shit, I, in fact, take a shit.

All very entertaining answers. :)

I'd consider it a fitting end to #300 if John managed to get his sister out of Hell by willingly taking her place. He's always known that was his likely destination anyway, and there'd be a certain irony in having John redeem himself by going to a place reserved for the unredeemed.

I have to wonder what will happen when the new CONSTANTINE comic inevitably loses its readership and is canceled. Now, I know that's jumping the gun since the first issue isn't even out yet, and I could be wrong, but I really don't anticipate that the series will last for very long. Once that happens, I just can't see DC relaunching HELLBLAZER with its old continuity intact (that would require that they admit a failure, which historically, they don't do), which would mean that by launching CONSTANTINE, they'd have ironically killed the character. Granted, seeing how poorly received Milligan's run (rightfully) has been, maybe it IS time to kill off the character--and I mean that in the actual "kill the character" sense, not metaphorically. I would much rather see John have a fitting death then fade off into failed obscurity.

Which brings me to my question: Do you think issue #300 should kill off John Constantine? And if so, how would you handle his death if you were the writer?

Well, guys, it's been real. I'm out as of Hellblazer #300. I'm not even sure why I'm still reading the title as it is--but I sure as hell have no interest in reading the N52 version.

Someone please tell me this: Why am I still reading Hellblazer? It's awful. In fact, I'd say it's the worst it's ever been in its entire history. I used to say that Denise Mina's run was the worst, but at least she had an understanding of John's character. Milligan's run is beyond awful--it's a parody of awful. Other than the India story arc, I really haven't enjoyed any of it. John's wife and father-in-law are extremely boring characters; the stories just blindly stumble from one panel to the next without any regard for structure, characterization or John Constantine's established history; and Milligan's writing is simply subpar. Why am I still reading this crap? I can only surmise that I am an idiot.

Did any of you watch the miniseries "Bullet in the Face" on IFC over the past two days? I hope so, as it was hilarious. The reason I ask is that I've discovered who should play John Constantine:

http://www.ifc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/max-williams.jpg

I think I'm giving up on this title until the next writer comes aboard, and I'm also dropping Justice League Dark. Milligan has proven he has NO IDEA how to write a John Constantine title. I just don't understand how this guy hasn't been removed from the title.

Has Milligan run out of stories then?

He had stories to run out of?

Other than a few storylines, like India, I've disliked much of what he's done. He's shown an appalling lack of understanding of what makes John Constantine tick, and if the series continues beyond his tenure, I worry that he'll have irreversibly damaged the title, as the next author will be continuing from where he left off. Ugh.

Remember when they cancelled your Hellblazer subscription and gave you Batman comics instead? We should call you Cassandley.

Touche!

You know it has not been cancelled but merely removed from subscription availability?

Or at least that's what the letter says.

Oh, I know--but that's frequently a sign of imminent cancellation, as it means DC no longer has faith in the series.

Well, I'd say "It's been fun," but the truth is... it hasn't.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/05/16/dc-stops-subscriptions-for-aquaman-jl-dark-and-jli-end-with-issue-10/

I think it is remarkably wise of them to bring back The First of The Fallen at a time when he could not possibly be the worst thing in the comic.

LOL! That just might be my favorite quote in a long time.