Savage Savant

The thing is that Hellblazer was bleeding readers after Azzarello left the book. Vertigo kept it going until issue #300 with sales far below anything that DC Comics would allow to continue. When DC decided they wanted to relaunch the book, they didn't just want to keep the same fans as were reading Hellblazer, they wanted to create a lot of new fans of the character. To be brutally honest, they did, to an extent, succeed, considering that the sales on Constantine were numbers that Hellblazer could only wish for within the last decade of its existence. However, the sales were also pretty bad by comparison with other New 52 titles, so it's not like it was a total success. So, DC relaunched the book again with a new creative team and new direction and new take on the character. This version is failing even quicker than Constantine though. I'm not sure there actually is a market for the character anymore, not compared to the sales figures that DC is wanting from their monthly books. Except, DC has decided to save the character one more time, even though the sales are just not there.

At this point, I think it's a matter of DC experimenting with the character or the character just being canceled. I don't think DC has faith in the Hellblazer concept being marketable to fans outside of the cult following that the Vertigo series maintained through #300.

As much as I wish it was a case of DC mishandling the character and needing to listen to the fans, I don't believe there are enough diehard Hellblazer fans left to be worth it to DC economically to bother to listen to us. I'd rather DC just let the character go at this point. Each relaunch seems to be doing a greater disservice to the character from Moore and Delano.

Ouch! I guess I'm the only diehard DC & HB fan on this board then. I know a lot of people will cringe at this but I like the fact that HB (& by extension the other Vertigo horror/fantasy characters & mythos) are in their own corner of the DCU but still faintly a part of it no less. I believe it's mostly a manner of the people at DC are idiots and don't honestly have any passion or love for these characters. Of course they're trying to make money but it doesn't seem like they care about what the fans want or respecting the history of these characters.

Anyway I don't think Constantine can ever truly be mainstream per se, but the character can potentially develop a stronger following. I mean I find it hard to believe HB didn't influence things like the Dresden Files or Supernatural, etc so the character's influence in pop culture is there, just subtle.

On a sidenote, I personally look to a lot of the stuff 2000AD publishes when I desire comic tales similar to HB. I'm surprised 2000AD doesn't get a lot of love in the comic book community since they heavily inspired a lot of comic culture. For some reason, I just find British sci-fi to be more imaginative & though-provoking than most tales spun out from here in the States. My 2 cents.

I guess outside of Dr. Who it's kinda hard for British sci-fi series overall to gain a large following in the States...

Alright I've only read all of Delano's run & outside of the issue with Ray Monde, Delano didn't touch upon John's sexuality. I know John's sexuality was touched upon more in the later runs but not earlier (also Moore never mentioned John being bi or anything like that). That being said I don't really care 1 way or the other what the character does with his dong, I just don't understand why fans like this person http://tykki.tumblr.com/post/103634169717/constantine-tv-why-we-should-let-it-die & her followers make it such a big deal that John's not being portrayed as bi in the show (or any other medium outside of HB). I know John was inspired by Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius who was bi so it doesn't bother me whether he's portrayed as such, I just don't understand why fans get bent outta shape over it.

NBC, for its part, is still clearly behind the series, even putting the stars in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. The thirteen episode season will air as scheduled, continuing in the Friday 10pm timeslot. Sister station Syfy has even run a marathon of episodes to help promote the show.

 

This sounds positively surreal, can't wait to see the... Constantine/NBC float? Constantine balloon?

 

Ok, well i just saw this. It was an interview in the crowd by loveable weather man Al Roker. Matt Ryan said our boy John was probably spending his Thanksgiving smoking and drinking Whiskey. Then they threw to Sting doing some sort of song and dance which i felt was neat and wondered if NBC knew the connection those two have.

Yeah I thought it was ironic that after they interviewed the cast they immediately showed Sting performing a song from one of his musicals. I actually thought it was pretty cool to be honest (plus I kinda dug the song as well).

It looks like Phantom Stranger is in the reflection of the puddle...

 

“what if John Constantine was a [over-used word]?”

We already had the Brian Azzarello and Peter Milligan runs.

 

I'm not sure about the story. I'm sure it'll be a good story, but as far as being a Hellblazer replacement, I always liked John because of him being the working class mage. Turning him into a celebrity figure turns me off.

I agree. For me one of the things I liked about Hellblazer was the social commentary and how John was always a leftist by nature.

Regarding a replacement for HB, I guess the closest we'll get is the Sandman Slim novels by Richard Kadrey.

I guess the real question about your Fear Machine reading is: did you notice the speech balloon near the end where COLOREDS has hastily and unconvincingly replaced a slightly shorter word?

Didn't seem to notice that when I read it, suppose I'll flip thru it again & see. Thinking back on it now, that ending was a big WTF honestly.

Btw, disregarding the fact that DC/WB is ran by baboons at the moment, do you believe the real JC will return someday either in comics, film or tv (preferably in a monthly format/comics medium)?

JC is such a fascinating character & I don't want to believe that he'll never be back someday. There can still be a lot of stories to be told.

Lots of good stuff in the Fear Machine, but like Gwilym I found the ending a bit of a let-down.

Yeah I finished Fear Machine the other day. I thought it was a decent read, however I found John to be very passive throughout the story. I didn't get the feel that he was utilizing his con skills to find a solution to the problem (if that makes sense). Plus I thought the ending was very rushed and left a few loose ends IMO (like WTF happened to Zed, Marj & Merc? And what happened to that fat hangman guy?).

I hope The Family Man is better read. A HB fan on another forum said they personally believe it's the definitive JC story, not Dangerous Habits. I suppose I'll make my own opinion when I get around to reading it.

Also, nice av & sig Red. I'm a leftist myself.

On a different note, The Fear Machine just arrived in the mail! From the reviews I've read, the story seems really polarizing, could just be the amazon reviews. Whatever the case I can't wait to read it, seems like a good storyline.

Hello Savage Savant. That raises an important thought, and you are just the man to ask. Did Vandal Savage ever meet John?. lol. Welcome aboard mate.

Lol thanks! I wouldn't be surprised if Vandal has met John, considering how John was around the main DC universe (from what I've heard & read on the internet) during the whole Crisis On Infinite Earths event.

Also speaking of Vandal Savage, his appearance in the Demon Knights title was actually good, but alas, since DC is being ran by baboons they decided to cancel that title about a month or two ago. This whole "New 52" has been a complete clusterfuck. Really sad time to consider oneself a DC fan.

Hey everyone what's shaking?! I've been a lurker on this forum for a few months now & I decided to "sod it" and join anyway. I'm unfortunately fairly late to the game considering how I didn't actually begin to read Hellblazer until 3 years ago. I first started off with Original Sins, which I initially found to be a decent read but kinda slow until I recently re-read it and it appreciate more. I read Dangerous Habits after that & I loved it, really kickass story & it really conveyed how clever & intelligent John really is.

I recently read The Devil You Know which had great art on top off great stories too (The Horrorist, Devil You Know & Newcastle).

Constantine's definitely one of my all-time favorite characters despite not reading much HB. I really like how JC's very clever & intelligent on-top of being a very cynical, working-class former punk musician. It's funny how John's kinda a leftist politically (like myself), yet when shit hits the fan he's willing to practically do whatever it takes to save his own hide, pretty ironic. That's another thing about HB that I like is that not only is it a horror comic, but it also has some social commentary within it as well, be it on religion or politics. I'm not very familiar with British politics, but I really liked #3 that had some brief commentary on Thatcher & that time frame of politics in the UK.

I know I'm pretty late to the scene considering how DC fucking canceled it (been busy with college & work) but I really enjoy reading HB & I find JC to be a very fascinating character. Even though the series is dead, I think it'll live on as one of the best comic series ever. I always try to recommend HB to any friends or acquaintances who read comics. Besides HB, I'm a big fan of fantasy such as Conan, 2000 AD's Slaine, Game of Thrones, etc (I'm a fan of Bisley as well, he's a great artist). l love playstation can't wait for the PS4 and I'm a big Mixed Martial Arts fan as well.

Nevertheless, sorry if it sounds like I don't have a good grasp of the character, I'm still reading through the series & I plan on collecting the whole series eventually so I still have a ways to go. I hope I like it here.