Nightmares Illustrated 036 A Heathen’s New Year’s Eve – Blaze No More

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Top Five Picks…Buy These Right Now.

1. Dark Shadows Vampirella #5 (Dynamite).

2. The Phantom Stranger #3 (DC).

3. The Sword of Sorcery #2 (DC).

4. Justice League #16 (DC).

5. Grimm Fairy Tales Holiday 2012 (Zenescope).

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It is difficult to fully comprehend my shock and horror at reading this “blog” entry from DC. Well, “shock,” not really because this is DC, after all – a publishing company that has been specializing in destroying its long-standing readership for several years now. Horror? Yes. Read it and weep:

 

DC Comics unveils latest addition to The New 52 – CONSTANTINE

Thu, 11/08/2012 – 6:30am

Author: Pamela Mullin.

John Constantine has been a constant presence in the pages of DC Comics, having first appeared in SWAMP THING in the 1980s and up through his current adventures in the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, ANIMAL MAN and SWORD OF SORCERY.

Now, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS announced this morning that the chain-smoking British occult detective will headline his own ongoing comic book series as part of DC Comics-The New 52.

Launching in March 2013, CONSTANTINE will be written by upcoming DEMON KNIGHTS writer and New York Times bestselling author of The Homeland Directive and the sci-fi graphic novel series The Surrogates, Robert Venditti, with incredible art by Renato Guedes (SUPERMAN).

“Few characters in comics are as complex and entertaining as John Constantine, and I’m finding him to be every bit as enjoyable to write as he is to read,” says Venditti. “It’s my goal to have the new CONSTANTINE series be equal parts familiarity and surprise. This will be the Constantine we all know and love, but facing new and unexpected challenges from both inside and out.”

HELLBLAZER, Vertigo’s longest-running series which currently headlines John Constantine, will end with issue #300 in February. John Constantine has escaped, cheated, narrowly avoided and even reversed death on multiple occasions. Now, in the conclusion of “Death and Cigarettes,” longtime writer Peter Milligan and artists Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini will test whether he’s got one more second chance in him, giving him the bloody best sendoff he deserves.

 

Christ on crutches.

I have read every issue of Hellblazer and every non-Hellblazer appearance of John Constantine I could find totaling well over five hundred issues when you put them all in a pile. And even though the first appearance of the character was in my beloved Swamp Thing book, it is Hellblazer where his story, his story, is told. I guess we are all done with that. The story well must have been dipped dry. What will Constantine be like? We must at least believe it will be different than the current book or there would be no reason to change the title and strain it through DC instead of Vertigo. And because the Vertigo brand is targeted at adult audiences while DC is broader in scope, we surely must expect a watering down of content. Now, “story” could theoretically still be a compelling motivator to read the comic, maybe even more so, without the occasional nipple and “fuck,” but, seriously, what are the chances? Is to juvenilize John Constantine to make him better? I don’t think so. Look at Swamp Thing as a cautionary tale. The Vertigo books were fantastic. In fact, I love all four volumes. I know there is some resistance out there for part of these runs but I remain a stalwart defender. I also know the book started out as a DC title but the bulk of the run was under the Vertigo banner. When Swampy was resurrected as a NFT title, the book was and remains a miserable piece of shit. I am reading it still, like a junkie who still spikes long after the thrill is gone, but I don’t like it. If you have to guess what Constantine will be like, the best predictor is Swamp Thing volume five. The sadness takes me…

Maybe Vertigo itself is getting the axe. Watch out Fables – you might be next. Every other brand has been excised by DC (remember Wildstorm anyone?) so why not Vertigo? I’ll paraphrase Al Swearengen: I’d rather try touching the moon than take on DC’s thinking.

I bid a fond farewell to John Constantine. It is a good opportunity to stop reading every book the character appears in. No Constantine. No more Justice League Dark. No crossovers, specials, or minis. I’d rather have the ghost of John Constantine in my head than the pale, impotent resurrection of John Constantine before my eyes.

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Buy These Too…

The Boys Volume Twelve: The Bloody Doors Off (Dynamite). The final collection of the comic The Boys is out. I mentioned the lastissue in the previous NI so now I want to alert you to the final trade paperback. It was time for the series to go and Garth Ennis sent it out in style. The arc starts with End of Days quality revelations and the book ends with a sweetie resolution to Hughie’s tangled tale. If you weren’t a regular reader of the book this is a good place to end up.

Fairest Volume 1: Wide Awake (Vertigo). I don’t know how Bill Willingham conjures repeatedly without misstep or back step such entertaining and fresh stories but I am glad he does. I did not read Fairest as a comic (because I was suspicious of it) but I did pick up the first trade paperback collection the other day and didn’t lay it down until I turned the last page. Set in the Fables world, Fairest is powered by lovely ladies woken from a magical slumber and a feisty blue imp. Highly recommended.

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Bargain Bin…

X-Men Giant-Size #1 (Marvel). I saw this nifty little issue for 50¢. I read a lot of X-Men books but I don’t talk about them much, mainly because they are not very good. There is something about them that keeps me coming back. This special 40-page issue might be just the double quarter purchase that sinks an X hook into you. As a bargain bin purchase, I’d go all in.

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