I’m honored to have contributed an essay, “The Birth and Death of John Constantine: A Critical Analysis of Hellblazer #4 and #40,” to this new non-fiction collection exploring the influence and lore of what is probably the most important and influential modern horror comic book series. The original run of Hellblazer, 1 through 40, written by Jamie Delano had an incredible influence on my work as a writer, equal to that of reading other genre authors, such as Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, and Shirley Jackson. To be in a book with a foreword by Mr. Delano is a genuine treat. If you’re a Hellblazer fan or want to learn more about the character, give this book a look.
Many thanks to all the contributors who have made this a fantasitc collection and especially thanks to editors Rich Handley and Lou Tambone for their tireless work in editing this book–and for including me! THe book is now on sale via Amazon and The Sequart Organization. From the book description:
“British occultist John Constantine elevated Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, and it wasn’t long before John had his own spinoff comic titled John Constantine: Hellblazer. This anthology, edited by Rich Handley and Lou Tambone (of Sequart’s Somewhere Beyond the Heavens: Exploring Battlestar Galactica), examines the mage’s history from his earliest appearances to the present – not only in Swamp Thing and Hellblazer, but on film and television as well – with a special foreword by none other than Hellblazer’s creator himself, Jamie Delano. Constantine has a weakness for narcotics, alcohol, and sex; an unnatural obsession with the occult; and a long list of lovers he’s betrayed, hurt, and discarded. He’s slain his twin brother in the womb, taunted Satan, outwitted demons and angels, been trapped in Hell, and even fathered an elemental. No matter what the universe throws at him, he somehow always seems to come out on top… though his loved ones have usually ended up caught in the crossfire. At times, John can be a bastard. He has questionable hygiene and a lack of ethics, and he’ll likely hurt anyone foolish enough to let him into their lives. But John is nonetheless a hero – well, a Byronic hero, in any case. As fans, we wouldn’t have him any other way. The book features essays by Ade Brown, John E. Boylan, James Chambers, Julianne Clancy, Nancy A. Collins, Brian Cronin, Joseph Dilworth Jr., Sabrina Fried, Alex Galer, Richard Gray, Robert Greenberger, Rich Handley, Robert Jeschonek, Ross Johnson, Martín A. Pérez, Draško Roganović, Frank Schildiner, Tony Simmons, Lou Tambone, John Trumbull, James Wilkinson, and Genevieve Williams, with a cover by Leah Mangue.
