HELLBLAZER

House Ad (art by Dave McKean)Spinning out of the pages of Swamp Thing, popular supporting character John Constantine (created by Alan Moore) was given his own ongoing series first written by British writer Jamie Delano, who was handpicked by Moore and impressed editors with his long term plans for the character. The title was originally to be named "Hellraiser" but was changed to Hellblazer to avoid conflicting with Clive Barker's Hellraiser film released the previous year. Delano set the tone for the series, which featured heavy social commentary of 80's England and grounded the magical and occult themes within the gritty streets of London. He also fleshed out John's origins first hinted at by Moore in Swamp Thing, which would be continued by later writers. Many popular writers, most of them British, have had tenures on the title such as Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Peter Milligan and Paul Jenkins to name a few. Famous writers Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison were also guest writers early on. The series' cover art was also acclaimed, many popular artists such as Dave McKean, Glenn Fabry, Tim Bradstreet, Lee Bermejo and Simon Bisley all provided memorable cover art work. Despite its DC Universe origins, the series largely ignored the wider DC and Vertigo Universes but for a few occasions and guest-appearances. The series itself aged in real time, as did John, who would age to his sixties by the time the series had ended. Perhaps best known as being Vertigo's longest-running comic book series because of the fact that it began before Vertigo was a publisher, five years before in fact and that it was also the Vertigo launch title which stayed in print the longest. Unlike most Vertigo volumes, due to its extreme length, this one has had various writers (many of whom are better known for other Vertigo contributions), and oftentimes the series is judged within these writer's runs rather then as a whole since the series has changed through the decades. On November 8th 2012 it was announced that Hellblazer will end at issue #300. John Constantine however will star in a new New 52 ongoing of his own called Constantine in March 2013. Before the cancellation, Hellblazer was the longest ongoing continuing monthly series without renumbering or cancellations/rebirths from either of "the Big Two" due to DC's New 52 and Marvel's reboot of Uncanny X-Men. Writers: Jamie Delano: 1-24, 28-40, 84, 250 (TOT 39)Grant Morrison: 25-26 (2)Neil Gaiman: 27 (1)Garth Ennis: 41-50, 52-83, 129-133 (TOT 47)John Smith: 51 (1)Eddie Campbell: 85-88 (4)Paul Jenkins: 89-128 (TOT 40)Warren Ellis: 134-143 (10)Darko Macan: 144-145 (2)Brian Azzarello: 146-174, 250 (TOT 30)Mike Carey: 175-215, 229 (TOT 42)Denise Mina: 216-228 (TOT 13)Andy Diggle: 230-249 (TOT 18)Peter Milligan: 250-300 (TOT 51)Most Written Issues: Peter Milligan (TOT 51)Garth Ennis (TOT 47)Mike Carey (TOT 42)Paul Jenkins (TOT 40)Jamie Delano (TOT 39)Brian Azzarello (TOT 30) Total 249 Pencillers John Ridgway #1-9 (TOT 9)Brett Ewins #7Jim McCarthy #7Richard Piers Rayner #10-16 (TOT 7)Mike Hoffman #13, 17, 48Mark Buckingham #18-22 (TOT 5)Dean Motter #23, 33Ron Tiner #23, 24, 28-30 (TOT 5)David Lloyd #25, 26, 56, 250Dave McKean #27, 40Sean Phillips #31, 34-36, 51, 84-93, 95-107, 109-114, 116-120, 250 (TOT 41)Steve Pugh #32, 37-39Will Simpson #41-47, 50, 52-55, 59-60, 75 (TOT 15)Steve Dillon #49, 57, 58, 62-76, 78-83, 157, 175, 176, 200 (TOT 28)Peter Snejbjerg #77Patrick McEown #94Charlie Adlard #108Warren Pleece #115, 121-128 (TOT 9)John Higgins #129-139 (TOT 11)Frank Teran #140Tim Bradstreet #141Javier Pulido #142James Romberger #142Marcelo Frusin #143, 151-156, 158-161, 164-167, 170-174, 177-180, 184-186, 189-193, 197-200 (TOT 35)Gary Erskine #144, 145Richard Corben #146-150 (TOT 5)Guy Davis #162, 163Giuseppe Camuncoli #168, 169, 206, 243, 244, 250-253, 256-258, 261-264, 267-275, 277-279, 281, 283, 285-290, 293-300 (TOT 44)Jock #181Lee Bermejo #182, 183Doug Alexander Gregory #187, 188Leonardo Manco #194, 195, 200-205, 207-212, 214-222, 224-228, 230-237, 239-242, 247-249 (TOT 43)Chris Brunner #196Frazer Irving #213Cristiano Cucina #223John Paul Leon #229Danijel Zezelj #238Sean Gordon Murphy #245, 246Eddie Campbell #250Goran Sudzuka #254, 255Simon Bisley #259, 260, 265, 266, 276, 282, 292 (TOT 7)Gael Bertrand #280, 284, 291Most Penciled Issues: Giuseppe Camuncoli (TOT 44)Leonardo Manco (TOT 43)Sean Phillips (TOT 41)Marcelo Frusin (TOT 35) Steve Dillon (TOT 28)Will Simpson (TOT 15)Total: 206 Hellblazer Annuals, Specials and Spin-Offs Hellblazer Annual #1 (1989)The Horrorist #1-2Hellblazer Special #1Hellblazer Annual #1 (2012)Hellblazer: All His EnginesHellblazer: PandemoniumDark EntriesVertigo Secret Files: HellblazerHellblazer: Bad Blood #1-4Hellblazer/The Books of Magic #1-2Hellblazer: City of Demons #1-5Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine #1-4.Hellblazer Special: Papa Midnite #1-5Hellblazer Special: Chas (The Knowledge) #1-5Collected EditionsNew Editions In 2011 DC/Vertigo began releasing new edition trades. These new volumes were larger, numbered numerically and contained every issue in chronological order which the previous editions skipped or had collected separately. Many of the new editions contain different issues from the originals. Vol. 1: Original Sins (#1-9, Swamp Thing #76-77)Vol. 2: The Devil You Know (#10-13, Hellblazer: Annual and Horrorist #1-2)Vol. 3: The Fear Machine (#14-22)Vol. 4: The Family Man (#23-33)Vol. 5: Dangerous Habits (#34-46)Vol. 6: Bloodlines (#47-61)Vol. 7: Tainted Love (#62–71, Hellblazer: Special and a story from Vertigo Jam)Vol. 8: Rake at the Gates of Hell (#72-83, Heartland and pin-ups from Hellblazer Special)Vol. 9: Critical Mass (#84-96)Vol. 10: In the Line of Fire (#97-107)Vol. 11: Last Man Standing (#108-120)Vol. 12: How To Play With Fire (#121-133)Vol. 13: Haunted (#134-145, Shoot story from Vertigo Resurrected, and three stories from Vertigo: Winter's Edge)Vol. 14: Good Intentions (#146-161 and a story from Vertigo Secret Files: Hellblazer)Vol. 15: Highwater (#162-174)Vol. 16: The Wild Card (#175-188)Vol. 17: Out of Season (#189-201)Vol. 18: The Gift (#202-215)Vol. 19: Red Right Hand (#216-229)Vol. 20: Systems of Control (#230-238, All His Engines)Vol. 21: The Laughing Magician (#239-249 and Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine #1-4)Vol. 22: Regeneration (#250-260, Chas (The Knowledge) #1-5)Vol. 23: No Future (#261-266)Vol. 24: Sectioned (#267-275)Vol. 25: Another Season (#276-291)Vol. 26: The Curse of the Constantines (#292-300, Hellblazer Annual (2011), and Hellblazer Special: Bad Blood #1-4)Original Editions Hellblazer: Original Sins (#1-9)Hellblazer: The Devil You Know (#10-13, Hellblazer: Annual, Horrorist #1-2)Hellblazer: The Fear Machine (#14-22)Hellblazer: The Family Man (##23-24, #28-33)Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits (#41-46)Hellblazer: Bloodlines (#47-50, #52-55 and #59-61)Hellblazer: Fear and Loathing (#62-67)Hellblazer: Tainted Love (#68–71, Hellblazer: Special and a story from Vertigo Jam)Hellblazer: Damnation's Flame (#72-77)Hellblazer: Rake at the Gates of Hell (#78-83, Heartland)Hellblazer: Son of Man (#129-133)Hellblazer: Haunted (#134-139)Hellblazer: Setting Sun (#140-143)Hellblazer: Shoot (#144, 145, 245, 246 & 250)Hellblazer: Hard Time (#146-150)Hellblazer: Good Intentions (#151-156)Hellblazer: Freezes Over... (#157-163)Hellblazer: Highwater (#164-174)Hellblazer: Red Sepulchre (#175-180)Hellblazer: Black Flowers (#181-186)Hellblazer: Staring at the Wall (#187-193)Hellblazer: Stations of the Cross (#194-200)Hellblazer: Reasons to be Cheerful (#201-206)Hellblazer: The Gift (#207-215)Hellblazer: Empathy is the Enemy (#216-222)Hellblazer: The Red Right Hand (#223-228)Hellblazer: Joyride (#230-237)Hellblazer: The Laughing Magician (#238-242)Hellblazer: Roots of Coincidence (#243-244, #247-249)Hellblazer: Scab (#251-255 and a short story from 250)Hellblazer: Hooked (#256-260)Hellblazer: India (#261-266)Hellblazer: Bloody Carnations (#267-275)Hellblazer: Phantom Pains (#276-282)Hellblazer: The Devil's Trench Coat (#283-291)Hellblazer: Death and Cigarettes (#292-300 and Hellblazer Annual #1)Other Collected Editions Hellblazer: Rare Cuts (#11, #25–26, #35, #56, #84)John Constantine, Hellblazer: 30th Anniversary Celebration (#11, 27, 41, 63, 120, 146, 229 & 240)Constantine: The Hellblazer Collection (Constantine: The Official Movie Adaptation, Hellblazer #1, #27 and #410.Hellblazer by Garth Ennis Omnibus (#41-50, 52-83 & 129-131)Vertigo Resurrected: Shoot (Contains the original #141, the censored story: "Shoot")Vertigo Resurrected: Hellblazer (#57-58, #245-246)Other Related MaterialHouse of Mystery Halloween Annual short stories set in the DCU/Vertigo universe.The Trenchcoat BrigadeThe Books of MagicVertigo EncyclopaediaVertigo Secret Files: Swamp ThingWinter's Edge #1-3. The Three Winter's Edge stories would be collected in Vertigo Resurrected: Winter's Edge.9-11 Vol.2