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Hellblazer: John Constantine Reading Order, from the Swamp Thing to the Justice League Dark

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Hellblazer: John Constantine Reading Order DC Comics

Created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben in 1984 in The Saga of Swamp Thing series, John Constantine is a working-class occult detective and con man from London. He is the antihero of the DC universe. Not loved by many, he still joined teams and help save the world, the universe, and reality.

Known for his cynicism, his deadpan snarking, his ruthless cunning, and his constant chain-smoking, John Constantine wants to help save lives, but his technic can be deadly if it’s for the greater good. Being his friend can be as dangerous as being his enemy.

John Constantine Reading Order:

Saga of the Swamp Thing John Constantine Reading OrdeBefore getting the main protagonist of his own series, John Constantine first appeared in The Saga of the Swamp Thing as a recurring guest star wreaking havoc in Alec Holland’s life.

  • Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 3
    Collects Saga of the Swamp Thing #35-42. John Constantine appeared in issues #37-40. It’s the beginning of the main storyline developed in the next book.
  • Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 4
    Collects Saga of the Swamp Thing #43-50. The storyline mostly ends here, but the epilogue is at the beginning of the next book.
  • Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 5
    Collects Swamp Thing #51-56. Here, John Constantine only appeared in issues #51 and #55.

John Constantine quickly became a popular character and started his own adventures in John Constantine, Hellblazer written by Jamie Delano.

Sandman John Constantine Reading OrderJohn Constantine made an appearance in an early issue of the Sandman by Neil Gaiman. You can find it in Sandman – Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes collected edition.

John Constantine Reading Order

  • The Books of Magic
    This is a four-issue mini-series written by Neil Gaiman about Timothy Hunter’s introduction to the world of magic by the Trenchcoat Brigade (the Phantom Stranger, Doctor Occult, Mister E, and of course John Constantine) whose duty to resolve the uncertainty around Tim’s fate one way or another.

John Constantine Reading Order

Jamie Delano stopped writing John Constantine after issue #40. Garth Ennis became the main writer on the series, then Paul Jenkins picked up after him, then Warren Ellis and Brian Azzarello.

 

Sandman John Constantine Reading OrderJohn Constantine went back into the Sandman Universe, first in the miniseries The Trenchcoat Brigade, a followup to The Books of Magic, then in another miniseries, Sandman Presents: Love Street.

John Constantine Reading Order

Hellblazer Special: Papa Midnite – This five-issue spin-off limited series collected in John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 23: No Future is set during the early part of the “Staring at the Wall” story arc collected in Hellblazer Vol. 17.

Saga of the Swamp Thing John Constantine Reading OrdeSwamp Thing – Volume 1: Bad Seed by Andy Diggle
Collects Swamp Thing v.4 #1–6. This relaunch of the Swamp Thing takes place after the “Staring at the Wall” story arc collected in Hellblazer Vol. 17. John Constantine played a role in the first storyline (6 issues).

John Constantine Reading OrderDark Entries by Ian Rankin is a stand-alone black-and-white Hellblazer graphic novel in which Constantine is recruited by a television executive to look into a locked-room mystery reality show that appears to be haunted.

John Constantine Reading Order

  • Books of Magick: Life During Wartime by Si Spencer. Set in an alternative universe, during a war amongst beings of magic linked to Tim Hunter’s power, prophesied in the original Books of Magic, John Constantine is the leader of the remainder of the human race with Zatana.

John Constantine Reading Order

Constantine/Justice League Dark (New 52)

At that point, DC Comics chose to take John Constantine out of the Vertigo imprint. He is now part of the main DC Comics universe. It’s a big departure for the series, in style, in tone, and more. It’s kind of a soft Constantine, even if he is the same character. Well, not exactly the same, some elements of the story were retconned. It’s New 52 after all.

Before going back to his solo adventures, John Constantine joined the Justice League Dark (full Justice League Dark Reading Order here).

Saga of the Swamp Thing John Constantine Reading OrdeSwamp Thing Vol. 4: Seeder – Following the events Swamp Thing taking place in Justice League Dark Vol. 3, John Constantine made a guest appearance in the Whiskey tree storyline of Swamp Thing.

John Constantine Reading Order

Constantine: The Hellblazer (DC You)

For a short time before Rebirth, there was DC You and a short Constantine solo series.

John Constantine Reading Order

Rebirth

The Big rebirth relaunch also touched The Hellblazer. Another solo series and now a new Justice League Dark series.

The Poison Truth Rebirth Hellblazer John Constantine Reading Order

John Constantine Reading Order

Black Label/Sandman Universe

Vertigo doesn’t exist anymore, the Black Label imprint was launched in its place. John Constantine is back as part of the new Sandman Universe (see Reading Order).

John Constantine Reading Order

Infinite Frontier

Constantine continues his activities without his own series, but still with the Justice League Dark and Zatanna.

 

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