Hellblazer bites the dust

[Dandontdare]

Welp, there goes twenty-five years of character development we'll never get back.

Welp, there goes twenty-five years of character development they can never take away from us

I won't say FTFY - but this is more my view

[CLOUDMAN]

Welp, there goes twenty-five years of character development we'll never get back.

Welp, there goes twenty-five years of character development they can never take away from us

I won't say FTFY - but this is more my view

I was a bit quick to comment negatively really - all that stuff still exists, you're absolutely right.
But at the same time it is definitely a shame to see it thrown away for the sake of a clean slate on a run that more than likely won't even last 1/4 of the original's duration.

[TordelBack]

He had his answer all ready to go, so obviously the properties of Kryptonian spunk and the RPM of Kal-el's arse have fascinated generations of males.

Indeed.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_of_Steel,_Woman_of_Kleenex

Has anyone considered the possibility that the destruction of Krypton was the result of a circle jerk by Jor-el and the ruling council?

Your father would be ashamed of your lack of logical analysis on this point.

[Frank]

He had his answer all ready to go, so obviously the properties of Kryptonian spunk and the RPM of Kal-el's arse have fascinated generations of males.

Indeed.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_of_Steel,_Woman_of_Kleenex

Brilliant. I don't want to further derail this thread, so I'll post my response on the Supes one. I read and enjoyed Hellblazer from Delano to Ennis, but not much I've heard about it since made me think I should give it another go. Still sad to see the title go, but if you're a fan of the character rather than the writers and artists you've always got the DCU version.

[Andy_Lee]

So do you think they'll keep the trench coat or go for a full spandex JC?

[SmallBlueThing]

Black and red rubber bodysuit, with those little join-lines that are so popular since Bryan Hitch drew them on The Ultimates that even Superman and Batman have them  now- along with a close-fitting 'helmet of destiny', or similar. His superhero codename will be 'The Hellblazer'.

SBT

[Frank]

So do you think they'll keep the trench coat or go for a full spandex JC?

You could argue that the mannerisms of Moore and Delano's John Constantine work, which were adopted by so many of the Vertigo titles which followed (in the same way all superheroes tend to be variations on Superman) became just as tired, formulaic and over familiar as spandex and secret identities.

[Professor Bear]

those little join-lines

They're called "seams", grandad, and they are the hottest thing in 2001.

[Andy_Lee]

Black and red rubber bodysuit, with those little join-lines that are so popular since Bryan Hitch drew them on The Ultimates that even Superman and Batman have them  now- along with a close-fitting 'helmet of destiny', or similar. His superhero codename will be 'The Hellblazer'.

SBT

...plus a utility belt for fags, more fags, lighter, more fags.

[Dandontdare]

Black and red rubber bodysuit, with those little join-lines that are so popular since Bryan Hitch drew them on The Ultimates that even Superman and Batman have them  now- along with a close-fitting 'helmet of destiny', or similar. His superhero codename will be 'The Hellblazer'.

SBT

At a Neil Gaiman reading once, he said that some producers had sent him the umpteenth potential Sandman movie script which began with the line "Cower mortals, before the might of The Sandman" He never got to page 2.

[SmallBlueThing]

Just having read Animal Man #14, 'Rotworld: The Red Kingdom part 2', it should be noted that Constantine has been off the fags for over a year within the narrative (ie since the start of Rotworld he's not been able to get any) and some big horned monster bloke allied with The Red explicitely refers to him as "Hellblazer". So, there you go. I was wondering how long it'd be before he lost the snouts- not exactly in the best interests of warner brothers to have major teen comic hero smoking tabs.

On the plus side, in the next issue: well, no spoilers, but you wouldnt get that in Hellblazer and it left me with a huge, stupid grin.

SBT 

[Professor Bear]

On the plus side, in the next issue: well, no spoilers, but you wouldnt get that in Hellblazer and it left me with a huge, stupid grin.

Never knew you were a Smallville fan, SBT.

[Ancient Otter]

With Vertigo not the force it used to be it'll be interesting what to see what 2000AD & other British creators use to break into the US comics market too.

[Montynero]

With Vertigo not the force it used to be it'll be interesting what to see what 2000AD & other British creators use to break into the US comics market too.

Creator owned. All the interesting stuff on kickstarter probably eats into Vertigo's sales a bit too.

Hellblazer was like Woolworths really. Everyone has warm feelings towards it, used to go there all the time, but times change. In principle its a great idea to have a separate universe for Hellblazer, a freedom  that gave us some of the greatest comics ever (Delano and Carey delivering my personal favourites). But cycles of renewal and rebirth are key to the comics business. I'm a stupidly optimistic person (and I choose those words precisely) which means I honestly believe there's no reason why some comic writing genius, British of otherwise, can't come in and write some mindblowingly good DCU Constantine. And if they don't, well so be it. In five years time it'll be exciting to launch him (or someone similar) back into his own universe again, and so it goes on...

[Professor Bear]

I'm a stupidly optimistic person (and I choose those words precisely)there's no reason why some comic writing genius, British of otherwise, can't come in and write some mindblowingly good DCU Constantine.

Yes there is - the current DC editorial environment -as opposed to the smaller and more creator-friendly Vertigo editorial team - is hostile to creative talent and upper management, populated as it is with ex-interns and fanboys who have very definite opinions what should be done with books and assert that creative vision whenever they can, safe in the knowledge that sooner or later (usually sooner*), anyone who doesn't agree with their input will move on while their management positions remain safe because, well, you're not going to fire someone for doing their job, are you?  DC certainly aren't, and the result is that the only people who stay in place no matter what creative shake-ups happen are the people who are causing the decline in quality and exodus of talent in the first place.
Alan Grant had a frank thing or two to say about this back when it first started to become an issue at the company, citing how he and other writers were sacked for arguing with sub-editors' decisions about what should happen in the comics on the not-unreasonable grounds that writers are the ones who should be coming up with stories.  He describes a backbiting culture of glorified secretaries going behind the backs of both talent and their own bosses to get their way.  Say what you like about Dan DiDio, but the guy's got the patience of a saint to still be trying to make comics at DC.  Me, I know it's only comics, like, but that kind of office culture would have me chucking some cunt out a window if I was working there.



* Nick Spencer's Supergirl run is probably the best example of this, as he lasted all of half an issue before he quit and never returned to the company.