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dc comics should never have taken on john constantine for a variety of reasons, but mainly that. sorry, but a lot of people- not just comic readers, but people overall- cannot connect to the constant sex he proclaims and is shown to have in the dc series, with men and women alike. i knowi myself cannot connect with him in the dc universe because that's all it really is- sex, sex, sex. oh look, it's mostly women, but this one time it's with a guy! crazy! they stop trying to make him human. of course, in hellblazer, john had his plethora of problems and constant newly generated traumas, but he also had moments where he was just a guy. a guy who wanted to hang out with his friends. a guy who wanted to stay home with his girlfriend. a guy who cares deeply about his friends having a baby, or his friends who had aids. he is deeply inbedded into politics and engages in it on such a consistent basis that taking it away from him is just ripping his character in half.

let's be honest, though. it's mainly dc people who haven't read anything for him that want to write him, because they think they can somehow do better despite not having of read anything vertigo produced. which sucks, because currently, with our political climate, i think john would be very much aware of it.

if only people understood he's a very political character.

John Constantine was made to represent the common man. However he was later stripped of said humanity because comic writers couldn’t handle relating to a bi, mentally ill, homeless British guy.

I think a reason why many Hellblazer fans relate to John is because he IS them. Some Bloke who struggles. Who represents the average working class man. Friends struggling with addiction that consumes him like a monster. Ghost of past relationships that eats away at him and ruin his interpersonal relationship. Stigmatised mental health that makes it impossible for him to keep a job (an essay I am almost down btw) he’s so funny or relatable in a horror situation because he just wants to survive. A base urge all humanity can relate to. When he sees a monster he doesn’t go to slay it out of some heroism. He goes “fuck no” and sods off.

But.

Noticeably later writers chose to remove aspects about him that made him relatable. Kind. Like his love. Such a core feature of him removed and replaced with this overly cynical view of the world. I don’t think this was done out of malicious intent. While his character largely changes in newer comics to fit a narrative (and steal characters like Zatanna’s spotlight. Which is weird cus it kinda just feels like they wanted a man to take his role) I think it was instead new writers being uncomfortable about what he represents. How he was close to them. In an attempt to make John before “consumable” they villainised the very groups that read his comics.

Or something idk.

Consumerism killing the common man. Funny. Exactly what John protests about.

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yapping a lot on main rn but i take writing john very seriously. i think he's a lot more mild mannered than he's depicted in most works and this ties specifically into how oversexualized he is. which is another can of worms. he's just a guy. you can't mess that up. he's a bit of a bitch but he's just some guy. he likes to relax, read the newspaper, lounge on the couch watching tv, laugh with his friends. it's those little moments that are so important in hellblazer when he's not losing his mind from all the traumatic things that happen to him. to strip his normalcy of him is leaning into the facade he creates for himself.

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i cannot handle the dc x dp fandom crossovers because they are all absolutely terrible i am so sorry to those that enjoy but it truly never is true to the characters.

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basically what reading hellblazer is

hellblazer 2019 posting

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oh hell yeah

Good news everyone. I've decided to bring back Constantine Tits Tuesday. By force (ran out of his cannon titties so now well be drawing this shit.)

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LMAO yeah he’s old as hell taste dust old man

also happy birthday john constantine my good friend john constantine

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the funniest thing is that that’s the shot they use which isn’t that bad at all and then the next panel is THAT

don't be dramatic, the photo isn't THAT bad

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this always makes me laugh 😭

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the clear john reference in the dmc anime 🙄 sick of dante ( i am in love with him do not mind me )

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“some of us have a job” like reading a comic book doesn’t take maybe 10 minutes max

Obvious clarification that if you do not want to read comics you do not have to read comics but why when you suggest very neutrally that if you're into an adaption of a comic book, maybe it would be nice to read the source material do people act like you just shot their dog in front of them. It's picture books babe you should not be having this severe reaction to being suggested to read picture books.

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exposing the people to john

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i need people to realize my account is not a safe space for "it's okay to say a bisexual person is straight" believers, especially when it comes to john constantine and being bisexual is a big part of his character. this is not an argument i feel the need to repeat, nor is it something i'm going to keep arguing. if you want to be ignorant, then that is on you and not me.

fourth time it's happened. i'm just going to start hitting block.

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I don’t know if this is just me but like.

John Constantine is a very intriguing way to tell about grief. It’s very realistic, and when I first read Hellblazer on accident while coping with a major loss I was like “he gets me!” Especially when it comes to the Newcastle incident. I love old Hellblazer for creating a realistic mentally ill guy

Recently watched a LOT of new dc-John for a project I’m working on in college and the way modern adaptions choose to use those ideas is very. Odd? Do you know what I mean? I feel like a lot of the weight in his emotions or mental issues is either not there, watered down, or just used as a plot point. I can’t tell if I’m just overly critical of new content for him or if they just can’t write him.

I feel like they don’t let him grieve or anything anymore.

i can see where you're coming from. though honestly, a lot of the new stuff for john in general- mostly dc related, naturally- tends to be temporary. honestly, i don't think he's ever mentioned newcastle for anything more than a passing moment in dc content.

one of the biggest things that draws people to john and hellblazer alike is that it doesn't just take trauma and turn it into a passing event, but reminds you that it is a consistent thing. there will be events that arise that trigger this trauma. mental illness is a thing people deal with. dc projects, unless it's batman and even then i'm not going to try and say they did a great job with that ( and before people say i'm wrong, i'm going to say nightwing got shot in the head and apparently didn't really handle the trauma of losing all your memories and surviving a near death experience. argue what you want, but he should definitely have been like oh wow that sucked or got a chance to be like wow my life fucking sucked for a minute. love u dick grayson. ).

hellblazer lets john's father be consistent throughout the story- or consistent enough that it is understood that john has negative feelings about his father. there are moments where john allows himself to feel upset about things for more than just one issue. so i agree with what you're saying- he doesn't get to grieve because in dc, we only get to see him as someone who jokes and laughs and does magic tricks.

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why the fuck are icons so circular

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A+ plan John. No notes.

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cranky brit

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reverse gatekeeping. I am on my knees begging people to engage with the source material