Hellblazing! 25 Years of John Constantine

By John Freeman on April 19, 2011

Hellblazer writer Jamie Delano will be making a rare public appearance in the UK this weekend at in London.

For those who don’t already know, John Constantine: Hellblazer, published by DC Comics, centres on a magus who investigates occult crimes, hauntings and disasters. Originally a secondary character introduced during Alan Moore’s revolutionary Swamp Thing run, Delano was the title’s original writer, chosen by Alan to continue John’s adventures, and established the character in his own right, fleshing out what had been, in Moore’s hands, a more shadowy, wisecracking sort of figure.

It was also Delano who set the character firmly in London, Moore (and, later, Rick Veitch) preferring to present him travelling virtually anywhere at will. Delano’s Constantine is very much flesh and blood, never using magic when a con will do, frequently drunk, down and out, and haunted by his accidental condemning of a little girl named Astra to hell.

Joining Jamie on stage are artist David Lloyd, who contributed to the comic and illustrated the Constantine graphic novel, The Horrorist; and two of the most recent contributors, Andy Diggle and Peter Milligan.

“As far as I know this is Jamie Delano’s first appearance at a British comics festival in many years,” says event organiser Alex Fitch, “and apart from a last minute addition to the Kapow! line-up, the first that Peter Milligan has done in a long time also. No-one else has put both of them and David Lloyd and Andy Diggle on the same panel.”

The discussion will be followed by a screening of the film adaptation of the comic, Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves.

The event is just part of Comics@Sci-Fi London, curated by Alex Fitch from Panel Borders, the UK’s only radio show about comics, celebrating British comic creators from the last 30 years in The Blue Room at BFI Southbank, which includes appearances by creators such as Lee O’Connor, Ian Edginton, Al Davison, Tom Humberstone and many more.

• 25 Years of John Contstantine is at 5.00pm on Saturday 23rd April at the BFI. Full event details here and tickets on sale here:

BFI Comics@SciFi London Weekend:
• Day One details: www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2011/programme/event/comics-sci-fi-london-day-one
• Day Two details: www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2011/programme/event/comics-sci-fi-london-day-two

• Jamie Delano’s official web site: www.jamiedelano.co.uk

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.