Hellblazer - The end of an Era.

First issue of Hellblazer, 1988.

I can say without a doubt that I have read every single Hellblazer comic and every single mini-series and graphic novel that has been put out by the DC, Vertigo Comics imprint. I didn't like the new John Constantine in Justice League Dark, or in DC's New52. Somehow it didn't feel right to me. As a comic reader/fan/reseller six months away from turning 40, I expected to grow old with John Constantine, as he has aged over the past 28 years. Unlike any other character in the comic industry in the last 50 years, John has grown old, going from 35 years old when he first appeared in Saga of the Swamp Thing - created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch - to an old guy in his late 50s.

Alan Moore -The Legend, The Myth pt 2 of 2

(for the first part of this article, click this link)

Opinion (conclusion)

Constantine movie poster

When Alan Moore began voicing his views on the Watchmen movie, comic books fans like myself were divided. Fans buy into the characters and heroes in comic books. They become our escape. And like Moore, some of us don't want to see the comic books become 'harmed' by those who want to cash in on these characters being 'cheapened' by film versions - despite how loyal (or not) the directors are to the comic books themselves, or not. By that I mean that their representation in other forms may take away their value to us. And sometimes their adaptation isn't as loyal to the comic books. Constantine is an excellent example of when something can go so wrong. I am not saying that the movie itself was bad, I loved it, but that it cheapened its comparitive-value to the comic series. Over the past two and a half years, as I began to think of comic books as a creator/writer/illustrator, and not just a fan or collector, I started to see the holes in what Alan Moore as a legendary creator/writer had been pointing out about his creations being portrayed in other mediums. 

Alan Moore -The Legend, The Myth pt 1 of 2

From page 1 of Absolute Watchmen, Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons 

Recently, a lot of stuff is being said about Alan Moore's latest addition to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen opus (Century 2009), and how it has a Harry Potter type character in it. After reading his comments about it and the latest round of Before Watchmen books, I thought I would take a wider look at Alan Moore's works. I have already read a lot of the graphic novels he has written and like millions of other fans I love Watchmen, From Hell and being a Socialist I love V for Vendetta.

Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 6

Writers: Alan Moore, Rick Veitch
Artists: Stephen Bissette, John Totleben, Rick Veitch, Alfredo Alcala, Tom Yeates
Collects: Swamp Thing 57-64
Published under Vertigo

Welcome to the last in a series of reviews of Alan Moore's take on the Swamp Thing - now I can say that Swamp Thing actually goes out with a bang.

Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 5

Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Rick Veitch, John Totleben, Alfredo Alcala
Collects Swamp Thing issues 51-56
Published under VERTIGO


Welcome after the long interval to yet another helping of sumptuous green delight. This time, Alan Moore ACTUALLY takes out Swampy where he's actually never been before.

Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 4

Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Stephen Bissette, John Totleben, Stan Woch, Ron Randall, Rick Veitch, Alfredo Alcala
Collects: Swamp Thing issues 43 to 50
Collected under Vertigo


And welcome to yet another installment of everybody's favourite swamp monster. In this collection, Alan Moore spins his epic titled "The American Gothic Saga" which has its roots in book 3, with the introduction of John Constantine. We finally learn what Constantine has been preparing Swampy for all this time in Moore's sprawling and ambitious storyline (though, arguably far from the finest; it's his creepy one and done stories that entice me more) which guest stars almost everybody from DC's horror stable, (Etrigan the Demon, Phantom Stranger, The Spectre, Abel & Cain from the House of Mystery, Zatarra and Zatanna, Doctor Occult, Sargon the Sorcerer, Baron Winter, Steve Dayton) which in itself is a feat, as nobody gets the short shrift here.

Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 3

Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch, John Totleben
Collects: Swamp Thing issues 35-42
Collected under the Vertigo Imprint

Saga of The Swamp Thing Book 2 Hardcover / trade paperback

Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch, John Totleben & Shawn McManus
Collects: Saga of The Swamp Thing 28-30, Swamp Thing 31-34, Swamp Thing Annual 1


After reading Vol 1 (review here) , I trust all of you are here now, are you? Good, then I'll begin in earnest.


Previously, we saw how that the Swamp Thing, contrary to what he thought, was never Alec Holland....his body was a tangle of vegetation with only the consciousness of Alec Holland to guide it. The question is...what happened to the real body of Alec Holland? That question is answered in this issue, when Swamp Thing finally lays the body of Alec Holland to rest. This issue has Shawn McManus as guest artist.

REVIEW: Saga of The Swamp Thing, Book One (Hardcover)

Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch, John Totleben
Issues Included: Saga of The Swamp Thing #20-27


What do you do when a comic title just doesn't sell anymore? I'm asking "you" not as a reader, but as a publisher, who does this to feed his family, and thousands of other families including the talent, the assistants, the distributors, the stockists and what not!

You cancel the book. Painful to the demographic who has been heartily supporting your book, but it gets done. Look at X-Men. Sixty-six issues into it's initial run (by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, and later Roy Thomas, Arnold Drake, Neal Adams and more) and the company stopped new issues.


Or you give it to an A-list writer, who'll probably turn him into an A-list character. It's worked with Green Lantern (Geoff Johns), The Incredible Hulk (Peter David), The Flash (Mark Waid), JLA (Grant Morrison) and Neil Gaiman (Black Orchid, Sandman) among others. Hell, did we ever imagine a day when the top selling characters at DC & Marvel would be Green Lantern & Iron Man, respectively?
I for one didn't.

Roots of the Swamp Thing - A look back to our favourite muck encrusted monster!

Writer: Len Wein
Artists: Bernie Wrightson, Nestor Redondo
Collects: House of Mystery 92, Swamp Thing (1st series, 1972) 1-13

Whenever someone says Swamp Thing, the first name to ring a bell is Alan Moore. True, Alan took our dear Swampy to places he had never been, but before that, there had to be a writer who took him to some places for the first time. That was Len Wein. Granted, those places weren't stupendous or awe inspiring; rather they were more along the line of the old (now!) horror stories featured by EC Comics and Gold Key Comics. But for this old horror story fan, they were a treat to the eyes as well as the mind.

Halloween Film/TV Recommendations for Comic Geeks

In keeping with the wonderful advice we give you, our readers and fellow geeks, along with staying within the Halloween spirit today we're going to help you with a dilemma you may be facing. You may be asking yourself, "How do I fulfill the need for something creepy to watch AND get my comic book fix at the same time?" Well here is a list of films and TV shows that will hopefully help to fix that problem.

Swamp Thing

Either the films or the TV series will work. It has mutants, action, and suspense. Not to mention that it stars a comic book hero who can manipulate the elements, and oh yeah, bring people back from the dead. How cool is that?!

The Incredible Hulk

For this one we recommend the series rather than the movies. Why? The series had a much more Frankenstein's monster feel to it. Of course there is also the comic hero thrashing on the bad guys too.

Hellboy

The live action films and the animated ones are great for that comic book creature feature need. There are monsters galore, evil spirits, and a demon trying to keep the peace. Besides, what's not to love about a wise cracking demon doing a blue collar job?