I should have moved the pronunciation thing to the pre-theme song intro, because despite everyone friggin' telling me beforehand that it's pronounced Constant-TYNE, now I've got a gajillion people telling me it's Constan-TEEN like I had always pronounced it and I hate everything. Glauw-kester-shy-err, damn it. EDIT: Someone on Twitter actually pointed out IN THE COMIC ITSELF John says it's Constan-tyne.
You and DC's Lucifer have that problem you can't pronounce his name right. The Arrowverse Crisis references this when he visits Earth-666 the earth where the show Lucifer is set.
the Teen pronunciation came from the Keanu Reeves movie and the Matt Ryan Show/animated movies/Legends. I honestly have been calling him Teen since watching the shows.
I hope you have the lucifer x Constantine crisis on infinite earth's cilp ready to go! A perfect opportunity for it. And to get people to ask 'WTF Da faq fuebfuebfbjewfpd?! Where is the time for backstory segment!'
If Lewis Lovhaug and Frank Miller are like water and sodium, Lewis Lovhaug and Garth Ennis are like water and oil; neither can understand each other's outlooks but there's not a violent reaction unlike the other combination
As someone also not overly fond of Garth Ennis' work, this really is quite a compelling story and definitely relatable to me, as I am a cancer survivor and dealing with it, the healing process, and the aftermath did hit me hard with how life was going for me and how it would affect others.
@@qwellen7521 For all the messes made by editors and editorial mandates.... there are reasons we need them. As much as it stinks to say, sometimes you need business types with detachment to keep creator ID in check.
Survivor's guilt is a major throughline for the character in a lot of his best stories and one of the elements in why I like him so much. Lots of other characters of his archetype pay lip service to how bad they feel about how people die around them, but Constantine is reminded at every turn of how magic has ruined his life and the lives of virtually everyone he's ever met. It's as much an addiction for him as anything else, too, with several stories showing how he knows that just walking away from magic and trying to live as a normal person would solve a lot of his problems, but he can't let go of the power and how it makes him feel. They really lay it on thick, too, with all the times they reference magic running through his bloodline in parallel to his drunken, abusive father passing on his alcoholism to him.
Indeed, the drunken burnout phase in both the Ennis and earlier Jamie Delano run speak to much of his survivor's guilt and unaddressed trauma. The alcohol can numb it but never kill it.
I don't know, it's a cliched character in many ways but I like the morally grey detective who secretly has a heart of gold. It's just a shame Hellblazer forgets that's who Constantine is half the time.
Blame Ennis for that. This was his take on Constantine at his best, both the character and Ennis. Afterwards, it was a long, slow spiral for John as people forgot to keep Ennis on a leash and tell him to knock it off and lock it down.
I always looked at John Constantine as a mash up of edgy film noir with a heavy dose of supernatural elements sprinkled about, a combination that works for me.
Ya, I don't really like him in Justice League Dark. There is nothing particularly wrong with his character in it, it's just that I can't see him as a superhero. He can certainly brush up against that stuff but in a team it just doesn't feel right.
Also, for me, its that in hellblazer at least hes the middleman helping humans when heaven and hell endanger them becausecthey see humanity as ants. If the ants get stomped do we care? The fact hes an asshole who might screw you over makescit more interesting.
I would also recommend the Garrett PI series of novels by Glen Cook. Dresden is more Constantine-like in being an active part of a urban magical community, while Garrett is far more of a classic noir detective operating in a fantasy universe.
To me, the charm of Constantine is that he represents a side of the DC universe that you rarely ever see outside of the comics: the supernatural side. His presence allows writers to explore elements of the DC universe that you just don't get with the caped characters, and his rather Chaotic Good approach to situations allows for interesting stories that don't have easy solutions. In the best Constantine stories I've seen, every bit of good he does exacts an awful price that usually leaves him worse off than when he started. But because he is a hero at heart, he still tries to do that good despite the consequences.
And his various romances, which ranges from King Shark in some continuities (or more than I realize) to Zatanna and other women that are generally "bad" in some way
And he is fairly clever, all things considered, he's not super intelligent or such, he's really a D&D character that has essentially taken substitution feats to use Charisma in place of Intelligence and/or Wisdom. Tricking devils is almost second nature in any depiction I've seen.
I’d like to add that Garth Ennis’s works are at their most effective when he respects the source material; the more he respects it (or respects certain things about it, at least) the more effort and polish he puts in his craft, leading to great results. When he doesn’t, he takes the piss all over it without a care. Constantine is a staple for the British comics community, especially the underground, heavily influenced by fantasy and sci-fi one Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Millar, Ennis, Delano and others were all a part of. No doubt Ennis wrote Constantine with respect for his good friends who would write on it before and after him.
I think John's breakdown at the end comes off a bit differently in context--he'd been around for seven years or so at this point, and he already had a well-earned rep for friends and associates coming to bad ends, sometimes for things that weren't his fault and sometimes for things that very much were. You don't have to have read any of that to appreciate Dangerous Habits, which works beautifully as a standalone story, but if you have, you know how much blood and guilt there was on his hands before Ennis ever touched him, and how it's weighing on him here.
This is the one story I actually sought out because the 2005 film, which takes a wide liberty with the word "adaptation," was partially based on this story. I concur that it is a great, really well crafted story that brought some humanity and sorrowful depth to John. The Matt Ryan version of the character brings a lot more charisma and likability to the character, but he still has his less than altruistic sides to him. I partially re-read Dangerous Habits when I did an in-depth video on the Keanu Reeves film a few years ago (I just ran out of time to get through it all), but it still held up.
"i wouldnt be surprised if those things existed in the works i hate" As someone who has a complicated relationship with Ennis' work. This is the most frustrating part because yes it does exist but he undercuts it with bad jokes or awful sentiments. There are moments that nearly neaaaarly work but they just dont because Ennis doesnt want them to.
The punisher run is the perfect example of this, writing that averages from really effective to really cheap with the bleakest outlook on humanity imaginable
That’s the thing about him underneath most of his work is a deep humanity that’s covered up with pointless shock value. One example is the character of arseface from preacher sure the joke is that his face looks like an ass but past that he’s a kid with severe trauma and while his other characters will go about it with cynicism and violence he decides that he wants to be a good person and help people and sure he gets taken advantage of but ennis is still sympathetic to him and gets a well deserved happy ending. Also he gets the punisher and characters like him and it’s my favorite interpretation of him. The dude is just really messed up and kinda psychotic and you should stay far away from that sort of person
Watching this, it's clear summoning Trigon to fight Darkseid is far from the most casually badass things he's done. Also, that's the secret to Constatine's success. Casual badass.
@darthcinema4262 What bugged me more is how the Suicide Squad had more success with killing the Paradooms (one of the Stupidest names I've ever heard) than the Superpowered Justice League, Green Lanterns and Teen Titans. God there were so many problems with that film....
@@leroypreston2973 well.... he reviewed the man of steel film, a work linkara personally hates..... maybe if patreon pays him good enough he could review the first 3 episodes of the tv adaptation of the boys?
@@ianr.navahuber2195 i also imagine it would hard to find something of Ennis's that's tolerable. That doesn't have gratituous violence and unlikable characters.
@@Pikachu2Ash It shouldn't, but good golly,, some days it feels like it is. Or..... at least they didn't make Heroes in Crisis levels of F U Readers, characters, logic, future stories, hope itself, and idea of veterans returning to be productive and safe members of society.
"Maybe we can't have your soul, Constantine, but we can make it so you will have to read Marville over and over again for all eternity!" "No! NO! Anything but that!" By the way, nice rainbow flag/trans flag colored Cybermats!
Constantine is a great example of theory vs practice. In theory he is everything Linkara said before the theme song. In practice, they keep making really good stories around him.
Holy shit, in almost ten years following this series, this is the first time I make it this early. Also, dude, your honesty about disliking something but respecting people who like it has always been a breath of fresh air from about a decade. I really love it and your show. You're awesome.
What really helps with your second paragraph’s sentiment is that Lewis takes a humble approach, really reminding that his opinions are just that and nobody is obligated or required to follow them, and that he does not hold those who differ in a negative light. A definite far cry and sentiment for so much of the internet.
Completly agree i have seriously done my best to live that way with my tastes in movies, and discussing them with friends for example "I thought Morbius was just ok." thats a statrment on Twitter that would more than likely get me ravaged by trolls. But i dont get on peoples cases for all the hate it gets because it really is not perfect and it was a real dumb decision to re release it.
Constantine is a character I tend to find much more interesting when he's acting as a supporting character in a story about someone who's a more optimistic hero than when he's by himself.
Constantine’s recent popularity probably stems from Matt Ryan’s hilarious performances of the character in the CW Arrowverse and in the DC animated movies.
Not really true. Like punisher in the mainstream universe is considered far worse than marvel max verison where ennis has complete creative control. Or preacher.
@@paulakroy2635 The existence of The Pro, Dicks and The Boys says otherwise. Total creative control with zero guardrails in all three cases, all of which were various versions of "ugh!"
I'd have to disagree. Having read a lot of his war comics (which are creator owned) which are nowhere near edgy but still violent (it is war after all) shows he can tell a compelling story without an editorial leash. Check out Sara, dreaming Eagles, war stories, out of the blue, battlefields and the loin and the eagle.
As someone who doesn't like most of Ennis' creations, I'm still pretty fond of Constantine because he leans into what I've since realized is my favorite weird fictional subgenre: generic hardboiled noir detective in weird fantastical or sci-fi setting. For me, it's entertaining to watch a character whose basics we know and understand being perfectly at home in a world that we're not used to associating with that style of character (see 70% of Star Trek holodeck episodes). Seeing John skulking around a bar of magicians and sorcerers for info, reluctantly helping the JLA deal with Klarion, popping into Sandman just long enough to further confuse Hob Gadling about the nature of the supernatural... it all works because he's both clearly at home and narratively unsuited to what he's doing.
If there's one thing I've noticed about Ennis's work. Is that whenever he writes a series or takes over a series, he always introduces a badass new character who just so happens to be British, Irish, or Scottish, and if their a guy, ex military or special forces. Then, the characters coincidentally decide to go visit Ireland and reminiscence about the great times they've had there.
My father died of lung cancer in 2021. We opted for at home hospice care so he could die in the house he'd built in the 70s. I spent the last three months of his life watching the shell of a man that the painkillers left behind waste away to nothing. Listened to his last rattling breath a couple of weeks before Christmas along with my thoroughly traumatized sister and mother. This story doesn't really work for me any more, if it ever did.
@@user-lq8ii5rx3z Yeah that’s called pulling a Crisis. And i find it a little odd you’re mad at the Arrowverse for successfully pulling off a shared DC universe after years of us begging the films to do the same.
@@user-lq8ii5rx3z Well the other option was to let Constantine be canceled after one season. And it WAS that vehement fandom push to bring him back in some form that convinced the CW to give Ryan an Arrow cameo. Which led to his Legends of Tomorrow supporting role. So if you're mad that the network found a way to keep this character around other than reviving Constantine's... mostly alright show, idk what to tell you.
@@user-lq8ii5rx3z I mean seeing how The CW managed to adapt John’s chainsmoking, bisexuality, and morally dubious behavior better than his show at times… yeah. They even adapted and gave closure to his Astra guilt storyline.
So this is how my dad felt when I was going on about how "awesome Star Trek TNG is and who's this Spock guy? Sounds lame but anyway Worf is so cool" just.....dying a bit inside
Honestly, I'm a fan of John for the same reason I'm a fan of other "trickster" archetype characters in mythology. It isn't that John himself is gripping as a character, but rather the ingenuity and desire to survive with which he approaches every situation. Its the idea of the guy who really is way more in control of the world around him than the rest of us. Not because he was born with advantages, but because he makes his own, and knows when to cheat. Specifically then doing so for the benefit of others. Of course Hellblazer John, then gets punched in the face by reality and circumstance because how dare he value others...but that's not really the character's fault.
I really like the Hellblazer comics I've read. Primarily those by Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis, but sadly not all of them. And one thing that some adaptations forget is that John cares deeply about the people around him. He may not want to, he may not like it, and his life probably would have been easier if he didn't. And it sure as hell doesn't stop him from using them as a human shield when the chips go down. In some ways he's a coward. Which sounds odd with the kind of gutsy stuff he pulled. But when pressed, the adage of 'you don't need to outrun the bear...' always holds up. He usually gets by by the skin of his teeth because he's punching way above his weight class. In some ways that makes him despicable, for sure. And it's one of the reasons he doesn't fit in with the likes of the Justice League. He's not a hero. He'll feel like crap about what he does, and try to do right and reconcile. And some people have cut ties with him, and for good reason. He's supposed to be a bit charming and disarming, not a fulltime snide asshole. He's a very political character too. The Delano comics are all set in the Thatcher era in britain and while John has a dislike for any politicians, he leans very left-wing (and I mean actual left wing, not what FOX-news claims is left-wing). Most of his anger and vitriol is aimed at those in power. And while he is a magician, he's passable at that. He gets by on his wit, not his magical mastery. At least in those older Hellblazers, no idea what later incarnations have done with the character.
1:19 I actually am with Linkara on this one. The Boys Tv show, while it works as a satire of superhero merchandising and other stuff, and is a compelling show, 7/10 at least, the main point is still there. It supposedly deconstructs super heroes.... but it doesn't actually has superheroes. It only shows supervillains masquerading as heroes (and a few like Starlight ARE actual superheroes.... or super powered individuals who TRY TO BE) but because all people who have been called "super heroes" act like that, they think "they are all like that", and proceeds to go on Ennis usual mdus operandi of saying "only people like police officers, and trained soldiers and people like that are real heroes, and super powers are inheritently evil nd make people evil and yadda yadda"..... However I like some things they do on the show, if anything, is one of the most interesting deconstructions of mass empowerement events and a society based on that event..... and is like the Anti-My Hero academia to a degree. STILL it does the usual "superhero deconstruction cliche" of "only having human people with super powers" and not once show a single threat actual super heroes face against (time travellers, demons, mad scientists and their weird experiments and super weapons, killer robots, evil sorcerers, alien invaders, giant monsters, alternate universe evil counterparts, etc.) that serves as a quick reminder "right this is why super heroes are usually needed"
The only good Ennis super hero deconstruction is The Pro. A book about a prostitute that becomes powered and changes the bumbling heroes for the better.
That's the real issue with The Boys as a deconstruction of superheroes: it doesn't actually deconstruct anything. It's just a story about a group supervillains backed by a corporation that gives them good PR in order to profit off of them. Supervillians with good publicity and corporations exploiting superhuamns for profit were both pretty well-worn tropes long before Ennis started The Boys. That's not to say the Amazon adaptation is a bad story (Despite some uncomfortable moments I've enjoyed it so far). It's a story about an evil corporation literally founded by Nazis that built supervillains to serve their own nefarious goals. There's even some interesting depth to the supervillains in the show (something the comic lacked, as far as I'm aware), since there's a lot of emphasis on how Vaught has twisted them to be who they are and hints that maybe Homelander wouldn't be a monster if he'd been raised by the Kents instead of growing up as a Vaught lab rat.
To be fair it's way more of a deconstruction of the modern corporate world and people's blind following of brands than anything. Just uses superhero tropes to tell the story. Hell Vought might as well be Bayer in the real world. People forgive that they made the gasses nazis used in the gas chambers because they also made your headache go bye-bye.
@@Cykotyk Which definitely isn't a bad direction, but an anti-corporate message coming from Amazon falls a bit flat. Especially when their deconstruction is aimed mostly at their competitors.
Tht thing about Ennis is, his best work, at least to me, comes when he is not writing superheroes. The guy says he grew up reading war comics. So when you see him writing WW2 books, or stories from characters like Nick Fury or Frank Castle in Vietnam, the violence is still very omnipresent, but not the edginess. Because there, it gets treated as more of a tragedy.
Ok, now you have my interest. I absolutely despise The Boys, and honestly the name makes no actual sense, but if he does justice for the military in any facet I’m game.
Borderline I feel like their is tradgey in itself how much the American comic industry doesn’t really allow for the majority of creators to write comics outside of superheroes
I had to listen to 28:43-30:03 gain, for how well put it got Linkara's points across, about John's humanity, the randomness of surviving cancer or not, and Garth Ennis' hatred of almost everyone he writes about. Speaking of the Constantine movie, that one made me aware of the character in the first place, the Matt Ryan show and his subsequent Arrowverse appearances hooked me in. So much so, It got me to buy his comics after DC's Nu52 and continuing into REBIRTH.
This was the storyline that got me to binge every single Hellblazer comic in college, end to end. John's a bastard, but he's a bastard trying to claw his way to somewhere better. In countless storylines- here, Swamp Thing, Justice League Dark, The Books of Magic (which is sadly forgotten and utterly awesome) -he's the nuclear option, and even he knows it, but he can't just lay down and die. He HAS to try, even if it rarely goes well for all parties, because he'd sooner that than let something go sour he COULD have fixed. He's a bastard, and he hates he's one, but he tries to make the most of that and even occasionally take some joy in being so for the right causes. I adore the toxic little jerk, even if sometimes I want to slap him as badly as he wants to slap himself.
Huge Constantine fan here love his Vertigo Run and really love the Justice League Dark run from 2018 and the Sandman Universe run. Glad to see this arc covered. It's one of my favorites.
THANK YOU Linkara! God I've always hated Garth Ennis' other works and I cant stand people who praise it like some genius writing, when really it was just capitalizing on their modern, "realistic", this-ain't-your-daddys-comics mindset, but really it was just the worst kind of edgelord crap that's just misery to read through. I legit hope one day you take on The Boys and/or Preacher and tear them apart as they so richly deserve.
Speaking of Gabriel he gets his in either Dangerous Habits or the next big Hellblazer Storyline set after Dangerous Habits, basically "Spoiler Alert if you haven't read the comics" John tricks the egotistical excuse of an archangel into committing one of the 7 Deadly Sins to be specific the Sin of Lust aka John tricks Gabriel into having sex with his Succubus friend Ella and during said sex Ella brutally injures Gabriel including ripping his wings off and when Gabriel makes the attempt to return to Heaven to heal himself he's immediately cast down back to Earth now one of the very humans he used to look down upon with his now permanent scars being a reminder of how despite being an archangel who was above humans he still gave into human temptation and now has to live with the consequences of his actions which ultimately led to him being casted out of Heaven and forced to live as one of the very humans that he saw himself superior to for the rest off his now mortal life.
26:32 Hey, I understood that reference! Also the climax of this storyline reminds me of something from a fantasy setting that I shan't get into. Not sure which one came first, but it's still what the youngsters these days would call a "gamer move".
It was amusing to see all of the bits and pieces of this comic that would later be used in the Keanu Reeves movie! Stuff like Gabriel saying "It's because you smoked thirty-six cigarettes a day since you were seventeen", Constantine summoning the devil himself by slashing his wrists, or the devil pulling one last screw-you to him by ripping the cancer out of his chest by hand. This is a surprisingly heartfelt book, and I appreciate seeing the art that would later make Sandman great.
John Constantine is actually one of my favorite comic book characters and here's why: yes, he's a snarky cynical arsehole but he recognizes and owns it. Due to past traumas, he purposefully keeps people at arm's length to ensure their safety as he's literally haunted by the ghosts of people, mostly friends, that have died over the course of his adventures and continue to do so. Also, despite being a powerful mage, Constantine mostly uses his intelligence and resourcefulness to defeat demons and other supernatural baddies, which just helps to make him stand out more. He's a witty, sharp-tongued working-class magician and paranormal investigator and I just find that relatable. And then there's his backstory and abilities, particularly synchronicity wave-traveling, which is all very interesting. Even if you don't personally like the character, you can, at the very least, admit he's got his own identifiable look and personality.
He's in the "Zatanna and the Ripper" series on webtoon and is pretty good there. I also like him in the Justice League Dark films and arguably he's the best part of the Apokolips War film. (Though they did him dirty in House of Madness.)
@@Stargazer_Ley Thouse are very huge back steps for the character in terms of writing. Getting him to a superhero group makes no sense and Zatanna and the ripper laked the dark tone of Hellblazer and the social aspects of the character. The real John Constantine is the one that apears in Hellblazer and Swamp Thing. Also books of magic. Everything they've done to him after new 52 except Simon Spurrier's run its like writing a very different character.
As much as I understand your disinterest to Ennis and "The Boys", it's still nice to enjoy you talking about his work anyway. Are there alternatives to that kind of story that you enjoy?
@daelen.cclark I would honestly rather watch The Boys than it's comic book counterpart because I'm not interested in reading comic books from the 2000s thats rife with edge lord comedy.
The Boys Is just rape, sperm, and blood on every page. All the characters are one dimensional. If there is anything you like in the show, I can guarantee it's not in the comics.
Funnily enough, Linkara and Constantine have a lot in common, being magically-skilled, trickster hero archetypes with nice coats (and even some of Linkara's earlier coats were similar to John's). Linkara just replaces all that cynicism and vice with optimism and geekery. And a spaceship.
Ah I see this is the Linkara from the Constan-TYNE universe, which is different from the universe some of us are from, the Constan-TEEN universe. Those blasted Berenstein Bears are to blame.
I actually read the entire original Hellblazer run and to be honest I did like it, but my favourite part was the stuff from the very beginning, written by Delano. A lot of really nice and varied horror stuff, from the ghosts of dead us soldiers thinking they're still in Vietnam while moving down their own family members, to someone getting carted off this plane of reality (or is it plain ?) by Winnie the Pooh. I am not the biggest fan of Ennis' run on Hellblazer, because Ennis loves to mock the supernatural too much to do anything interesting with it (see in Preacher, with him just killing off the Devil in a prequel side comic rather than have him be part of the story at all) and also, him creating The First tarnished Hellblazer permanently. Cause aside from it being an obvious attempt to out Gaiman Gaiman by having his own totally original character that was the ACTUAL REAL ORIGINAL Devil before the Devil, whenever Hell was involved BEFORE the First showed up, it would involve one of a variety of different demons with different powers, abilities and, ot a lesser extent, personalities. Afterwards, all Hell related plots just had the First be the focal point and that was basically it.
I can see that a good chunk of this story was the basis for the Keanu Reeves movie, namely the whole cancer bit with the Devil personally wanting to collect Constantine's soul. That said, it sounds like this story should have been a launch point for the Hellblazer series, or a launch point for a new era of it, because it provides a great setup with lots of potential for both future stories as well as a great means of telling past exploits of Constantine's interactions with other demons. In any case, this was a great story and I give a lot of kudos for you clearly and concisely conveying your position on Ennis and his work.
I don't think your analysis of the character of Constantine quite... Well, not "rings true" or "fits" because that's your take on the character as he's been presented in the media he's been in that you've seen, but that's the only way I can describe it. John doesn't think he's better than anyone -- he just knows he's the only one willing to cut straight to the heart of the matter and do what others won't to solve problems. That's the nature of magic and the supernatural in his world; it's dirty, bloody and painful, but magicians act like it's a divine working and they're elevated entities whose minds and power control it -- they're the ones who think they're better than everyone else. John knows he's not, that's the difference between him and them. The Vertigo Hellblazer series is testament to that dynamic -- at any given time John bops from problem to problem leaving broken lives in his wake and acting like it's normal (because after all this time, it is for him) and shrugging the trauma off through booze and cynicism. Ennis's analysis of John as a bastard is very correct in that respect. There are also just as many times where John is utterly devastated by what he encounters but has to slog through the aftermath to avoid his own pain consuming him completely. He's as much a victim of himself as everyone else is. I guess really your take on the character is utterly correct for how the character presents himself, which is utterly appropriate -- John is the self-appointed bastard, the only one with his head on right and willing to do anything for the best outcome for himself. But underneath that is a man harrowed and haunted by everything he does and all the harm he causes others, that's the side he'd never let anyone else see (except the reader) Dangerous Habits is the best example of all this, but there are a few stories in the Delano Era that I'd recommend too -- "The Family Man" is my favourite storyline, dealing with a really mundane but dangerous threat, as well as having some very out there (and gruesome, as a warning) short stories as a part of it. Cheers for the review, as well as all your years of reviews -- I think this is my first comment on a story you've covered, just wanted to express my thanks as well!
"Over a decade later, I'm still haunted by Glauw-kester-shy-err" Right here, man. I'M still haunted by an animated greyish-green scrotum that's supposed to be an elephant seal. 14:55 - I suppose a Brad Jones joke would be a little too obvious, wouldn't it? lol
A few years ago I was often made fun of for liking the Keanu Reeves Constantine movie and, now, after all of those John Wick movies I don't get so much of that when I bring it up. It was cheesy and weird and I like it, not as much as the 2004 Hellboy.
i assume several others have said this already, but i'll do so anyway just in case: Constantine's friends constantly dying(and it usually being his fault in one way or another) is something that goes all the way back to his appearances in Swamp Thing when Moore was writing the character, and continued on through the initial Hellblazer run before Ennis came on board.
A big part of the appeal for me regarding him is I enjoy his almost blue collar ramshackle approach to dealing with the supernatural. That and I like snarky characters
That was Alan Moore’s original thinking. He noticed so many stuffy, elder intellectual warlocks in fiction and thought it would be fun to create a younger, more blue-collar version of that archetype. Ironically Constantine was one of the few comic book heroes to naturally age during his Hellblazer run.
John Constantine is one of those characters that I can only read in small doses before I get really annoyed by him, and it's the same way I feel about Deadpool.
i'd say it's perfectly valid to pronounce it "con-stan-TYNE" or "con-stan-TEEN"--i know the former is the British pronunciation, but outside of fandom stuff (and in different contexts) i've only heard it as the latter (it was an RTS game where one of the campaigns featured one of the Roman Emperors Constantine in particular). stuff that's written more often than actually spoken is especially prone to that, particularly paleontology names (Parasaurolophus is just one example--PAIR-uh-sore-ALL-oh-fuss vs. PAIR-uh-SORE-oh-LOW-fuss).
As Data says in Star Trek about "day-ta" versus "dah-ta": "One is my name, the other is not." John is British, so when used as his name it should be pronounced in the British manner.
Often authors will say that they can't make a character do something or that they lost control of the character. Arthur Conan Doyle eventually started to hate Sherlock Holmes and wanted to stop writing the stories. He only continued when fans forced in too.
I don't really like Constantine that much either, but I like a few things about him, like the ending for these comics. And it's sometimes fun to see the regular heroes interact with him. Like the bit from the Injustice comics where Madame Xanadu puts a sign on her door that says he specifically isn't allowed in her home.
The thing about garth ennis that makes me really like him is that even though he likes writing these morally gray assholes, at the end of the day he has a somewhat strict moral compass that really shines at the more monologuey moments in his best comics (Preacher, Unknown Soldier, Hellblazer, Punisher Born etc). It even becomes clear on things i dont rly agree with him on (like how at the end of the Hellblazer run there is some really spotty things about the black protestors against the national front, or in his Punisher MAX book and the whole "actually irish people shouldnt care about the british cuz its cringe"). You said that the interview quote baffled you because of his bibliography, and i can say that as someone who has read so much of his work, though it may be surprising, there is a precedent to him being kind of a huge moralist lol His problem was when he became known as the 2edgy4u satirist (which, though it was always a big component of his stories, was always just *a* component of them). Thats when you get shit like Crossed and The Boys and The Pro (the latter of which i still think is kinda funny but still)
Internally, i separate Ennis into roughly two periods - there is his 90s-mid 00s work which i find extremely compelling because it has that insane subversive edge all peppered in by a strong interest in ethics and a somewhat strict moral code, and then after The Boys was a thing, it was more like "ennis by ennis" - oh, so people like my crazy violent and fucked up comics? Bet
Personally I like Constantine when hes bouncing off others My favorite version of him is the Arrowverse version where the gruff cynical dick gets paired with the wacky, more lighthearted Legends of Tomorrow
It’s the equivalent of the Marvel monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone hanging out with the outlandish, more goofy Nextwave. NEXTWAVE: More robots and beer than the nerdiest frat party!
This was my first Constantine comic I've ever read, and cemented him as my top 3 favorite DC character of all time, under plastic man and Superman. Seeing him get his own show and basically bookend the DCAM universe was always a treat.
And plead for James Gunn to give the show one last season on HBO Max. One that lets them get Doom Patrol levels of weird (and Legends really pushed the Silver Age weirdness hard!)
@@jadenbryant9283 Yeah but Flash was always tap dancing on the weirdness. Legends did polka, salsa and breakdance moves with its Silver Age storylines.
I think part of Johnny's popularity is people like watching him suffer. Another is he's apparently a magnificent bastard. Did not know he was an Enis creation though. Also for a time, John was one of the few openly bi characters. How the hell they got John Constantine on a kids cartoon is beyond me
I think the thing that makes Garth Ennis so unpalatable to me is his complete and utter contempt for superheroes as a concept. Say what you will about the Boys TV show (personally more of a mixed bag for me, some of the "edgy" shock stuff is still there, but it has gotten a laugh out of me a few times, and the acting is all around really good), at least it seems to be written by people who like and understand the medium, at least it tries to give SOME characterization to these characters (I will always have a tiny bit of respect for the show basically saying "Hey, Karl Urban's character is kind of a horrible person that nobody likes, don't be like him"). To paraphrase another video, "Even if you're Martin Scorcese scaring Iron Man trick-or-treaters from your front yard, you will never hate superheroes as much as Garth Ennis."
The big problem with any "deconstruction" of superheroes is that no one has really tried to do anything beyond just restating the premise of Watchmen by finding more and more violent ways to say, "Did you know realistic superheroes would be flawed human beings? Did you ever think about that, motherfucker? Did you ever consider it in your tiny mind? Anyway, Not Superman kills and eats babies. Like a flawed human being would." Comics are probably more adventurous and interesting than ever now with tons of books doing actual deconstructions of different aspects of superheroes and different comic genres, but anything that specifically sets itself up as a deconstruction like The Boys is just more sophomoric coattail chasing of their betters. The fact the show turned out to be in any way watchable is basically a Biblical miracle given how godawful the source material is.
Besides this story the other Garth Ennis story that I suggest everyone give at least one read through is Welcome Back Frank. To me it is the perfect Punisher story and a way to bring the character back after time as an angel hitman.
Getting a bit hypothetical here, but I feel Constantine's reputation in comics kinda plateaud because of his use in the wider DC Universe. Pretty much all of his most dedicated fans, at least that I've seen, are fans of Hellblazer. His Vertigo stories turn being just a guy into an asset: it helps keep him grounded and relatable in a world of angels, demons, magic and whatever else. But when DC tries to bring him into other stuff... it doesn't seem to translate well. And while it's easy to blame that on DC's mainline not going as dark as Vertigo, I think that's more down to regular DC writers not being able to capture his sympathetic side. John's not usually presented as down to Earth, like someone like Peter Parker might be. He's The Cool Magic Snarky Guy, who leads teams like Justice League Dark or screws over the Gemworld or whatever. They play up his power and quick wit over his humanity.
1:13 Oh No Lewis it didn’t just tone things down they changed the entire story Also they didn’t even tone things down season 3 opens with a guy that can shrink climbing up another dudes penis and accidentally blowing him up from the inside like those memes about ant man and Thanos Edit: Really what the show did was actually develop its characters beyond the one note stereotypes they were the Seven especially. Hell they actually gave Kimiko a name in the comics she’s just called the female I really like this show if you can’t tell it’s fine that you don’t but I do and I want to sing it’s praises
Had to double check...that's not John's dad's grave, it's his mom's. And I've never read the comics, but I'm aware he generally doesn't like his dad, because he's a right bastard
I completely understand your stance regarding Garth Ennis. He has more misses for me than hits. But John Constantine is my 2nd favorite comic character ever, just below Swamp Thing. And I'm very happy that you found a good deal to enjoy from this storyline. In college, I wrote a 20 page essay analyzing the political themes of Hellblazer, mainly the early stories including this storyline. There is a lot I think goes under appreciated or overlooked in this early era of the series
@@paulakroy2635 I'll admit that I haven't read a lot of his work. But of the stuff I have, there is more in the "not feeling it" category than the ones I did enjoy
Speaking as someone with a fairly high tolerance for edge lord material, I complexly get why a lot of people don't like Garth Ennis. His work often has really good human moments, but it gets buried by his attempts to shock the reader. The entirety of The Boys being a prime example. When I try to give examples of Ennis at his more restrained, I try to point people towards his war comics, especially his series Battlefields. The edge-lord material is entirely absent in those books, likely due to the authors reverence for WWII and those that served in it. There are a lot violence and gritty material in those comics (the story 'Dear Billy' includes some particularly gruesome content) but it doesn't feel like Ennis was going for shock. Rather, he was trying to paint an unvarnished image of the horrors of war and what people really went through.
my mother actually has cancer and i am going through something similar to john except of it happening to me, it's happening to a loved one. you touching on this subject helped me vent
Well, this comic hits close for me. I got diagnosed with cancer a few years back and I had a similar sheer stubborn willed refusal. I refused to let it break my spirit the way it did for some. I could barely stand some days, but I'd grab my coat and cane and do my best to go for walks, I struggled to keep food down, it didn't stop me from trying to eat my fill and enjoy my meals. I made dark jokes about it, and even when I got diagnosed, my first response was how regrowing my hair was going to suck. Now admittedly I had a more tame type of cancer than mentioned here ( Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma) but I still just refused to be beaten down by it. The most unbelievable thing about this comic to me is the time frame. Not even a full week to get the diagnoses? Just from throwing up one time? And in just a few weeks he's already about to die, meanwhile that guy in the hospital has had it for a while. What? Maybe lung cancer is easier to find and I'm talking out my ass for this part, but the time frame really bugged me. This feels like a comic that should go by in months, but seems like it all takes place in a few weeks at most. It's strange and funny that some of the best depictions of cancer I've personally seen come from this, Ultimate iron man (I don't know the issue number but one comic I read described chemo as the most awful Chinese restaurant you've ever gone to, that makes you sick for days, and as soon as you finally start feeling better you go back to that same restaurant) and shockingly, Archer of all things
I'm not a big fan of Ennis either but I've given him a shot a few times and while my overall opinion hasn't changed I do get enjoyment from most of his stories, more so in the generic action movie way rather than a work I would revisit multiple times. Same thing with Constantine, I've enjoyed his moments in other series but never found him compelling enough to care too much for a lot of his series. Still this was a great arc and I appreciate it a fair bit.
27:32 Which line was the jack o'lantern reference? that's an actual folklore myth? i thought that was just something they comae up for billy and mandy halloween episode 29:58 exactly how much of a bastard, garth ennis made constatine be later on, if CONSTANTINE is the one he regrets writting when arguably billy butcher is way worse (as far as i know) 30:11 so that's one way to quote songs in comic books
Haven't read a lot of Ennis' stuff, but in the few things of his I've picked up, he seems to have friendship as a key subject and theme, so maybe his dislike of Constantine comes down to seeing him as someone who takes advantage of his friends, manipulating or even sacrificing them when he sees fit.
1:23 THANK YOU. I’ve been saying the same thing with regards to my own disinterest of the Boys and I’m so glad to see someone like you putting their foot down and just not wanting to watch it. Totally agree about his work being edgelord crap
Ennis' opinion of Constantine is not exactly wrong. Hellblazer is 300 issues worth of John losing friends who get "too close". Sometimes it is because he uses them, most of the time it is because he messes up, like those ghosts from the start of the story. They were all part of an exorcism gone terribly wrong from when John used to roll-up with a coven of his own. The exorcism itself would have happened in the 70s, but you see them die still in John's first appearances in Swamp Thing.
This clash between 3 demons was done in a DC Showcase: Constantine House of Mystery. Short 20~ minute featurette that is meant to tie into the end of the DCAMU that concluded with Justice League Dark Apokolips War
29:59 Having read those later stories, Linkara, I would say Ennis' version of Constantine is less asshole (though there's a bit of that) and more guilty survivor as you said. When he loses friends, he always hurts, ESPECIALLY if it's his fault (which it usually is). He can never lie to himself about what he is and therefore what he thinks he deserves.
Okay. I just worked this out. Assuming there isn't something specifically in the issues of Hellblazer that specifically mentions the trio of the Fallen not being the real trio. . . It actually IS possible that these three actually ARE Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Azazel. Yes. The real ones. Remember that John's nightmares were something that Morpheus assuaged. But here, we see he is struggling with nightmares. So this story must take place before the events of Sandman, before the Hope in Hell story. That means these three are the real deal, because Lucifer hasn't quit yet.
Weird personal note, I got a glimpse of this comic almost 20 years ago, when I was in highschool. A classmate brought a copy for some work I don't remember. Never knew what it was about till now
I should have moved the pronunciation thing to the pre-theme song intro, because despite everyone friggin' telling me beforehand that it's pronounced Constant-TYNE, now I've got a gajillion people telling me it's Constan-TEEN like I had always pronounced it and I hate everything.
Glauw-kester-shy-err, damn it.
EDIT: Someone on Twitter actually pointed out IN THE COMIC ITSELF John says it's Constan-tyne.
There's literally a comic panel where the character himself says it's TYNE (well, TINE, but specifically not TEEN)
You and DC's Lucifer have that problem you can't pronounce his name right. The Arrowverse Crisis references this when he visits Earth-666 the earth where the show Lucifer is set.
the Teen pronunciation came from the Keanu Reeves movie and the Matt Ryan Show/animated movies/Legends. I honestly have been calling him Teen since watching the shows.
I hope you have the lucifer x Constantine crisis on infinite earth's cilp ready to go!
A perfect opportunity for it.
And to get people to ask 'WTF Da faq fuebfuebfbjewfpd?! Where is the time for backstory segment!'
@@mattcgw It’s the Crisis scene that I thought of immediately. I wonder how many people remember Constantine Maroulis from American Idol…
If Lewis Lovhaug and Frank Miller are like water and sodium, Lewis Lovhaug and Garth Ennis are like water and oil; neither can understand each other's outlooks but there's not a violent reaction unlike the other combination
As someone also not overly fond of Garth Ennis' work, this really is quite a compelling story and definitely relatable to me, as I am a cancer survivor and dealing with it, the healing process, and the aftermath did hit me hard with how life was going for me and how it would affect others.
Garth Ennis with an editorial leash can make some really great work.
@@qwellen7521 For all the messes made by editors and editorial mandates.... there are reasons we need them.
As much as it stinks to say, sometimes you need business types with detachment to keep creator ID in check.
@@qwellen7521 Or a shock collar.
@@qwellen7521punisher max wasn’t under editorial mandate
@@louisduarte8763 or a mental institution
Constantine: "So, Mr. Linkara. You want me to conjure up a spell to remove Moarte from your spaceship? This calls for a Barbie Halloween cantation."
You know I had to read that in Matt Ryan’s voice.
Survivor's guilt is a major throughline for the character in a lot of his best stories and one of the elements in why I like him so much. Lots of other characters of his archetype pay lip service to how bad they feel about how people die around them, but Constantine is reminded at every turn of how magic has ruined his life and the lives of virtually everyone he's ever met. It's as much an addiction for him as anything else, too, with several stories showing how he knows that just walking away from magic and trying to live as a normal person would solve a lot of his problems, but he can't let go of the power and how it makes him feel. They really lay it on thick, too, with all the times they reference magic running through his bloodline in parallel to his drunken, abusive father passing on his alcoholism to him.
Yep.
Indeed, the drunken burnout phase in both the Ennis and earlier Jamie Delano run speak to much of his survivor's guilt and unaddressed trauma. The alcohol can numb it but never kill it.
6:06 John Constantine walks a lonely road. The only one he's ever known. Doesn't know where it goes, but it's only him and he walks alone.
He walks a-LONE, he walks A-
I don't know, it's a cliched character in many ways but I like the morally grey detective who secretly has a heart of gold. It's just a shame Hellblazer forgets that's who Constantine is half the time.
Blame Ennis for that. This was his take on Constantine at his best, both the character and Ennis. Afterwards, it was a long, slow spiral for John as people forgot to keep Ennis on a leash and tell him to knock it off and lock it down.
I always looked at John Constantine as a mash up of edgy film noir with a heavy dose of supernatural elements sprinkled about, a combination that works for me.
Ya, I don't really like him in Justice League Dark. There is nothing particularly wrong with his character in it, it's just that I can't see him as a superhero. He can certainly brush up against that stuff but in a team it just doesn't feel right.
@@BlueHero45 He defiantly fits more into the Supernatural-type universe, than DC.
Also, for me, its that in hellblazer at least hes the middleman helping humans when heaven and hell endanger them becausecthey see humanity as ants. If the ants get stomped do we care? The fact hes an asshole who might screw you over makescit more interesting.
A good book series if you want something along the same line is The Dresden Files
I would also recommend the Garrett PI series of novels by Glen Cook. Dresden is more Constantine-like in being an active part of a urban magical community, while Garrett is far more of a classic noir detective operating in a fantasy universe.
John Constantine has always reminded me of that drunk dad that just really wanted friends so he became a detective
Oh he has friends. They just tend to die and join his gaggle of ghosts haunting him. I mean early on they haunted him enough he fell off a train.
This is a funny comment but not an accurate view of his character.
To me, the charm of Constantine is that he represents a side of the DC universe that you rarely ever see outside of the comics: the supernatural side. His presence allows writers to explore elements of the DC universe that you just don't get with the caped characters, and his rather Chaotic Good approach to situations allows for interesting stories that don't have easy solutions. In the best Constantine stories I've seen, every bit of good he does exacts an awful price that usually leaves him worse off than when he started. But because he is a hero at heart, he still tries to do that good despite the consequences.
I think you may mean Chaotic Bastard. (according to Constantine himself.)
And his various romances, which ranges from King Shark in some continuities (or more than I realize) to Zatanna and other women that are generally "bad" in some way
And he is fairly clever, all things considered, he's not super intelligent or such, he's really a D&D character that has essentially taken substitution feats to use Charisma in place of Intelligence and/or Wisdom. Tricking devils is almost second nature in any depiction I've seen.
I feel there's a good niche for him, but he's also easy to overdo.
@@ToHoldNothing Just in an animated movie that destroyed the essence of the character, turning a conman into a magic blast throwing wizard
I’d like to add that Garth Ennis’s works are at their most effective when he respects the source material; the more he respects it (or respects certain things about it, at least) the more effort and polish he puts in his craft, leading to great results. When he doesn’t, he takes the piss all over it without a care.
Constantine is a staple for the British comics community, especially the underground, heavily influenced by fantasy and sci-fi one Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Millar, Ennis, Delano and others were all a part of. No doubt Ennis wrote Constantine with respect for his good friends who would write on it before and after him.
I think John's breakdown at the end comes off a bit differently in context--he'd been around for seven years or so at this point, and he already had a well-earned rep for friends and associates coming to bad ends, sometimes for things that weren't his fault and sometimes for things that very much were. You don't have to have read any of that to appreciate Dangerous Habits, which works beautifully as a standalone story, but if you have, you know how much blood and guilt there was on his hands before Ennis ever touched him, and how it's weighing on him here.
I always looked at John Constantine as detective Columbo's edgy rebellious nephew, and imagining the family gatherings makes the character better
That middle finger to the three demons was basically his "Just one more thing" moment XD
This is the one story I actually sought out because the 2005 film, which takes a wide liberty with the word "adaptation," was partially based on this story. I concur that it is a great, really well crafted story that brought some humanity and sorrowful depth to John. The Matt Ryan version of the character brings a lot more charisma and likability to the character, but he still has his less than altruistic sides to him. I partially re-read Dangerous Habits when I did an in-depth video on the Keanu Reeves film a few years ago (I just ran out of time to get through it all), but it still held up.
"i wouldnt be surprised if those things existed in the works i hate"
As someone who has a complicated relationship with Ennis' work. This is the most frustrating part because yes it does exist but he undercuts it with bad jokes or awful sentiments. There are moments that nearly neaaaarly work but they just dont because Ennis doesnt want them to.
The punisher run is the perfect example of this, writing that averages from really effective to really cheap with the bleakest outlook on humanity imaginable
Slavers is a effective story. Barracuda is not effective to me
That’s the thing about him underneath most of his work is a deep humanity that’s covered up with pointless shock value. One example is the character of arseface from preacher sure the joke is that his face looks like an ass but past that he’s a kid with severe trauma and while his other characters will go about it with cynicism and violence he decides that he wants to be a good person and help people and sure he gets taken advantage of but ennis is still sympathetic to him and gets a well deserved happy ending. Also he gets the punisher and characters like him and it’s my favorite interpretation of him. The dude is just really messed up and kinda psychotic and you should stay far away from that sort of person
Watching this, it's clear summoning Trigon to fight Darkseid is far from the most casually badass things he's done. Also, that's the secret to Constatine's success. Casual badass.
That fight was awesome.
Likely one of the only good things about Apokolips War to be honest.
@Stargazer_Ley That and Damien and Raven's Kiss.
I hate how casually the Green Lantern Corps were killed off in that film.
@@eamonndeane587 I hated how easily a lot of the Suicide Squad went died easily too, especially Bane
@darthcinema4262 What bugged me more is how the Suicide Squad had more success with killing the Paradooms (one of the Stupidest names I've ever heard) than the Superpowered Justice League, Green Lanterns and Teen Titans.
God there were so many problems with that film....
Soooo since Lucifer ditched Hell and Azazel got imprisoned in the Dreaming, does that mean Beelzebub can claim John's soul now?
I'm honestly surprised Linkara hasn't really ranted about Garth Ennis on this show before
What work of his would he be willing to cover?
@@leroypreston2973 well.... he reviewed the man of steel film, a work linkara personally hates.....
maybe if patreon pays him good enough he could review the first 3 episodes of the tv adaptation of the boys?
@@ianr.navahuber2195 he also has a right to turn down a review. He could turn it down if he isn't interested in it
@@leroypreston2973 i know. i said the most possible thing
which is still a very small chance. arguably 0.00000000001 chance
@@ianr.navahuber2195 i also imagine it would hard to find something of Ennis's that's tolerable. That doesn't have gratituous violence and unlikable characters.
Listen at least Garth Ennis didn't make a deal with Mephisto.
No, but he did show us Achangel Gabriel brutally raping Mary of Nazareth to concive Jesus.
That shouldn't be the low bar we are setting....
@@Pikachu2Ash It shouldn't, but good golly,, some days it feels like it is. Or..... at least they didn't make Heroes in Crisis levels of F U Readers, characters, logic, future stories, hope itself, and idea of veterans returning to be productive and safe members of society.
"Maybe we can't have your soul, Constantine, but we can make it so you will have to read Marville over and over again for all eternity!"
"No! NO! Anything but that!"
By the way, nice rainbow flag/trans flag colored Cybermats!
Now I'm imagining Jeremy Irons in the 80s as John Constantine...
Thanks for the image....
Constantine is a great example of theory vs practice. In theory he is everything Linkara said before the theme song. In practice, they keep making really good stories around him.
It hilarious to know this trick worked because Hell has a lack of interdepartment communication.
Probably wouldn't have if he had waited too long - hence also the suicide attempt to force the issue before they noticed.
@@AT4W Hey, Linkara. I really do love your content. Also, there's something that you didn't know about / missed in Power Rangers Mystic Force.
Holy shit, in almost ten years following this series, this is the first time I make it this early.
Also, dude, your honesty about disliking something but respecting people who like it has always been a breath of fresh air from about a decade. I really love it and your show. You're awesome.
What really helps with your second paragraph’s sentiment is that Lewis takes a humble approach, really reminding that his opinions are just that and nobody is obligated or required to follow them, and that he does not hold those who differ in a negative light.
A definite far cry and sentiment for so much of the internet.
Completly agree i have seriously done my best to live that way with my tastes in movies, and discussing them with friends for example "I thought Morbius was just ok." thats a statrment on Twitter that would more than likely get me ravaged by trolls.
But i dont get on peoples cases for all the hate it gets because it really is not perfect and it was a real dumb decision to re release it.
@@myriadmediamusings specially since he started along the boom of caustic critics.
@@skorn8112 all in all, the main thing is to be respectful to others.
@@diegomontesleon136 absolutly 😀
Constantine is a character I tend to find much more interesting when he's acting as a supporting character in a story about someone who's a more optimistic hero than when he's by himself.
Constantine’s recent popularity probably stems from Matt Ryan’s hilarious performances of the character in the CW Arrowverse and in the DC animated movies.
Turns out if you put Garth Ennis on a tight enough leash, he can make some really interesting and compelling stories.
As is true of most "genius" creators, really. When they no longer have anyone to keep them honest, their self-indulgence usually destroys them.
Not really true. Like punisher in the mainstream universe is considered far worse than marvel max verison where ennis has complete creative control. Or preacher.
@@paulakroy2635 The existence of The Pro, Dicks and The Boys says otherwise. Total creative control with zero guardrails in all three cases, all of which were various versions of "ugh!"
I'd have to disagree. Having read a lot of his war comics (which are creator owned) which are nowhere near edgy but still violent (it is war after all) shows he can tell a compelling story without an editorial leash. Check out Sara, dreaming Eagles, war stories, out of the blue, battlefields and the loin and the eagle.
Calliban ghost rider trail of year, Sara, say otherwise
As someone who doesn't like most of Ennis' creations, I'm still pretty fond of Constantine because he leans into what I've since realized is my favorite weird fictional subgenre: generic hardboiled noir detective in weird fantastical or sci-fi setting.
For me, it's entertaining to watch a character whose basics we know and understand being perfectly at home in a world that we're not used to associating with that style of character (see 70% of Star Trek holodeck episodes). Seeing John skulking around a bar of magicians and sorcerers for info, reluctantly helping the JLA deal with Klarion, popping into Sandman just long enough to further confuse Hob Gadling about the nature of the supernatural... it all works because he's both clearly at home and narratively unsuited to what he's doing.
If there's one thing I've noticed about Ennis's work. Is that whenever he writes a series or takes over a series, he always introduces a badass new character who just so happens to be British, Irish, or Scottish, and if their a guy, ex military or special forces. Then, the characters coincidentally decide to go visit Ireland and reminiscence about the great times they've had there.
My father died of lung cancer in 2021. We opted for at home hospice care so he could die in the house he'd built in the 70s. I spent the last three months of his life watching the shell of a man that the painkillers left behind waste away to nothing. Listened to his last rattling breath a couple of weeks before Christmas along with my thoroughly traumatized sister and mother.
This story doesn't really work for me any more, if it ever did.
Sorry for your loss.
My aunt is going into hospice care as we speak. Liver failure. It's not easy.
I'm sorry for your loss. Your father is in a far better place now.
@@bthsr7113Best wishes for a good and quick recovery to your aunt.
12:15 - I just noticed the pride cybermats. (Prydermats?) Nice.
Turns to 6:00- so that's where the monologue from Constantine's pilot episode came from. Loved his show's theme song!
I can't believe the Constantine show predicted the grocery store price hike.
@@user-lq8ii5rx3z Oh no I loved that they did that. Gave Matt Ryan some extra live-action work and more John Constantine screentime
@@user-lq8ii5rx3z Yeah that’s called pulling a Crisis. And i find it a little odd you’re mad at the Arrowverse for successfully pulling off a shared DC universe after years of us begging the films to do the same.
@@user-lq8ii5rx3z Well the other option was to let Constantine be canceled after one season. And it WAS that vehement fandom push to bring him back in some form that convinced the CW to give Ryan an Arrow cameo. Which led to his Legends of Tomorrow supporting role. So if you're mad that the network found a way to keep this character around other than reviving Constantine's... mostly alright show, idk what to tell you.
@@user-lq8ii5rx3z I mean seeing how The CW managed to adapt John’s chainsmoking, bisexuality, and morally dubious behavior better than his show at times… yeah. They even adapted and gave closure to his Astra guilt storyline.
It's awesome to see Linkara spotlight John Constantine. He is my favorite of the Justice League Dark group.
I hate how his show was canceled
So this is how my dad felt when I was going on about how "awesome Star Trek TNG is and who's this Spock guy? Sounds lame but anyway Worf is so cool" just.....dying a bit inside
@darthcinema4262 I'll second that. That show was damn near perfect and it was just the first season
@@darthcinema4262 same. I’m still bitter about it.
@@darthcinema4262 Did you keep up with him after he joined the Arrowverse?
Honestly, I'm a fan of John for the same reason I'm a fan of other "trickster" archetype characters in mythology. It isn't that John himself is gripping as a character, but rather the ingenuity and desire to survive with which he approaches every situation.
Its the idea of the guy who really is way more in control of the world around him than the rest of us. Not because he was born with advantages, but because he makes his own, and knows when to cheat. Specifically then doing so for the benefit of others.
Of course Hellblazer John, then gets punched in the face by reality and circumstance because how dare he value others...but that's not really the character's fault.
I really like the Hellblazer comics I've read. Primarily those by Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis, but sadly not all of them. And one thing that some adaptations forget is that John cares deeply about the people around him. He may not want to, he may not like it, and his life probably would have been easier if he didn't. And it sure as hell doesn't stop him from using them as a human shield when the chips go down. In some ways he's a coward. Which sounds odd with the kind of gutsy stuff he pulled. But when pressed, the adage of 'you don't need to outrun the bear...' always holds up. He usually gets by by the skin of his teeth because he's punching way above his weight class.
In some ways that makes him despicable, for sure. And it's one of the reasons he doesn't fit in with the likes of the Justice League. He's not a hero. He'll feel like crap about what he does, and try to do right and reconcile. And some people have cut ties with him, and for good reason. He's supposed to be a bit charming and disarming, not a fulltime snide asshole.
He's a very political character too. The Delano comics are all set in the Thatcher era in britain and while John has a dislike for any politicians, he leans very left-wing (and I mean actual left wing, not what FOX-news claims is left-wing). Most of his anger and vitriol is aimed at those in power. And while he is a magician, he's passable at that. He gets by on his wit, not his magical mastery. At least in those older Hellblazers, no idea what later incarnations have done with the character.
1:19 I actually am with Linkara on this one. The Boys Tv show, while it works as a satire of superhero merchandising and other stuff, and is a compelling show, 7/10 at least, the main point is still there. It supposedly deconstructs super heroes.... but it doesn't actually has superheroes.
It only shows supervillains masquerading as heroes (and a few like Starlight ARE actual superheroes.... or super powered individuals who TRY TO BE) but because all people who have been called "super heroes" act like that, they think "they are all like that", and proceeds to go on Ennis usual mdus operandi of saying "only people like police officers, and trained soldiers and people like that are real heroes, and super powers are inheritently evil nd make people evil and yadda yadda".....
However I like some things they do on the show, if anything, is one of the most interesting deconstructions of mass empowerement events and a society based on that event..... and is like the Anti-My Hero academia to a degree.
STILL it does the usual "superhero deconstruction cliche" of "only having human people with super powers" and not once show a single threat actual super heroes face against (time travellers, demons, mad scientists and their weird experiments and super weapons, killer robots, evil sorcerers, alien invaders, giant monsters, alternate universe evil counterparts, etc.) that serves as a quick reminder "right this is why super heroes are usually needed"
The only good Ennis super hero deconstruction is The Pro. A book about a prostitute that becomes powered and changes the bumbling heroes for the better.
That's the real issue with The Boys as a deconstruction of superheroes: it doesn't actually deconstruct anything. It's just a story about a group supervillains backed by a corporation that gives them good PR in order to profit off of them. Supervillians with good publicity and corporations exploiting superhuamns for profit were both pretty well-worn tropes long before Ennis started The Boys.
That's not to say the Amazon adaptation is a bad story (Despite some uncomfortable moments I've enjoyed it so far). It's a story about an evil corporation literally founded by Nazis that built supervillains to serve their own nefarious goals. There's even some interesting depth to the supervillains in the show (something the comic lacked, as far as I'm aware), since there's a lot of emphasis on how Vaught has twisted them to be who they are and hints that maybe Homelander wouldn't be a monster if he'd been raised by the Kents instead of growing up as a Vaught lab rat.
To be fair it's way more of a deconstruction of the modern corporate world and people's blind following of brands than anything. Just uses superhero tropes to tell the story. Hell Vought might as well be Bayer in the real world. People forgive that they made the gasses nazis used in the gas chambers because they also made your headache go bye-bye.
@@Cykotyk Which definitely isn't a bad direction, but an anti-corporate message coming from Amazon falls a bit flat. Especially when their deconstruction is aimed mostly at their competitors.
@@chengarqordath i think it deconstructs mark millar’s superheroes and the edgy 90’s material weirdly enough
Tht thing about Ennis is, his best work, at least to me, comes when he is not writing superheroes. The guy says he grew up reading war comics. So when you see him writing WW2 books, or stories from characters like Nick Fury or Frank Castle in Vietnam, the violence is still very omnipresent, but not the edginess. Because there, it gets treated as more of a tragedy.
Ok, now you have my interest. I absolutely despise The Boys, and honestly the name makes no actual sense, but if he does justice for the military in any facet I’m game.
The Nick Fury stories especially are tragedies. Reading My War Gone By may be enough to make you lose all faith in humankind.
Borderline I feel like their is tradgey in itself how much the American comic industry doesn’t really allow for the majority of creators to write comics outside of superheroes
I had to listen to 28:43-30:03 gain, for how well put it got Linkara's points across, about John's humanity, the randomness of surviving cancer or not, and Garth Ennis' hatred of almost everyone he writes about. Speaking of the Constantine movie, that one made me aware of the character in the first place, the Matt Ryan show and his subsequent Arrowverse appearances hooked me in. So much so, It got me to buy his comics after DC's Nu52 and continuing into REBIRTH.
This was the storyline that got me to binge every single Hellblazer comic in college, end to end. John's a bastard, but he's a bastard trying to claw his way to somewhere better. In countless storylines- here, Swamp Thing, Justice League Dark, The Books of Magic (which is sadly forgotten and utterly awesome) -he's the nuclear option, and even he knows it, but he can't just lay down and die. He HAS to try, even if it rarely goes well for all parties, because he'd sooner that than let something go sour he COULD have fixed. He's a bastard, and he hates he's one, but he tries to make the most of that and even occasionally take some joy in being so for the right causes. I adore the toxic little jerk, even if sometimes I want to slap him as badly as he wants to slap himself.
Huge Constantine fan here love his Vertigo Run and really love the Justice League Dark run from 2018 and the Sandman Universe run. Glad to see this arc covered. It's one of my favorites.
THANK YOU Linkara! God I've always hated Garth Ennis' other works and I cant stand people who praise it like some genius writing, when really it was just capitalizing on their modern, "realistic", this-ain't-your-daddys-comics mindset, but really it was just the worst kind of edgelord crap that's just misery to read through.
I legit hope one day you take on The Boys and/or Preacher and tear them apart as they so richly deserve.
Legends of Tomorrow's Constantine will always be my favorite version of the character
If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend his solo show from before he showed up in Arrow and Legends.
The Arrowverse binds all good DC live action content
@@kainhighwind2 his solo show is part of the Arrowverse.
I love his snark off with Lucifer.
Him, being a Welsh druid makes more sense. Than some bloke from the North.
Perfect timing! I was just looking for something to watch!
Speaking of Gabriel he gets his in either Dangerous Habits or the next big Hellblazer Storyline set after Dangerous Habits, basically "Spoiler Alert if you haven't read the comics" John tricks the egotistical excuse of an archangel into committing one of the 7 Deadly Sins to be specific the Sin of Lust aka John tricks Gabriel into having sex with his Succubus friend Ella and during said sex Ella brutally injures Gabriel including ripping his wings off and when Gabriel makes the attempt to return to Heaven to heal himself he's immediately cast down back to Earth now one of the very humans he used to look down upon with his now permanent scars being a reminder of how despite being an archangel who was above humans he still gave into human temptation and now has to live with the consequences of his actions which ultimately led to him being casted out of Heaven and forced to live as one of the very humans that he saw himself superior to for the rest off his now mortal life.
26:32 Hey, I understood that reference!
Also the climax of this storyline reminds me of something from a fantasy setting that I shan't get into. Not sure which one came first, but it's still what the youngsters these days would call a "gamer move".
I just realized, Constantine’s opening monologue here is almost exactly the same as the one from the tv series! Pretty much word for word in fact!
It was amusing to see all of the bits and pieces of this comic that would later be used in the Keanu Reeves movie! Stuff like Gabriel saying "It's because you smoked thirty-six cigarettes a day since you were seventeen", Constantine summoning the devil himself by slashing his wrists, or the devil pulling one last screw-you to him by ripping the cancer out of his chest by hand. This is a surprisingly heartfelt book, and I appreciate seeing the art that would later make Sandman great.
Makes me wonder what storyline would be done or even referenced in Constantine 2
John Constantine is actually one of my favorite comic book characters and here's why: yes, he's a snarky cynical arsehole but he recognizes and owns it. Due to past traumas, he purposefully keeps people at arm's length to ensure their safety as he's literally haunted by the ghosts of people, mostly friends, that have died over the course of his adventures and continue to do so. Also, despite being a powerful mage, Constantine mostly uses his intelligence and resourcefulness to defeat demons and other supernatural baddies, which just helps to make him stand out more. He's a witty, sharp-tongued working-class magician and paranormal investigator and I just find that relatable. And then there's his backstory and abilities, particularly synchronicity wave-traveling, which is all very interesting. Even if you don't personally like the character, you can, at the very least, admit he's got his own identifiable look and personality.
The DC Rebirth: Because our first couple of rebirths were so bad why don't we just do it again cause we've certainly learned from our mistakes
And we are TOTALLY NOT GONNA FUCK THING UP AGAIN in the next few months, no sirrie....
The thing is, it was good
Really good
I quite like Constantine, but in doses and when he has other heroes to interact with.
He's in the "Zatanna and the Ripper" series on webtoon and is pretty good there. I also like him in the Justice League Dark films and arguably he's the best part of the Apokolips War film. (Though they did him dirty in House of Madness.)
@@Stargazer_Ley Thouse are very huge back steps for the character in terms of writing. Getting him to a superhero group makes no sense and Zatanna and the ripper laked the dark tone of Hellblazer and the social aspects of the character. The real John Constantine is the one that apears in Hellblazer and Swamp Thing. Also books of magic. Everything they've done to him after new 52 except Simon Spurrier's run its like writing a very different character.
As much as I understand your disinterest to Ennis and "The Boys", it's still nice to enjoy you talking about his work anyway.
Are there alternatives to that kind of story that you enjoy?
@daelen.cclark
I would honestly rather watch The Boys than it's comic book counterpart because I'm not interested in reading comic books from the 2000s thats rife with edge lord comedy.
The Boys Is just rape, sperm, and blood on every page. All the characters are one dimensional. If there is anything you like in the show, I can guarantee it's not in the comics.
@@alienboy1322That’s completely fair. The show is slightly more tolerable, but I don’t care for either.
I liked John Constantine he is really awesome and tons of fun.
I appreciate the lil Pride Cybermats on the shelves
Funnily enough, Linkara and Constantine have a lot in common, being magically-skilled, trickster hero archetypes with nice coats (and even some of Linkara's earlier coats were similar to John's). Linkara just replaces all that cynicism and vice with optimism and geekery. And a spaceship.
Ah I see this is the Linkara from the Constan-TYNE universe, which is different from the universe some of us are from, the Constan-TEEN universe.
Those blasted Berenstein Bears are to blame.
I am of the teen crowd.
First time Ive ever heard it pronounced ConastanTYNE
Teen sounds better, IMHO, but was trying to stave off the gajillion people who tell me that it's pronounced the other way.
Crap, I should have scrolled down the comments further to see that someone beaten me in the pronouncing department.
@@BronzeBoy520 me too
Holy Beer and Holy Caprisun are absolutely delightful concepts!
I actually read the entire original Hellblazer run and to be honest I did like it, but my favourite part was the stuff from the very beginning, written by Delano. A lot of really nice and varied horror stuff, from the ghosts of dead us soldiers thinking they're still in Vietnam while moving down their own family members, to someone getting carted off this plane of reality (or is it plain ?) by Winnie the Pooh.
I am not the biggest fan of Ennis' run on Hellblazer, because Ennis loves to mock the supernatural too much to do anything interesting with it (see in Preacher, with him just killing off the Devil in a prequel side comic rather than have him be part of the story at all) and also, him creating The First tarnished Hellblazer permanently.
Cause aside from it being an obvious attempt to out Gaiman Gaiman by having his own totally original character that was the ACTUAL REAL ORIGINAL Devil before the Devil, whenever Hell was involved BEFORE the First showed up, it would involve one of a variety of different demons with different powers, abilities and, ot a lesser extent, personalities.
Afterwards, all Hell related plots just had the First be the focal point and that was basically it.
I can see that a good chunk of this story was the basis for the Keanu Reeves movie, namely the whole cancer bit with the Devil personally wanting to collect Constantine's soul. That said, it sounds like this story should have been a launch point for the Hellblazer series, or a launch point for a new era of it, because it provides a great setup with lots of potential for both future stories as well as a great means of telling past exploits of Constantine's interactions with other demons. In any case, this was a great story and I give a lot of kudos for you clearly and concisely conveying your position on Ennis and his work.
I don't think your analysis of the character of Constantine quite... Well, not "rings true" or "fits" because that's your take on the character as he's been presented in the media he's been in that you've seen, but that's the only way I can describe it.
John doesn't think he's better than anyone -- he just knows he's the only one willing to cut straight to the heart of the matter and do what others won't to solve problems. That's the nature of magic and the supernatural in his world; it's dirty, bloody and painful, but magicians act like it's a divine working and they're elevated entities whose minds and power control it -- they're the ones who think they're better than everyone else. John knows he's not, that's the difference between him and them.
The Vertigo Hellblazer series is testament to that dynamic -- at any given time John bops from problem to problem leaving broken lives in his wake and acting like it's normal (because after all this time, it is for him) and shrugging the trauma off through booze and cynicism. Ennis's analysis of John as a bastard is very correct in that respect. There are also just as many times where John is utterly devastated by what he encounters but has to slog through the aftermath to avoid his own pain consuming him completely. He's as much a victim of himself as everyone else is.
I guess really your take on the character is utterly correct for how the character presents himself, which is utterly appropriate -- John is the self-appointed bastard, the only one with his head on right and willing to do anything for the best outcome for himself. But underneath that is a man harrowed and haunted by everything he does and all the harm he causes others, that's the side he'd never let anyone else see (except the reader)
Dangerous Habits is the best example of all this, but there are a few stories in the Delano Era that I'd recommend too -- "The Family Man" is my favourite storyline, dealing with a really mundane but dangerous threat, as well as having some very out there (and gruesome, as a warning) short stories as a part of it.
Cheers for the review, as well as all your years of reviews -- I think this is my first comment on a story you've covered, just wanted to express my thanks as well!
"Over a decade later, I'm still haunted by Glauw-kester-shy-err"
Right here, man. I'M still haunted by an animated greyish-green scrotum that's supposed to be an elephant seal.
14:55 - I suppose a Brad Jones joke would be a little too obvious, wouldn't it? lol
A few years ago I was often made fun of for liking the Keanu Reeves Constantine movie and, now, after all of those John Wick movies I don't get so much of that when I bring it up. It was cheesy and weird and I like it, not as much as the 2004 Hellboy.
Constantine is one of my guilty pleasures. I absolutely adored Matt Ryan as Constantine.
"USE A BL***DY DOOR ORCHID!!"
22:11 Ah so this is where the gambit he pulled in the House of Mystery movie came from.
I just realized the theme to the title cards was due to Valentines Day... I feel kinda silly now, but props to Viga as usual
i assume several others have said this already, but i'll do so anyway just in case: Constantine's friends constantly dying(and it usually being his fault in one way or another) is something that goes all the way back to his appearances in Swamp Thing when Moore was writing the character, and continued on through the initial Hellblazer run before Ennis came on board.
As an Irish man, the pronunciation of Dun Laoghaire is ( done leer- re)
A big part of the appeal for me regarding him is I enjoy his almost blue collar ramshackle approach to dealing with the supernatural. That and I like snarky characters
That was Alan Moore’s original thinking. He noticed so many stuffy, elder intellectual warlocks in fiction and thought it would be fun to create a younger, more blue-collar version of that archetype. Ironically Constantine was one of the few comic book heroes to naturally age during his Hellblazer run.
John Constantine is one of those characters that I can only read in small doses before I get really annoyed by him, and it's the same way I feel about Deadpool.
Harley stands out for me as someone in that category. She is just overused and overhyped.
i'd say it's perfectly valid to pronounce it "con-stan-TYNE" or "con-stan-TEEN"--i know the former is the British pronunciation, but outside of fandom stuff (and in different contexts) i've only heard it as the latter (it was an RTS game where one of the campaigns featured one of the Roman Emperors Constantine in particular). stuff that's written more often than actually spoken is especially prone to that, particularly paleontology names (Parasaurolophus is just one example--PAIR-uh-sore-ALL-oh-fuss vs. PAIR-uh-SORE-oh-LOW-fuss).
Yeah I have only heard it as the "teen" version
Not When the creator says the last syllable is teen not Tyne
Constantine with the long i is the comic character, while Constantine with the long e is the movie version played by Keanu.
As Data says in Star Trek about "day-ta" versus "dah-ta": "One is my name, the other is not." John is British, so when used as his name it should be pronounced in the British manner.
@@the_exegete i am mistake, alan moore and neal says ot is tyne
Often authors will say that they can't make a character do something or that they lost control of the character. Arthur Conan Doyle eventually started to hate Sherlock Holmes and wanted to stop writing the stories. He only continued when fans forced in too.
That and he needed money after an operetta he cowrote with JM Barrie flopped.
I don't really like Constantine that much either, but I like a few things about him, like the ending for these comics. And it's sometimes fun to see the regular heroes interact with him. Like the bit from the Injustice comics where Madame Xanadu puts a sign on her door that says he specifically isn't allowed in her home.
Honestly Tom Taylor can write the hell out of John Constantine.
@@qwellen7521 I love Tom Taylor, but he trully destroyed the mithology of the character in Rise and Fall
The thing about garth ennis that makes me really like him is that even though he likes writing these morally gray assholes, at the end of the day he has a somewhat strict moral compass that really shines at the more monologuey moments in his best comics (Preacher, Unknown Soldier, Hellblazer, Punisher Born etc). It even becomes clear on things i dont rly agree with him on (like how at the end of the Hellblazer run there is some really spotty things about the black protestors against the national front, or in his Punisher MAX book and the whole "actually irish people shouldnt care about the british cuz its cringe"). You said that the interview quote baffled you because of his bibliography, and i can say that as someone who has read so much of his work, though it may be surprising, there is a precedent to him being kind of a huge moralist lol
His problem was when he became known as the 2edgy4u satirist (which, though it was always a big component of his stories, was always just *a* component of them). Thats when you get shit like Crossed and The Boys and The Pro (the latter of which i still think is kinda funny but still)
Internally, i separate Ennis into roughly two periods - there is his 90s-mid 00s work which i find extremely compelling because it has that insane subversive edge all peppered in by a strong interest in ethics and a somewhat strict moral code, and then after The Boys was a thing, it was more like "ennis by ennis" - oh, so people like my crazy violent and fucked up comics? Bet
@@gabisyderas1855have you read any of his war comics?
Personally I like Constantine when hes bouncing off others
My favorite version of him is the Arrowverse version where the gruff cynical dick gets paired with the wacky, more lighthearted Legends of Tomorrow
Me too. I definitely think he's a great character when he's interacting with other heroes.
It’s the equivalent of the Marvel monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone hanging out with the outlandish, more goofy Nextwave.
NEXTWAVE: More robots and beer than the nerdiest frat party!
@@darthcinema4262Yeah
When hes on his own the cynical, jerky attitude cam get annoying but its a great balance to other more optemistic characters
This was my first Constantine comic I've ever read, and cemented him as my top 3 favorite DC character of all time, under plastic man and Superman. Seeing him get his own show and basically bookend the DCAM universe was always a treat.
Now I have the strong urge to rewatch Legends of Tomorrow lol
And plead for James Gunn to give the show one last season on HBO Max. One that lets them get Doom Patrol levels of weird (and Legends really pushed the Silver Age weirdness hard!)
@@benwasserman8223 and the arrowverse was already known to use elements of the silver age
@@jadenbryant9283 Yeah but Flash was always tap dancing on the weirdness. Legends did polka, salsa and breakdance moves with its Silver Age storylines.
@@benwasserman8223 agreed legends really went in on it
I think part of Johnny's popularity is people like watching him suffer. Another is he's apparently a magnificent bastard. Did not know he was an Enis creation though. Also for a time, John was one of the few openly bi characters. How the hell they got John Constantine on a kids cartoon is beyond me
I think the thing that makes Garth Ennis so unpalatable to me is his complete and utter contempt for superheroes as a concept. Say what you will about the Boys TV show (personally more of a mixed bag for me, some of the "edgy" shock stuff is still there, but it has gotten a laugh out of me a few times, and the acting is all around really good), at least it seems to be written by people who like and understand the medium, at least it tries to give SOME characterization to these characters (I will always have a tiny bit of respect for the show basically saying "Hey, Karl Urban's character is kind of a horrible person that nobody likes, don't be like him").
To paraphrase another video, "Even if you're Martin Scorcese scaring Iron Man trick-or-treaters from your front yard, you will never hate superheroes as much as Garth Ennis."
The big problem with any "deconstruction" of superheroes is that no one has really tried to do anything beyond just restating the premise of Watchmen by finding more and more violent ways to say, "Did you know realistic superheroes would be flawed human beings? Did you ever think about that, motherfucker? Did you ever consider it in your tiny mind? Anyway, Not Superman kills and eats babies. Like a flawed human being would."
Comics are probably more adventurous and interesting than ever now with tons of books doing actual deconstructions of different aspects of superheroes and different comic genres, but anything that specifically sets itself up as a deconstruction like The Boys is just more sophomoric coattail chasing of their betters. The fact the show turned out to be in any way watchable is basically a Biblical miracle given how godawful the source material is.
Besides this story the other Garth Ennis story that I suggest everyone give at least one read through is Welcome Back Frank. To me it is the perfect Punisher story and a way to bring the character back after time as an angel hitman.
Getting a bit hypothetical here, but I feel Constantine's reputation in comics kinda plateaud because of his use in the wider DC Universe. Pretty much all of his most dedicated fans, at least that I've seen, are fans of Hellblazer. His Vertigo stories turn being just a guy into an asset: it helps keep him grounded and relatable in a world of angels, demons, magic and whatever else.
But when DC tries to bring him into other stuff... it doesn't seem to translate well. And while it's easy to blame that on DC's mainline not going as dark as Vertigo, I think that's more down to regular DC writers not being able to capture his sympathetic side. John's not usually presented as down to Earth, like someone like Peter Parker might be. He's The Cool Magic Snarky Guy, who leads teams like Justice League Dark or screws over the Gemworld or whatever. They play up his power and quick wit over his humanity.
This comic got me to quit smoking
This was actually pretty good. I might not know much about this character, but seeing you tackle him (figuratively speaking) is really cool.
1:13 Oh No Lewis it didn’t just tone things down they changed the entire story
Also they didn’t even tone things down season 3 opens with a guy that can shrink climbing up another dudes penis and accidentally blowing him up from the inside like those memes about ant man and Thanos
Edit: Really what the show did was actually develop its characters beyond the one note stereotypes they were the Seven especially.
Hell they actually gave Kimiko a name in the comics she’s just called the female
I really like this show if you can’t tell it’s fine that you don’t but I do and I want to sing it’s praises
Had to double check...that's not John's dad's grave, it's his mom's. And I've never read the comics, but I'm aware he generally doesn't like his dad, because he's a right bastard
23:14 above all, when in hellblazer chapter 19 the last page of sandman chapter 3 was shown, establishing the connection of both series
I completely understand your stance regarding Garth Ennis. He has more misses for me than hits.
But John Constantine is my 2nd favorite comic character ever, just below Swamp Thing. And I'm very happy that you found a good deal to enjoy from this storyline. In college, I wrote a 20 page essay analyzing the political themes of Hellblazer, mainly the early stories including this storyline. There is a lot I think goes under appreciated or overlooked in this early era of the series
Garth ennis has way more hits than misses
@@paulakroy2635 I'll admit that I haven't read a lot of his work. But of the stuff I have, there is more in the "not feeling it" category than the ones I did enjoy
My favorite part of this story is that each demon had a bit that they do and when one interrupts the other they’re like “dude you ruined my bit wtf?!”
Speaking as someone with a fairly high tolerance for edge lord material, I complexly get why a lot of people don't like Garth Ennis. His work often has really good human moments, but it gets buried by his attempts to shock the reader. The entirety of The Boys being a prime example.
When I try to give examples of Ennis at his more restrained, I try to point people towards his war comics, especially his series Battlefields. The edge-lord material is entirely absent in those books, likely due to the authors reverence for WWII and those that served in it. There are a lot violence and gritty material in those comics (the story 'Dear Billy' includes some particularly gruesome content) but it doesn't feel like Ennis was going for shock. Rather, he was trying to paint an unvarnished image of the horrors of war and what people really went through.
my mother actually has cancer and i am going through something similar to john
except of it happening to me, it's happening to a loved one. you touching on this subject helped me vent
Best wishes for your mother. May both of you make it through this.
Well, this comic hits close for me. I got diagnosed with cancer a few years back and I had a similar sheer stubborn willed refusal. I refused to let it break my spirit the way it did for some. I could barely stand some days, but I'd grab my coat and cane and do my best to go for walks, I struggled to keep food down, it didn't stop me from trying to eat my fill and enjoy my meals. I made dark jokes about it, and even when I got diagnosed, my first response was how regrowing my hair was going to suck. Now admittedly I had a more tame type of cancer than mentioned here ( Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma) but I still just refused to be beaten down by it.
The most unbelievable thing about this comic to me is the time frame. Not even a full week to get the diagnoses? Just from throwing up one time? And in just a few weeks he's already about to die, meanwhile that guy in the hospital has had it for a while. What? Maybe lung cancer is easier to find and I'm talking out my ass for this part, but the time frame really bugged me. This feels like a comic that should go by in months, but seems like it all takes place in a few weeks at most.
It's strange and funny that some of the best depictions of cancer I've personally seen come from this, Ultimate iron man (I don't know the issue number but one comic I read described chemo as the most awful Chinese restaurant you've ever gone to, that makes you sick for days, and as soon as you finally start feeling better you go back to that same restaurant) and shockingly, Archer of all things
I'm not a big fan of Ennis either but I've given him a shot a few times and while my overall opinion hasn't changed I do get enjoyment from most of his stories, more so in the generic action movie way rather than a work I would revisit multiple times. Same thing with Constantine, I've enjoyed his moments in other series but never found him compelling enough to care too much for a lot of his series. Still this was a great arc and I appreciate it a fair bit.
8:19 Comfort maybe but the dignity part is a bit subjective.
Yeah, I don't find anything dignified about wasting away in bed like that.
27:32 Which line was the jack o'lantern reference? that's an actual folklore myth? i thought that was just something they comae up for billy and mandy halloween episode
29:58 exactly how much of a bastard, garth ennis made constatine be later on, if CONSTANTINE is the one he regrets writting when arguably billy butcher is way worse (as far as i know)
30:11 so that's one way to quote songs in comic books
Look up "Stingy Jack," the story of a guy who tricked the devil twice and is a mythological basis for Jack o'lanterns.
Looks like the thumbnail of this video (and the last two videos) are “rule of threes.”
Haven't read a lot of Ennis' stuff, but in the few things of his I've picked up, he seems to have friendship as a key subject and theme, so maybe his dislike of Constantine comes down to seeing him as someone who takes advantage of his friends, manipulating or even sacrificing them when he sees fit.
1:23 THANK YOU. I’ve been saying the same thing with regards to my own disinterest of the Boys and I’m so glad to see someone like you putting their foot down and just not wanting to watch it. Totally agree about his work being edgelord crap
I like Constantine bc him hanging out with the justice league cracks me up
The contrast really is entertaining.
Ennis' opinion of Constantine is not exactly wrong. Hellblazer is 300 issues worth of John losing friends who get "too close". Sometimes it is because he uses them, most of the time it is because he messes up, like those ghosts from the start of the story. They were all part of an exorcism gone terribly wrong from when John used to roll-up with a coven of his own. The exorcism itself would have happened in the 70s, but you see them die still in John's first appearances in Swamp Thing.
This clash between 3 demons was done in a DC Showcase: Constantine House of Mystery. Short 20~ minute featurette that is meant to tie into the end of the DCAMU that concluded with Justice League Dark Apokolips War
29:59 Having read those later stories, Linkara, I would say Ennis' version of Constantine is less asshole (though there's a bit of that) and more guilty survivor as you said. When he loses friends, he always hurts, ESPECIALLY if it's his fault (which it usually is). He can never lie to himself about what he is and therefore what he thinks he deserves.
Okay. I just worked this out. Assuming there isn't something specifically in the issues of Hellblazer that specifically mentions the trio of the Fallen not being the real trio. . .
It actually IS possible that these three actually ARE Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Azazel. Yes. The real ones.
Remember that John's nightmares were something that Morpheus assuaged. But here, we see he is struggling with nightmares.
So this story must take place before the events of Sandman, before the Hope in Hell story. That means these three are the real deal, because Lucifer hasn't quit yet.
Weird personal note, I got a glimpse of this comic almost 20 years ago, when I was in highschool. A classmate brought a copy for some work I don't remember. Never knew what it was about till now