History ComicBook / Hellblazer

%% * StuffedIntoTheFridge: Isabel Bracknell in "Haunted".

* PaintingTheMedium: In issue 58, the icy-cold Dr. Amis asks Chas where his nickname comes from. Chas tells him that it's after Chas Chandler, the manager of Creator/JimiHendrix. Dr. Amis replies, "Jimmy Hendricks?" The two names would be pronounced identically; the different spellings are to indicate that he is unfamiliar with Hendrix or his music.

For the tropes specific to John himself, regardless of his incarnation, see the ComicBook/JohnConstantine page.

[[folder: A-B]]

* BewaretheQuietOnes: The djinn or genie in ''Pandemonium''. It clearly showed those U.S. Marines some Middle East hospitality.

A long-running Creator/VertigoComics horror title that spun off from ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' in 1988, ''Hellblazer'' followed ConMan, OccultDetective, gambler and magician of ill repute, John Constantine (rhymes with "turpentine"), as he tangled with Hell, Heaven, the police and the criminal underworld. The comic typically combined horror and fantasy elements (demons, ghosts, vampires. etc.) with a gritty 'real world' setting and an occasional dash of political and social commentary. The majority of the series was set in modern urban Britain, particularly UsefulNotes/{{London}}. Virtually every British comic writer of repute has written for Constantine, such as Jamie Delano, Creator/GarthEnnis, Creator/WarrenEllis, Creator/NeilGaiman, Brian Azzarello, Denise Mina, Paul Jenkins, Andy Diggle, Ian Rankin and Peter Milligan among others.

* AuthorTract: This is a major theme in ''Hellblazer''. Since the beginning of its publication, writers have been putting their own political and philosophical British ideals in it, and since it follows real time than ComicBookTime, a lot of those ideals are come from what was happening in contemporary UK. Examples of this include Jamie Delano's negative views of Thatcher's regime and by 2005, includes the War against Terrorism. When Garth Ennis took writing, he included racism, drugs, and religious fanaticism which was popular at that time. The most controversial writer, Brian Azzarello, tackled issues such as Neo-Nazism, prison rape, and homosexuality. During Warren Ellis' run, he included American school shootings in a one-shot issue which led to a major controversy. As such, much of Hellblazer's horror often comes in the crisis and controversies of its time.

* RealityEnsues: A lifetime of chain-smoking eventually results in John getting diagnosed with lung cancer.

* HaveAGayOldTime:
** "Fags" being British slang for cigarettes, and Constantine being a chain-smoker, lines like "...you'd better go and get yourself three days worth of food and fags" can sound rather odd to American readers.
** Though in the case of John it could also be [[UsefulNotes/{{Bisexual}} male homosexuals.]]
** Naturally, during American Brian Azzarello's first storyline, the double meaning is exploited as Constantine emerges from a shower in prison and claims, "We're all out of fags."

* DemonOfHumanOrigin: Nergal lived in ancient Babylon before he was [[BurnTheWitch burned as a witch]] for sexually abusing children. He was then tortured in hell for thousands of years before he was initiated into demonhood. He would later oversee Anton Arcane's transformation into a demon.
* DemonSlaying: John Constantine isn't called the "Hellblazer" for nothing. He's so good at this profession, that he can kill a demon with just a one sharp glance in ''Hellblazer #50''.
* TheDescendantsOfCain: The "Third Worlds" story arc has John meet with a tribe consisting of Cain's descendants, living near the entrance of the Garden of Eden in the Middle East in a state of perpetual penance. Their religious zeal leads his current girlfriend to mistake them for Islamists.

* Gasshole: Blathoxi, the aptly named Lord of Flatulence.

%% * TheWarOnTerror: In the graphic novel "Pandemonium".

* BiTheWay: John notes in his narration "the odd boyfriend."
** Brian Azzerello's run shows him with one of his past boyfriends [[spoiler:who ends up hating him to the point of becoming one of his antagonists]].
** The DCU gives him more story lines where he openly has boyfriends and flirts with various superheroes such as ''Comicbook/NightWing''.

** Though in the case of John it could also be [[BiTheWay male homosexuals.]]

* MesopotamianMonstrosity: The demon Nergal has the name of a deity from Myth/MesopotamianMythology. It’s implied that he passed himself off as a god, back in the day.

* MagicVersusScience: Magick in ''Hellblazer'' is heavily differentiated by users from science, though both can be combined to create greater effect. Magic and science are two different logical reasoning. But Science is greater accepted as it is easier to apprehend, where as magick is complicated. This is the reason why mages are executed in ancient times because of their powers. This can be further explained in ''Books of Magic''.

** A TricksterGod manifesting as a kangaroo tells Constantine that [[Discworld/TheLastContinent only he can enter the Dreamtime and save Australia]]. And in a different story, [[Discworld/MovingPictures a foul and loathsome demon specialising in soccer hooliganism]] has a showdown with Constantine.

%% * LightIsNotGood: Angels, of all things.

* MadeOfEvil: The First of the Fallen, being the Devil and Satan, is the embodiment of sin and evil.

* BrokenAce: John's twin brother from an AlternateUniverse where he survived (instead of his younger brother). He's handsome, strong-willed, powerful in magic, and beloved by everyone who knows him. He's also so hell-bent on being right that he doesn't bother to see the crimes he commits against his little brother as crimes, and his refusal to admit that he's just as capable of being wrong as everyone else winds up screwing up his people [[spoiler:and ultimately gets him banished to who-knows-where by John.]]

* BrokenAce: John's twin brother from an AlternateUniverse where he survived (instead of his younger brother). He's handsome, strong-willed, powerful in magic, and beloved by everyone who knows him. He's also so hell-bent on being right that he doesn't bother to see the crimes he commits against his little brother as crimes, and his refusal to admit that he's just as capable of being wrong as everyone else winds up screwing up his people [[spoiler:and get him banished to who-knows-where by John.]]