<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

John Constantine
Gender	Male
Publisher	DC Comics, Vertigo
Origin	Liverpool, England
First Appearance	Swamp Thing #37 (June, 1985)
Creator(s)	Alan Moore John Totleben Steve Bissette
Alter ego	None
Aliases	The Laughing Magician, Hellblazer, Conjob
Abilities	Expert in the way the world of magic works, crafty and tricky, practitioner of magic and hypnosis.
Affiliations	Trenchcoat brigade

John Constantine is a fictional comic book character owned by DC Comics. He began in an issue of Swamp Thing in the story arc called American Gothic. Since then, John Constantine has appeared in many DC and Vertigo Comics, as well as his own comic, Hellblazer, which is one of Vertigo’s longest running and most successful series. Vertigo is DC Comics’ adult horror line. The character has also been featured in his own live action movie Constantine (2005), played by Keanu Reeves.

John is a kind of occult detective, whose mission seems to be to foil the attempts of both heavenly and demonic forces from interfering and abusing humanity. To do this he employs his expert knowledge of the occult world, and his own manipulative and crafty mind. He is a working class guy, and his stories tend to portray both angel and devil as self-serving upper class snobs seeking to exploit the common man. His chain smoking, his hard drinking, and his Liverpool accent helps confirm this image. Though often forced into the role of “hero”, John is a cynic, his biting humor and sarcasm an intimate part of his character and style. He is a con artist, always using the greed and fears of the being he is dealing with against them. Deception and misdirection are also among his favorite tools.

There is an aura of guilt around him as well, and John often succeeds at the expense of the life and soul of his allies. His first attempt at heroism was in the British city of Newcastle. Though it resulted in the defeat the monster he was after, it also led to a group of his friends and an innocent child being condemned to Hell. After the "Newcastle incident", John was committed to an insane asylum for years, before being released by the influence of a powerful man who needed his services. While he eventually is able to free his friends and the child from Hell, it took about 15 years to do so, and his Newcastle friends were permanently scarred psychologically. Since then, many of his friends and allies have come to a bad end during his battles with powerful occult forces. John often wins his battles, but doesn't always have a lasting victory, as he and his allies can sometimes pay a huge cost.