Hellblazer

[Lei-Lei Jayenne]

Any fellow Hellblazer/John Constantine disciples on here? I've been reading this series for years, and I can't fault it. The stories are so totally unique that sometimes it's hard to see where the plotlines come from. Such vivid imaginations these authors have. Plus, the artwork on the whole is amazing. I find JC one of the best characters in literature, a flawed hero always seems more attractive to me. Not sure what how I feel about Keanu playing JC in the upcoming film though!!

[Dr Haggard]

I've just started getting into Constantine. Although I've been interested in the series for a while, I had'nt read it sequentially yet. Then news that Mike Carey (of Lucifer) was taking the helm piqued me interest. On Garth Ennis' last book now and looking forward to what Carey is going to do with the character.

[Rhiannon]

I've picked up the Hellblazer books, but I haven't read them in sequence. I like the character and I like the tone - dark, dark, dark. I got interested when I came across JC in Sandman. Someone told me he first appears in Swamp thing. Is that right? Where is the best place to start?
Rhi

[Lei-Lei Jayenne]

ooh, Sandman, now there's a brilliant series. I keep hearing talk of somebody making a Sandman film, though i kinda wish they'd leave it alone, cos you know they'll only balls it up. I love Lucifer too, Mike Carey's great.
I started Hellblazer with the graphic novel Original Sins by Jamie Delano(my favourite), though you can kinda get away without reading them sequentially. Any of you read the Preacher series aswell?

[Lei-Lei Jayenne]

re; John Constantine and Swamp Thing, he did originate from the Swamp Thing series, but proved so popular they decided to make a series around him. The very first edition of Hellblazer was incorporated in a Swamp Thing edition. I'll try to find out which number Swamp Thing comic it was...

[Rhiannon]

Thanks - that would be good. I've decided that catching up with John Constantine is my target for this spring. Sandman, YES! But no film. They'd have Brad Pitt playing Morpheus or something (nothing against Brad Pitt, but....)

[Lei-Lei Jayenne]

I think John Constantine's first Swamp Thing appearance was around about issue#68.

[Book Weasel]

Ah, no, it was Swamp Thing twenty something (24?). Back in those days he was undeniably based on Sting, facially, but I think the legal team stepped in when he graduated to his own series and he was written and drawn differently. :cool:

[Lei-Lei Jayenne]

I wasn't quite sure about the Swamp Thing comic he first appeared in.
Btw, just been reading some views on the Constantine film on the Hellblazer forum, and by all accounts it's one to avoid like the plague, sadly.

[Book Weasel]

Yes, I'd heard bad reports of the film too; and the new comic adaptation of the film is dreadful! It's a shame, beacuse you'd think, given the quality of the writing in Hellblazer over the years, that a script would be a piece of cake.....

[Lei-Lei Jayenne]

Yeh the comic adaptation is awful. Ah well, i should never get my hopes up about these film adaptations, especially when Keanu Reeves name is attached. :rolleyes:

[Book Weasel]

But, as Elmore Leonard (himself both a novelist and a script writer) once remarked on how he viewed adaptations of his work, "My book, your film", so maybe these things don't matter that much. At least the comic is still there for us to take solace in.
Incidentally, have there ever been good film adaptations of comics? Swamp Thing was memorably bad, and as for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.... with Hellblazer, I guess it can depend on who your favourite writer is - personally I'd go for Garth Ennis' hard drinker, over other, more contemplative, versions.

[Mad Dog and Glory]

Incidentally, have there ever been good film adaptations of comics?

Not a fan of comics, but surely...Superman II, Spiderman and Spiderman II.

I wasn't keen at all on the Batman films.

[Book Weasel]

Yes, I'll give you the Spidermen. And the Xmen too, weren't bad films. Superman films - all of the Christopher Reeve ones - I thought were pretty bad at visualising some of the key elements of the comic - Kypton is very 'space age 1950's USA' for example in the comic, and the Phantom Zone is an actual landscaped place.

But it should be relatively easy to translate a comic to the screen, after all you've got a virtual storyboard, fully scripted. With Hellblazer though I do feel that the essence of the character is his 'northern englishness'. The writers over the years - Alan Moore, Ennis, Delano - have always emphasised that. Keanu Reeves? Noooo! :eek: It may very well be a fine film, and a terrific performance by the lad Reeves, but John Constantine he ain't!

[Lei-Lei Jayenne]

The 2 X-Men films are my favourite comic book adaptations. They just capture the X-Men comics and characters really well. The casting was spot-on, which helps!(Keanu Reeves as JC!!! :rolleyes: ) The 2 Spider-Man films are also very good, particularly the second, which is a great film in it's own right, and has the perfect mix of super-hero action, and super-hero angst. The Superman films i think are enjoyable Sunday afternoon viewing, if a little dated now.

[Lei-Lei Jayenne]

After thinking that the film Constantine was going to be terrible, i've just read 2 very positive reviews from fairly respected sources. God, i'm confused about WHAT to expect now...