A look back at one of the best characters of all time…

With DC more or less creatively restarting after the events of this week’s Rebirth, I wanted to take a look at a favorite DC character for this week’s weekend coverage. That said, I somehow ended up in Vertigo, an imprint of DC, so I guess you could say I cheated a little. Vertigo has been heavily in flux over the past few years. To get to the essence of the line, I had to dig back into the past, and came across one of my favorite covers from one of my favorite runs of all time.

Ever since the cancellation of Hellblazer, Vertigo has been battling in the low averages. Short of the recent surge with books like Art Ops and Twilight Children, the line suffered from a curious shift in tone. One could assert this came with the departure of Karen Burger, but a macro look at DC would give credence to the idea that it’s a greater creative shift. When Constantine moved over to the main DC line, the character became unrecognizable. I understand characters change, and when you look at the newer books with the thought, “this is a totally different character” then it’s not bad but for lovers of the original John Constantine (featured in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing  and later his own title) the book was a painful reminder that we may never see that guy again. Sure, I enjoyed James Tynion IV’s run enough, but only after the aforementioned separation. I longed for the character we saw in Garth Ennis’ run in the early 90’s.    

This cover, beautifully rendered by Glenn Fabry (artist on all Preacher covers), is the best example of the John Constantine character rendered without words. Firstly, it’s dirty and beaten down, just in setting. Through a static image, you can feel the pain chipping off the cracked walls and the thick air. When you look at John himself, it’s the same type of overall feel. He’s dirty in every sense of the word. He has literal dirt all over him, and you can read his “immorality” from his posture and, obviously, the blood on his shirt and hand. There’s an air that he thinks, and probably is, the best at what he does. Just look at him: he radiates that “bastard bad boy” image that’s the character looks to outwardly stand for, the youth punk reaction to Thatcher’s England. If you could see what he’s thinking, it’s probably along the lines of “piss off”.

That said, this image really stands out because it shows the inner part of John, that is truly unique to the Vertigo character. There’s a sense that the weight of the world is on his shoulders, and the lives lost, especially the ghosts that haunt him, affect his every step. It’s a truly powerful character study.

As telling of the character as it is, it’s also a great example of the British comics invasion of the late 90s. Those Thatcher societal responses that I mentioned earlier are a direct cause of a lot of these titles and deconstruction. These creators from across the pond, with new, edgier voices, are like John in many ways. They have this air of sexiness to them, but a deep innocence inherent in the prose. It’s easy to sympathize for cool, badass characters who have been through so much, when the writers and artists are much like those people. For some first hand accounts of this check out Grant Morrison’ amazing book, Supergods.

Even though this isn’t the most famous cover, it’s one of the best of the 1990s. If you haven’t read Ennis’ run on Hellblazer, do it now.