john constantine

On this day in 1985, a man walked into a bar. It was a punk bar; this was 1985 in comic-book London, after all. The man was named John Constantine, and he was there looking for a friend who had information about the end of the world. It all happened in the pages of Swamp Thing #37, written by Alan Moore with art by Rick Veitch and John Totleben; the "American Gothic" storyline was beginning in earnest, and Moore's legendary run was kicking into high gear. According to Moore, the character of Constantine owes his debut to the fact that Swamp Thing's regular artists, Totleben and Stephen R. Bissette, were big fans of the band The Police, and they wanted to draw a character who looked like the lead singer, Sting. Even though it ended up being Veitch on the pencils for Constantine's first appearance, he is unmistakably a dead ringer for the British musician.

When you think about John Constantine, you probably imagine his more sinister, conniving feats of magic, like that time he tricked the devil himself into drinking holy water, or that time that he tricked three other devils into curing him of cancer, or that time that he somehow managed to not look like a complete dork while wearing a trenchcoat and smirking for something like thirty years. What you don't think about, I assume, is that he might be in life-threatening danger from a magical land of fairies where a pegasus bleeds rainbows. That's exactly what happens in Constantine: The Hellblazer #10, by Ming Doyle, James Tynion IV, Travel Foreman, Joseph Silver, Ivan Plascencia, and Tom Napolitano. The book finds everyone's favorite magician on his own in a world full of tinkerbells (tinkers bell? Let's go with tinkerbells), being hunted down by his arch-nemeses. Check out a preview, but be warned: There is explicit pegasus violence involved.

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

Even though we've got a Justice League movie in development and Suicide Squad on the way next summer, it looks like DC and Warner Bros. aren't quite done bringing their teams to the big screen just yet. As you might have heard, Justice League Dark is back in development, a bit of news that sent excited superhero fans all over the world eagerly asking, "Wait, what the heck is Justice League Dark?" The basic idea is that they're a team of mystical heroes, so named because they fight against the darker magical threats to the DC Universe (and because we all agreed Justice League With Almonds was just a bit ridiculous), but if you need more information, look no further. We have your back with a breakdown of the characters you're likely to meet if Justice League Dark ever makes it to the big screen!

Although Guillermo del Toro parted ways with Warner Bros. over his vision for Justice League Dark (aka Dark Universe), the studio is still reportedly planning on moving forward with del Toro’s script — but without (almost) everything else that would make it a del Toro film. The other day rumors began circulating about potential cast members, and now comes word that WB is eyeing possible directors for the project as well.

Guillermo del Toro’s exit from Justice League Dark (aka Dark Universe) at Warner Bros. left many confused as to how — or if — the studio would proceed without him. But with the studio’s anti-hero blockbuster Suicide Squad generating excitement, a new rumor suggests that not only is WB moving forward with del Toro’s script, but they’ve also got their eye on at least a couple of potential stars.

It’s time for another installment of Pointed Commentary, the feature where grizzled Arrow watcher Matt D. Wilson and newcomer Chris Haley dig into the details of Team Arrow cleaning up the filthy, crime-ridden streets of Star City. In this week’s episode, 'Haunted', the team unites with another DC Universe character to restore something we all thought lost to the grave --- actor Matt Ryan’s portrayal of John Constantine. Plus, a lot of setup for another TV show, rampant mispronunciations and a couple of weird, computery plots. John Badham directed this episode, with a script by Oscar Balderrama and Brian Ford Sullivan.

Although cosplay has been present for decades within the comics, anime, and sci-fi/fantasy fandoms, social media has played an integral role in the thriving communities of costuming that exist, such as Cosplay.com and the Superhero Costuming Forum. Over the years, the cosplay community has evolved into a creative outlet for many fans to establish and showcase some impressive feats of homemade disguise, craftsmanship, and sartorial superheroics at conventions. In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent. The comics, sci-fi, gaming and fantasy communities’ talents for homemade disguises, craftsmanship, and sartorial superheroics are definitely on display this weekend at Boston Comic Con, and we were there to check out the show as well as capture some of the stellar cosplay on display. Photos by Betty Felon & Lauren Moran.

Here's the very first trailer for NBC's 'Constantine' based on the Hellblazer and the New 52 comic of the same name.

Not everybody's stoked on The Flash's crimson TV costume, and so far The CW's iZombie sounds like a pretty big departure from its Vertigo source material, but judging by the first photo of Matt Ryan from the filming of NBC's Constantine pilot, the show's main character will be easily recognizable to those who've read Hellblazer or the New 52-ified Constantine comic -- especially compared to the 20