Hellblazer is a long-running American comic book series published by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint. The series was launched in 1988, spinning off from the character John Constantine's first appearance in the pages of Swamp Thing, where he was created by writer Alan Moore and artists Steve Bissette and John Totleben. The initial ongoing series was written by Jamie Delano, who established the book's signature blend of supernatural horror, political commentary, and bleak British working-class sensibility. Over its three-decade run, Hellblazer attracted some of the most acclaimed writers in comics, including Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Brian Azzarello, and Mike Carey, each putting their own stamp on the character while maintaining the core of a cynical, chain-smoking occult detective navigating a world of demons, angels, and human corruption. The series was notable for being one of the few mainstream American comics to age its protagonist in real time, with Constantine growing older and facing the accumulating consequences of his morally compromised decisions. Hellblazer became a cornerstone of the Vertigo line and helped define the mature readers comic book market of the 1990s and 2000s.
