Hellblazer

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Jamie Delano

Artist: John Ridgway

Publication date: January 1988 - April 2013

Source: Vertigo/DC Comics/Titan Books

Another great comic that resulted in a less than well-received film adaptation (which is just a nice way of saying the movie version sucked) Hellblazer is one of DC Comics longest-running horror series. It mostly takes place in a contemporary London exactly like the real one. Everyone drinks too much, they have bad teeth, and they spell tire with a "y." The only difference is that in Hellblazer's London, there are ghosts, demons, and monsters to go along with the fish and chips and weird money.

At the center of it all is the wisecracking, adrenaline junkie, chain-smoking, hard-drinking magician and conman John Constantine. Skulking around in a filthy trenchcoat, Constantine investigates occult weirdness and generally falls into the middle of every horrible thing imaginable, whether it's demons hell-bent on destruction or small-time hoods terrorizing the streets. Besides a little bit of magic, the only power he has is his incredible luck. He's always just where he needs to be and always meets just the right person to help him out of a jam. The only problem is his good fortune causes everyone he knows to usually end up dead. Like any great anti-hero, he dusts himself off and takes on the next bastard who needs sorting. At well over 200 issues, it can be intimidating to jump into the story, but there are tons of trade paperbacks and collections that make perfect reading for the next time you're drunk, alone, and feel like hell.

Hellblazer Issue #1

Hellblazer Issue #2