A new Hellblazer comic will be joining DC’s slate of Sandman Universe titles in the lineup’s second year.
The book will start with a one-shot titled Sandman Universe Presents Hellblazer #1, due Oct. 30 from writer Simon Spurrier (The Dreaming) and artist Marcio Takara (Wolverine: The Long Night). A new ongoing series dubbed John Constantine, Hellblazer will follow in November. That book will be from Spurrier and artist Aaron Campbell (Infidel).
The aforementioned one-shot will actually start with a moment first seen in Sandman mastermind Neil Gaiman’s miniseries, The Books of Magic. In this moment, John Constantine (Hellblazer!) is haggard (what’s new?), bloody, and dying during an epic magical war that is fixing to consume the entire freaking world. In that moment, a vision of Books of Magic protagonist Tim Hunter stands above Constantine, contemplating his own destiny. Hunter flees, leaving Constantine there to die.
This story picks up years later, with Constantine reemerging un-aged but with all the memories of that grisly future intact. He has to process a new world that is beset by the same political and social woes. He also must unravel the mystery of his return. Meanwhile, rumors of young magician Tim Hunter swirl around him, leaving Constantine to wonder if he can stop that vision of his doomed future.
Gaiman, who is curating the current Sandman Universe titles, had this to say via press release:
Year One was just the start. Now you get to inhabit the worlds, books, and houses we built for you. I was thrilled when I was told that John Constantine—the original, demon-haunted one who first showed up in SWAMP THING’s ‘American Gothic’ story—is coming back to his murky and dangerous roots. More magic and more darkness and not a few gods and dreams are here for you to explore.
A cover for the one-shot by Bilquis Evely is above while a cover for the first issue of the ongoing by John Paul Leon is below.
The first issue of the ongoing John Constantine, Hellblazer is due out November 27. That month also marks the start of new arcs for all the existing Sandman Universe titles, which have their first collected editions due in both bookstores and comic shops by the end of July.
You can find descriptions of the current bunch of titles (courtesy of DC PR) below:
In THE DREAMING from Spurrier and Bilquis Evely, the sentient algorithm known as Wan has taken full control of the kingdom of Dream—but who created him? And did they put him on Dream’s throne for a purpose? Abel thinks he may be on the verge of uncovering that secret and hopes to tell Matthew the Raven what he knows, but Wan has a dangerous side…and while the mysterious Dora might be able to help them fight back, she’s quite busy in the waking world learning the truth about her own past—a truth that might unmake her entirely.
In HOUSE OF WHISPERS from Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters and Dominike “Domo” Stanton, Erzulie is grieving the loss of one of her husbands, while her remaining spouses ask themselves if they can remain by her side. But in the darkness, a rival has arrived to vie for Erzulie’s place as the newest master of a House in the Dreaming; the Corinthian has his eyes on a forgotten piece of real estate in the Dreaming, and he’s not above moving into a fixer-upper, if taking control of it can give him power like Erzulie’s. To fend off this threat, Erzulie will need allies – including the mysterious Papa Midnite, and the dangerous Shakpana, the contagious god whose last outbreak nearly destroyed the world. And with friends like those…
In LUCIFER from Watters, Max Fiumara, and Sebastian Fiumara, Lucifer is reeling from his standoff against God and the forces of Heaven, and he finds himself wandering the English countryside neglecting his cosmic responsibilities and attempting to build a new life—and home—for himself. Of course, any house built by Lucifer is bound to be a little piece of Hell on Earth…as his first dinner guests, John Constantine included, will learn. But elsewhere, ancient and powerful forces are conspiring against Lucifer. There is a wailing and gnashing of teeth upon the Earth. There is rage and violence in the hearts of men and beasts alike. For every thousand years the Wild Hunt must ride, and tear out the heart of a god…and this time, the black bone horn blows for Lucifer.
And in BOOKS OF MAGIC from Kat Howard and Tom Fowler, Tim Hunter has just made the most fateful (and possibly catastrophic) decision of his young life, but as a result, he’s feeling quite confident about the kind of magician he’s going to become…until John Constantine comes knocking on his door, determined to kill the young man who’s clearly starting down a road that leads to the planet’s destruction. There’s no guarantee Tim’s worst self will ever take over…but can Constantine afford to take that chance? And now that Tim’s secret is starting to get out at school, can he ever expect to return to a normal life again?
