Hellblazer Ends When Constantine Begins

John Constantine has been a constant presence in the pages of DC Comics, having first appeared in SWAMP THING in the 1980s and up through his current adventures in the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, ANIMAL MAN and SWORD OF SORCERY.

Now, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS announced that the chain-smoking British occult detective will headline his own ongoing comic book series as part of DC Comics-The New 52.

Launching in March 2013, CONSTANTINE will be written by upcoming DEMON KNIGHTS writer and New York Times bestselling author of The Homeland Directive and the sci-fi graphic novel series The Surrogates, Robert Venditti, with incredible art by Renato Guedes (SUPERMAN).

"Few characters in comics are as complex and entertaining as John Constantine, and I'm finding him to be every bit as enjoyable to write as he is to read," says Venditti. "It's my goal to have the new CONSTANTINE series be equal parts familiarity and surprise.  This will be the Constantine we all know and love, but facing new and unexpected challenges from both inside and out."

HELLBLAZER, Vertigo's longest-running series which currently headlines John Constantine, will end with issue #300 in February. John Constantine has escaped, cheated, narrowly avoided and even reversed death on multiple occasions. Now, in the conclusion of “Death and Cigarettes,” longtime writer Peter Milligan and artists Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini will test whether he’s got one more second chance in him, giving him the bloody best sendoff he deserves.

Flashpoint Fire Sale!

On August 31st the DC NEW 52 begins with the release of Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1. To satisfy your appetite for more comic books that week we are holding a Flashipoint Fire Sale!

All of the Flashpoint mini-series will be on sale as well all previous issues of the Flashpoint series. How much on sale, you ask? Well...how about BUY TWO, GET ONE FREE! That means you'll be able to pick up any of the 3 issue mini-series for the price of 2 issues. If you've been curious about Flashpoint now is a great time to pick up the books and ready yourself for the New 52!

Sale begins Wednesday, August 31st at 11:00am and will run until the books are gone. Limited to in-stock books only.

See you soon!

DC: The New 52 - F.A.Q.

As many of you have heard, Starting August 31st DC is relaunching their core universe of titles with 52 books starting at issue #1. There has been much speculation regarding DCs reason for doing this so I wanted to share with you DCs F.A.Q. regarding The New 52, I hope it helps answer some questions!

Why do it?  There is a lot of speculation out there, are you "rebooting" the titles?

This is an epic and ambitious initiative that ushers in a new generation of comics for DC Comics and will set the tone for storylines and characters for years to come.  With all of the titles starting at #1, our creative teams have the ability to take a more modern approach - not only with each character, but with how the characters interact with one another and the universe as a whole, and focus on the earlier part of the careers of each of our iconic characters.  A time when they didn't have as much experience defeating all their nemeses.  A time when they weren't as sure of their abilities. A time when they haven't saved the world countless times. It's this period that is rich with creative opportunity as we show why these characters are so amazing, so iconic and so special.
We think fans will be excited by this approach and The New 52 will provide DC Entertainment an opportunity to aggressively reach the widest possible audience worldwide, through captivating stories and an accessible entry point.  We see great opportunities to tell new, contemporary, cutting edge stories building off the best known, classic stories that make up each of the title's back histories.

DC Comics has had a number of reboots, what makes this one different?

This is not a reboot, it's a launch.  This is a historic initiative for DC Entertainment and the DC Comics characters - and a first in the company's publishing history. This next era of DC Comics characters will see 52 all-new #1 issues of its super hero titles at the same time AND same-day digital across the board. In addition to the number changes, our talented creative teams are working behind the scenes to create compelling storylines and new costume designs for many of our iconic DC Comics characters.
 Why not call it a reboot?
It's not a reboot.  A reboot is typically a restart of the story or character that jettisons away everything that happened previously.
This is a new beginning which builds off the best of the past.  For the stories launching as new #1s in September, we have carefully hand-selected the most powerful and pertinent moments in these characters' lives and stories to remain in the mythology and lore.  And then we've asked the best creators in the industry to modernize, update and enhance the books with new and exciting tales.  The result is that we retained the good stuff, and then make it better.

Does The New 52 undo events or continuity that I've been reading?
Some yes, some no.  But many of the great stories remain.  For example - Batgirl.  The Killing Joke still happened and she was Oracle.  Now she will go through physical rehabilitation and become a more seasoned and nuanced character because she had these incredible and diverse experiences.

 So will all titles be entry points or will you need to know back-story for some?
Each title will read as a #1 issue that will make jumping into the story extremely accessible for all types of readers. The stories are designed in a way that new fans will be able to pick up a book and immediately be drawn into the story, while at the same time existing fans will be engrossed by the new and epic moments that take place.

Do the new #1s mean that the previous stories didn't take place?

Our creative teams have a firm understanding of the storied heritage of characters and titles. The new #1 issues will introduce readers to a more modern, diverse universe of DC Comics characters, with some character variations in appearance, origin and age. All stories will be grounded in each character's legend - but will map to real world situations, interactions, tragedies and triumphs.
Overall, DC Entertainment is focused on putting out the most innovative storylines, featuring the most iconic characters, created by the most creative minds within the industry.

Might you just introduce a new DC "Ultimate" line and give it the spotlight for a few months, then have the opportunity to bring back the other continuity? Will this all be put back to "normal" after a few months?

No - this is the new universe of DC Comics characters.  This is an epic and ambitious initiative that ushers in the next era of the DC Comics characters and will set the tone for storylines and characters for years to come.  This is not an "event," because events expire.