Comic Book Series: Hellblazer

Overview
Garth Ennis's 1991 Hellblazer run thrust John Constantine into stories that sharpened the character's edges while broadening his emotional range. Set against rainy, neon-lit streets and occult backrooms, the series pairs down-to-earth grit with high-stakes supernatural threats. Ennis balanced horror and dark comedy, giving readers a Constantine who is as wily and irreverent as ever, but more exposed to loss, mortality, and the consequences of his manipulations.
The run became best known for marrying intimate, character-driven moments to cosmic confrontations, turning the protagonist's cunning into a vehicle for exploring moral ambiguity. Ennis and his collaborators, most notably artist Steve Dillon, crafted a voice for Constantine that felt raw and immediate: a man who can laugh at monsters because he knows laughter can be the only shield left.

John Constantine
John Constantine is a British occult detective and con man whose primary weapons are his wit, knowledge of the occult, and ruthless willingness to use people as pawns when necessary. He is simultaneously a survivor and a self-destructive force, someone who keeps friends very close but frequently endangers them through secrets and manipulations. Constantine's moral code is messy; he often chooses the lesser evil and lives with the fallout, which is at the heart of Ennis's portrayal.
Ennis deepened Constantine's humanity by exposing vulnerabilities that even seasoned fans found surprising. The series emphasizes his relationships, loyalty mixed with deceit, and shows how even small acts of kindness can come at a terrible price. Constantine emerges as a tragic antihero: cunning enough to defeat cosmic foes but unable to escape his own flaws.

Major Storylines
The most famous arc from Ennis's tenure is the "Dangerous Habits" storyline, which begins with Constantine diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Faced with imminent death, he engineers a confrontation not just with demons but with the nature of sacrifice and survival. Ennis uses this premise to test Constantine's resourcefulness and to reveal how he manipulates infernal and mortal systems alike to protect himself and those he cares about.
Beyond that centerpiece, Ennis spun a series of shorter, punchy tales that examined bureaucracy in both church and Hell, local supernatural crimes, and deeply personal vendettas. These stories range from darkly comic capers to bleak reckonings, always returning to the question of what price Constantine will pay, or force others to pay, to keep surviving. Recurring supporting characters are drawn into the moral crossfire, their lives marked by Constantine's choices.

Style and Themes
Ennis's Hellblazer is notable for its tonal duality: sharp, often caustic humor sits beside moments of genuine pathos and horror. The writing is lean and direct, with dialogue that captures Constantine's sardonic voice. Artist Steve Dillon's clear, expressive linework complements the scripts, rendering both the grotesque and the everyday with equal clarity, so that a tavern scene can feel as perilous as a ritual circle.
Recurring themes include addiction and self-destruction, the costs of manipulation, and the murky ethics of doing wrong for a perceived greater good. Ennis also interrogates mortality and the bureaucracies of belief, whether angelic, demonic, or institutional, showing how systems meant to preserve order often amplify cruelty and indifference.

Legacy and Influence
Ennis's run reinvigorated Hellblazer and cemented key elements of Constantine's modern persona: a world-weary, sarcastic magician whose victories are pyrrhic and whose greatest power is survival. "Dangerous Habits" in particular is often cited as quintessential Constantine, influencing later comics, adaptations, and how the character is perceived in popular culture. The run helped define the mature, morally complex tone that would become a hallmark of the series and of Vertigo-era comics more broadly.
The stories remain respected for their emotional honesty, their willingness to let consequences linger, and their tight combination of humor and horror. Ennis's Hellblazer stands as a landmark in the character's long history, a period when sharp writing and evocative art converged to push Constantine into darker, more human territory.