The complete reading order to John Constantine, the star of Vertigo Comics’ Hellblazer.
While the launch of Hellblazer is relatively easy to follow throughout the various stellar creative runs of the 90’s, Constantine’s origins launch in an entirely separate series, and 2000’s Hellblazer runs are very confusingly collected and difficult to follow.
Below you’ll find an easy to follow guide to Hellblazer comics, and the creative eras of John Constantine up through his reintroduction to the DC Universe as part of DC’s New 52.
Updates by: Christopher Carlucci
Hellblazer Comic Book Reading Order
Constantine First Appearance, Saga of the Swamp Thing
It’s worth noting that Vertigo’s longest running series of all time (over 300 issues) gets its start in Swamp Thing, where Alan Moore and company introduce British working class magician John Constantine.
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Personally, I’d recommend you read the Saga of the Swamp Thing in its entirety, as Moore, Totleben, and Bissette craft one of the finest DC Comics of all time here. Nonetheless, if you just want Constantine in all his first appearance glory, you can find him beginning with Book Three of the collections.
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Three
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Four
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Five
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Six
Hellblazer – The Jamie Delano Era
John Constantine, Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins
Collects: Hellblazer #1 to #9, Swamp Thing #76 to #77
Created By: Jamie Delano, John Ridgway, Alfredo Alaca, Rick Veitch, and Tom Mandrake
Original Releases: Jan 20, 1988 – Oct 19, 1988
Hellblazer, Vol. 2: The Devil You Know
Collects: Hellblazer #10 to #13, Hellblazer Annual #1, The Horrorist #1 to #2
Created By: Jamie Delano, David Lloyd, Richard Piers Rayner, Mark Buckingham, Bryan Talbot
Original Releases: Oct 19, 1988 – Aug 1988; Dec. 1995 – Jan. 1996
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 3: The Fear Machine
Collects: Hellblazer #14 to #22
Created By: Jamie Delano, Mark Buckingham, Richard Piers Rayner, Mike Hoffman, Alfredo Alcala
Original Releases: Nov 8, 1988 – Aug 8, 1989
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 4: The Family Man
Collects: Hellblazer #23 to #24, #28 to #31, #25 to #27, #32 to #33
Created By: Jamie Delano, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, David Lloyd, Dave McKean, Ron Tiner, Sean Phillips
Original Releases: Aug 29, 1989 – Jul 31, 1990; Jun 13, 2000
Hellblazer – The Garth Ennis Era
John Constantine: Hellblazer Vol. 5: Dangerous Habits
Collects: Hellblazer #34 to #46
Created By: Garth Ennis, Jamie Delano, William Simpson, Sean Phillips, Steve Pugh, Dave McKean
Original Releases: Aug 21, 1990 – Sep 3, 1991
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 6: Bloodlines
Collects: Hellblazer #47 to #50, #52 to #55 and #59 to #61
Created By: Garth Ennis, William Simpson, Steve Dillon, Sean Phillips, David Lloyd, Mike Hoffman, John Smith
Original Releases: Oct 1, 1991 – Nov 17, 1992
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 7: Tainted Love
Collects: Hellblazer #62-71, Hellblazer Special #1, And Vertigo Jam #1
Created By: Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon
Original Releases: Dec 22, 1992 – Oct 05, 1993; Nov 1993; Aug 1993
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 8: Rake at the Gates of Hell
Collects: Hellblazer #78 to #83, Heartland one-shot
Created By: Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, William Simpson, Peter Snejbjerg
Original Releases: Nov 02, 1993 – Sep 20, 1994; Mar 1997
Hellblazer – The Paul Jenkins and Sean Phillips Era
John Constantine Hellblazer Vol. 9: Critical Mass
Collects: Hellblazer #84 to #96
Created By: Paul Jenkins, Sean Phillips, Eddie Campbell, Jamie Delano
Original Releases: Oct 18, 1994 – Oct 17, 1995
John Constantine Hellblazer Vol. 10: In The Line Of Fire
Collects: Hellblazer #97 to #107
Created By: Paul Jenkins, Sean Phillips, Al Davison
Original Releases: Nov 29, 1995 – Sep 25, 1996
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 11: Last Man Standing
Collects: Hellblazer #108 to #120
Created By: Paul Jenkins, Sean Phillips, Charles Adlard, Warren Pleece
Original Releases: Oct 23, 1996 – Oct 22, 1997
Hellblazer – Paul Jenkins and Warren Ellis
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 12: How to Play with Fire
Collects: Hellblazer #121 to #133
Created By: Paul Jenkins, Warren Pleece, Garth Ennis, John Higgins
Original Releases: Nov 26, 1997 – Nov 25, 1998
John Constantine: Hellblazer Vol. 13: Haunted
Collects: Hellblazer #134 to #145
Created By: Warren Ellis, Darko Macan, John Higgins, Tim Bradstreet, Marcelo, Frusin, Gary Erksine
Original Releases: Dec 23, 1998 – Dec 22, 1999; Dec 15, 2010; Dec 2, 2010
Hellblazer – The Brian Azzarello Era
John Constantine: Hellblazer Vol. 14: Good Intentions
Collects: Hellblazer #146 to #161
Created By: Brian Azzarello, Richard Corben, Marcelo Frusin, Steve Dillon
Original Releases: Jan 26, 2000 – Apr 25, 2001; Aug 2000
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 15: Highwater
Collects: Hellblazer #162 to #174
Created By: Brian Azzarello, Marcelo Frusin, Guy Davis, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cameron Stewart
Original Releases: May 30, 2001 – Jul 31, 2002
Hellblazer – The Mike Carey Era
John Constantine, Hellblazer: All His Engines
Collects: Graphic Novel
John Constantine, Hellblazer Volume 16: The Wild Card
Collects: Hellblazer #175 to #188
Created By: Mike Carey, Marcelo Frusin, Steve Dillon, Lee Bermejo, Doug Alexander, Gregory Jock
Original Releases: Aug 28, 2002 – Sep 24, 2003
John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 17: Out of Season
Contains: Hellblazer #189-201
Created By: Mike Carey, Marcelo Frusin, Leonardo Manco, Chris Brunner, Steve Dillon
Original Releases: Oct 22, 2003 – Oct 27, 2004
John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 18: The Gift
Contains: Hellblazer #202-215
Created By: Mike Carey, Leonardo Manco, Frazer Irving, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Lorenzo Ruggiero
Original Releases: Nov 24, 2004 – Dec 21, 2005
John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 19: Red Right Hand
Contains: Hellblazer #216-229
Created By: Denise Mina, Leonardo Manco, Cristiano Cucina, Mike Carey, John Paul Leon
Original Releases: Jan 18, 2006 – Feb 21, 2007
John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 20: Systems of Control
Contains: Hellblazer #230-238; Hellblazer: All His Engines
Created By: Andy Diggle, Mike Carey, Leonardo Manco, Danijel Zezelj
Original Releases: Mar 21, 2007 – Nov 21, 2007; Jan 2005
Hellblazer – The Andy Diggle Era
John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 21: The Laughing Magician
Contains: Hellblazer #239-249; Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine #1-4
Created By: Andy Diggle, Jason Aaron, Leonardo Manco, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Sean Murphy, Goran Sudzuka, Stefano Landini
Original Releases: Dec 26, 2007 – Nov 18, 2008; Dec 18, 2002 – Mar 12, 2003
Hellblazer – The Peter Milligan Era
John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 22: Regeneration
Contains: Hellblazer #250-260; Hellblazer Special: Chas – The Knowledge #1-5
Created By: Peter Milligan, Simon Oliver, Giuseppe Camuncoli Stefano Landini, Goran Sudzuka, Rodney Ramos, Simon Bisley
Original Releases: Dec 17, 2008 – Oct 21, 2009; Sep 2008 – Jan 2009
John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 23: No Future
Contains: Hellblazer #261-266; Hellblazer Special: Papa Midnite #1-5; Hellblazer Pandemonium
Created By: Peter Milligan, Jamie Delano, Mat Johnson, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Simon Bisley, Jock, Tony Atkins
Original Releases: Nov 18, 2009 – Apr 21, 2010; Feb 2, 2005 – Jun 22, 2005; Feb 10; 2010
John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 24: Sectioned
Contains: Hellblazer #267-275; Hellblazer: City of Demons #1-5
Created By: Peter Milligan, Si Spencer, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Landini, Simon Bisley, Sean Murphy
Original Releases: May 19, 2010 – Jan 19, 2011; Dec 2010 – Feb 2011
John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 25: Another Season
Contains: Hellblazer #276-291
Created By: Peter Milligan, Giuseppe Camuncoli
Original Releases: Feb 16, 2011 – May 16, 2012
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Death and Cigarettes
Collects: Hellblazer #292 to #300
New 52 Constantine
Below you’ll find John Constantine’s appearances in DC’s New 52, including his role as a member of Justice League Dark. You can check out the full DC New 52 reading order for how these stories fit in context of the overall DC Universe.
Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In the Dark
Justice League Dark, Vol. 2: The Books of Magic
Justice League Dark Vol. 3: The Death of Magic
Constantine Vol. 1: The Spark and the Flame
Collects: Constantine #1 to #6
Justice League Dark Vol. 4: The Rebirth of Evil
Justice League Dark Vol. 5: Paradise Lost
Constantine Vol. 3: The Voice in the Fire
Constantine Vol. 4: The Apocalypse Road
DC You Hellblazer
Constantine: The Hellblazer Vol. 1: Going Down
Constantine: The Hellblazer Vol. 2: The Art of the Deal
Collects: Constantine: The Hellblazer #1 to #13
DC Rebirth Hellblazer
To see how Constantine fits in the context of the reborn DC Universe, you can check out the full DC Rebirth reading order.
The Hellblazer Vol. 1: The Poison Truth
Collects: The Hellblazer #1 to #6
The Hellblazer Vol. 01: The Poison Truth
Contains: The Hellblazer: Rebirth #1; The Hellblazer 1-6
Created By: Simon Oliver, Moritat, Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan Jr., Andre Szymanowicz
Original Releases: Jul 20, 2016 – Jan 25, 2017
The Hellblazer Vol. 02: The Smokeless Fire
Contains: The Hellblazer #7-12
Created By: Simon Oliver, Davide Fabbri, Philip Tan, Jose Marzan Jr.
Original Releases: Feb 22, 2017 – Jul 26, 2017
The Hellblazer Vol. 03: The Inspiration Game
Contains: The Hellblazer #13-18
Created By: Tim Seeley, Richard Kadrey, Jesus Merino, Davide Fabbri, Jose Marzan Jr., Carrie Strachan
Original Releases: Aug 23, 2017 – Jan 24, 2018
The Hellblazer Vol. 04: The Gold Old Days
Contains: The Hellblazer #19-24
Created By: Tim Seeley, Davide Fabbri, Christian Dalla Vecchia, Carrie Strachan
Original Releases: Feb 28, 2018 – Jul 25, 2018
Under DC Black Label, it’s replacement for Vertigo, creators could tell a much more mature Constantine story in John Constantine: Hellblazer:
John Constantine: Hellblazer Vol 1: Marks of Woe
Contains: The Sandman Universe Presents: Hellblazer #1; John Constantine Hellblazer #1-6; The Books of Magic (Vol. 3) #14
Created By: Simon Spurrier, Aaron Campbell, Matias Bergara, Marcio Takara
Original Releases: Oct 30, 2019; Nov 27, 2019 – June 2, 2020; Nov 29, 2019
John Constantine: Hellblazer Vol. 2: The Best Version of You
Contains: John Constantine: Hellblazer #7 to #14
John Constantine: Distorted Illusions Vol. 1
NGL Im new to being able to access and read these books. And im already lost in the confusing amount of books there are. I have seemingly found about 3-4 different constantine series books, most of the say hellblazer but are different styles, and have no idea which ones come first or last exist for the ones listed here. I could really use an indepth comprehensive list that doesnt leave a single book out.
hey Dave i was wondering if you plan on updating this list. thanks
You’ve missed these volumes and some of the issue numbering is wrong in the volumes you have here. Great work though.
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Fear and Loathing 1997, collects Hellblazer 62-67 1993
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Damnation’s Flame 1999, collects Hellblazer 72-77 1993
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Hard Time 2001, collects Hellblazer 146-150 2000
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Freezes Over 2003, collects Hellblazer 157-163 2001
Nicely done, Dave. But I feel I have to mention that DC has been in the process of collecting the entire 300 issue Hellblazer run PLUS most of, maybe even all of, the specials and spin-offs in double-sized trades, and they’re already up to Volume 14 and the Brian Azzarello Era. Volume 15 will wrap up Azzarello’s work on this title, and then Volumes 16 & 17 will collect what I consider the very best of Hellblazer, the first 2/3 of the Mike Carey Era. Then, Volumes 20 & 21 will cover my second favorite phase of the run, the Andy Diggle Era.
Of course, different Constantine fans have their own favorite Hellblazer eras, but Carey’s and Diggle’s get relatively little fanfare, so I feel I have to drum up some publicity for them.