JOHN
CONSTANTINE

A magician with a terrible survival instinct.

John Constantine can talk his way past a demon and still leave his friends paying the price. The trench coat and cigarettes are recognisable; guilt, manipulation and flashes of compassion make him worth reading. His best stories put ordinary lives next to extraordinary horror, then ask what surviving actually costs.

He begins in Swamp Thing, becomes the lead of Hellblazer, and later moves between mature-reader horror and the wider DC universe. Those branches share a character, but they do not form one uninterrupted numbered series. This guide helps you choose the stories and identify the editions before spending money.

Start with a story. Give every purchase a purpose.

Not investing — just give me a great read

Our first pick: Dangerous Habits.

Read Hellblazer #41–46, by Garth Ennis and Will Simpson, in a collected edition or as a complete set. Faced with a threat he cannot simply bluff away, Constantine becomes both unusually vulnerable and very dangerous. It is a compact introduction to the character's appeal.

Prefer to begin at the beginning? Choose Original Sins, collecting #1–9; the expanded edition also includes Swamp Thing #76–77. For a sampler across different creators, the 30th Anniversary Edition includes the debut and selected later stories. Check a collection's contents: an anniversary sampler is not the complete Dangerous Habits arc.

DC: Dangerous Habits beginsDC: Original SinsDC: anniversary collection

Ten books to understand before buying.

These are collecting targets and story milestones, not ten claims of rarity. Prices are indicative raw buying ranges in GBP, researched 28 September 2026. Each row explains the condition or evidence behind it. Delivery, import costs and graded copies are excluded.

Hellblazer #2 (1988)

Early original-series reading; A Feast of Friends.

FN / VF

£3–6

VF/NM–NM

£6–12

Sales evidence and edition

2026 reported raw sales included VF at $4.88 and $7.99; NM at $13.54.

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

Hellblazer #11 (1988)

Newcastle backstory: a meaningful story purchase.

FN / VF

£5–8

VF/NM–NM

£8–15

Sales evidence and edition

2026 reported raw examples: VF− $8.76; NM $14.95 and $18.

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

Hellblazer #63 (1993)

Forty: Constantine’s birthday; Glenn Fabry cover.

FN / VF

£2–4

VF/NM–NM

£4–7

Sales evidence and edition

2026 raw sales included $1.50–2.71; a seller-described high-grade copy made $8.29 in October 2025.

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

The Books of Magic #1 (1990)

Original prestige miniseries; a wider magical-world connection.

FN / VF

£3–5

VF/NM–NM

£5–10

Sales evidence and edition

2026 raw examples: VF $8.30; VF/NM $7.98; NM− $5. Four-issue sets excluded.

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

The Sandman #3 (1989)

Early Constantine guest story; Dave McKean cover.

FN / VF

£5–9

VF/NM–NM

£9–16

Sales evidence and edition

2026 raw examples: FN/VF $13.42; NM− $14.74; NM $19.75.

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

Hellblazer #300 (2013)

Original-series finale; standard Simon Bisley cover.

FN / VF

£6–9

VF/NM–NM

£9–15

Sales evidence and edition

2026 reported raw sales: FN/VF $9.99; VF $15.98 and $17.98; NM $13.23.

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

Hellblazer #27 (1990)

Hold Me: Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.

FN / VF

£8–15

VF/NM–NM

£15–30

Sales evidence and edition

2026 raw examples: FN $14 (August); FN/VF with insert $22 (May); NM $39.99 (September).

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

Hellblazer #41 (1991)

Ennis begins; Dangerous Habits part one; Tom Canty cover.

FN / VF

£8–15

VF/NM–NM

£15–30

Sales evidence and edition

August–September 2026 examples: seller-described high grade $9.99; VF/NM $19.99; NM $39.

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

Hellblazer #1 (1988)

Launch of the original solo ongoing; Dave McKean cover.

FN / VF

£20–35

VF/NM–NM

£30–55

Sales evidence and edition

September 2026 reported raw sales included $27.88, $36 and $46.57. Seller-described NM at $36.34; VF at $59.61 shows the noisy evidence.

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

Swamp Thing #37 (1985)

Recognised first full appearance; principal character key.

FN / VF

£60–180

VF/NM–NM

£150–250

Sales evidence and edition

2026 raw examples: FN− $75; FN $76; VF $131.50; VF/NM $160. Within the broad lower band, target roughly £60–100 for FN and £100–180 for VF. The stronger-copy band is a cautious editorial budget, not a verified grade-specific UK median.

Reported ungraded completed sales. Aggregated seller descriptions; grades were not independently verified. Original standard edition assumed.

FN = Fine; VF = Very Fine; NM = Near Mint. These broad condition bands describe buying targets, not guaranteed grades.

From the swamp to his own corner of Hell.

1984 / The visual precursor

The face comes before the character.

A Sting-like figure in Swamp Thing #25 is often sold as a prototype or cameo. Treat it as a separate collecting curiosity. DC identifies #37 as Constantine's debut; a precursor image is not the same event.

1985–86 / American Gothic

Constantine enters the story.

Swamp Thing #37 introduces the named character as Alan Moore's horror expands beyond the swamp. Follow #37–50 for the wider American Gothic journey and its supernatural gathering. #50 is a major story destination, rather than another Constantine first appearance.

Collecting anchor: Swamp Thing #37 · Reading route: #37–50

1988 / The solo launch

Hellblazer gives him a world of his own.

Jamie Delano and John Ridgway establish the original ongoing series, with Dave McKean's covers setting an unsettling tone. The Newcastle disaster becomes essential to understanding the guilt that follows John.

Start: Hellblazer #1–9 · Then explore #11

1990 / A different kind of ghost story

One issue can be enough.

Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean make #27 a distinctive standalone about a ghost and the people a city overlooks. It is a strong creator-led purchase, and an easy way to sample a different voice without buying a long run.

Spotlight: Hellblazer #27

1991–94 / The Ennis years

Mortality, friendship and terrible bargains.

Garth Ennis begins with Dangerous Habits in #41–46. Will Simpson draws that opening arc; Steve Dillon becomes central to the later run. #63 marks John's fortieth birthday, while #78–83 delivers Rake at the Gates of Hell.

Spotlights: #41, #63 · Read complete arcs

1995–2013 / A long creative life

Different writers keep the damage personal.

Paul Jenkins and Sean Phillips, Warren Ellis and John Higgins, Brian Azzarello and collaborators, Mike Carey and Leonardo Manco, Denise Mina, Andy Diggle and Peter Milligan all contribute to the original title's later identity. The run ends with #300 in 2013. Pick a creator or story before committing to all three hundred issues.

Try: #120 · Haunted #134–139 · All His Engines

2011–18 / The wider DC branch

Team magic and new number ones.

Justice League Dark brings Constantine into a supernatural team setting. Constantine, Constantine: The Hellblazer and The Hellblazer follow as separate series. The original mature-reader title overlaps with the team launch: this is a branching publishing history.

2019–20 / The Sandman Universe

Back to an abrasive kind of horror.

Si Spurrier and Aaron Campbell's John Constantine: Hellblazer returns to the character's mature-reader roots. Begin with The Sandman Universe Presents: Hellblazer #1, then the twelve-issue series.

2024 / Dead in America

The next chapter is a complete eleven-issue series.

Spurrier and Campbell continue with John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America #1–11. Read their earlier series first for the strongest sense of continuity. This is a completed series, not a promise of a current monthly title.

Follow the people who give the book its voice.

Moore, Bissette, Totleben — and Veitch

Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette and John Totleben are the central creation credits. Rick Veitch pencilled the formal debut in #37, with Totleben inking. Distinguish creating the character from drawing his first full story. Bissette and Totleben provide that issue's cover.

Delano, Ridgway and McKean

Jamie Delano and John Ridgway launch the solo book. Dave McKean's covers make a small early-issue collection rewarding as an art collection too. #1 is both a publishing milestone and the beginning of a distinctive visual identity.

Ennis, Simpson and Dillon

Ennis's run gives newcomers a clear story route. Simpson is the principal penciller of Dangerous Habits; Dillon is closely associated with the later stories. The cover of #41 is by Tom Canty, while #63 has a Glenn Fabry cover.

Gaiman and McKean

#27 is a single-issue collaboration, with McKean on interiors as well as the cover. Collect it for the specific story and creative pairing; it is not the start of an extended Gaiman run on Hellblazer.

Phillips, Fabry and Bradstreet

Sean Phillips, Glenn Fabry and Tim Bradstreet offer very different visual routes through the series. Choose the actual covers you like. For #120, Phillips supplies the cover as well as interior art alongside writer Paul Jenkins.

Spurrier and Campbell

The 2019 revival and Dead in America provide a manageable modern reading project. Keep cover-artist and interior-artist credits separate when buying variants; the artist named in a listing may have drawn only the cover.

A first appearance, a first issue and a great story are different things.

Buying an original: the checks that matter.

Ask for the front, back, spine and interior publication details. Check completeness, staple attachment, staining, restoration and whether the item is an original, reprint or facsimile. A glossy reproduction can look impressive in a thumbnail. Swamp Thing #37 has a modern facsimile; the Millennium Edition of Hellblazer #1 is a reprint, not the 1988 original. A UK pence price alongside US and Canadian prices is not by itself proof of a scarce variant. The cover image on this guide identifies the issue; it is not evidence of the condition of a seller's copy.

For slabs, compare the exact grading label and census entry, including grade and edition. A CGC census records submitted copies, not every surviving comic. No live population figure is quoted here because a dated, edition-matched census check is required before using one to judge scarcity.

Choose the experience you want.

Three useful branches.

Which Hellblazer number one?

Use the full title and starting year when searching, cataloguing or buying. This is a map of the principal solo series, with the team branch alongside; it is not every Constantine appearance.

Series	Issue range	Place in the collection
Hellblazer (1988–2013)	#1–300, plus specials and annuals	The original long-running title; begins at DC and later carries Vertigo.
Justice League Dark (2011)	Team-series branch; begins with #1	Runs alongside the final years of the original title.
Constantine (2013–2015)	#1–23	The New 52 solo branch.
Constantine: The Hellblazer (2015–2016)	#1–13	A separate solo relaunch.
The Hellblazer (2016–2018)	Rebirth one-shot, then #1–24	Keep the one-shot distinct from the ongoing #1.
John Constantine: Hellblazer (2019–2020)	Sandman Universe Presents one-shot, then #1–12	The Spurrier and Campbell mature-reader revival.
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America (2024)	#1–11	Continuation of the modern reading route.

Recognise the books before you search.

Nineteen full-cover references, from the debut and original Hellblazer run to the later series. Covers retain their natural proportions. Check the publication details inside a physical copy when authenticating a printing; digital and promotional references can alter price boxes.

Sources, prices and image credits.

Publication details and reading ranges are linked to DC, DC Universe Infinite and the Grand Comics Database throughout this file. Creator interpretation and the buying order are Comic Agent's editorial choices. The timeline concentrates on the principal published routes through Dead in America; it does not claim to list every later guest appearance.

Market method: indicative ranges are editorial estimates from PriceCharting’s reported completed eBay sales, with 2026 raw examples and a few older comparisons. Original listings, accepted-offer accuracy and physical condition were not independently verified. We used a rounded conversion assumption of US$1 ≈ £0.75, not a live exchange quote or a UK-only sales index. Figures are deliberately broad; low-cost sales and outliers exist. Recheck comparable completed sales before buying. PriceCharting’s graded price columns were not treated as raw values.

Cover artwork and characters belong to their respective rights holders. Images are presented as editorial issue references; no general reuse licence is asserted. Fourteen cover references were supplied for this guide, including the original Hellblazer #1 cover design with its price box. The #27, #41 and 2019 ongoing #1 references come from DC Universe Infinite; #27 has a digital price-box change. The two Swamp Thing references come from our Swamp Thing file. Images identify the artwork and issue; they do not authenticate a physical copy’s printing or condition.