House of Horror 30 - Constantine

[D4RK5TARZ]

Greetings Horror Hounds!

I hope everyone is enjoying the Pride celebration happening in many corners of the DC Community. We won’t have a new topic for next week as we are covering A LOT of books, even more than normal. The good news is you can read at your own pace. Before we dive into what we are reading @LaserPuff and I would like to give a big welcome to the newest residents of House of Horror! @mistressofthedark, @superboy1980, and @IamcoolYT! Please make yourselves comfortable but I wouldn’t get too close to any spellbooks or that pack of cigarettes in the corner. While the House of Horror is smoke-free, I wouldn’t want to be the one to get between John Constantine and his coffin nails.

If you missed a House of Horror event have no fear! Here is a list of every HoH topic! Feel free to jump into the conversation no matter how old the topic is!

Every House of Horror...EVER!!!!

House of Horror 1 - House of Mystery
House of Horror 2
House of Horror 3 - Renegade Robins Crossover!!!
House of Horror 4 - Harley’s Crew Crossover!!!
House of Horror 5 - Halloween Celebration!
House of Horror 6 - Vampires!
House of Horror 7 - Member Picks Vol. 1
House of Horror 8 - Winter Specials - Harley’s Crew Crossover
House of Horror 9 - Happy Holidays!
House of Horror 10 - Happy New Year!
House of Horror 11- Week Before DC Universe Infinite!
House of Horror 12 - Plunging Into The Infinite
House of Horror 13 - A Frightening Valentine
House of Horror 14 - On Marz No One Can Hear You Scream
House of Horror 15 - Justice League Horrors Week 1
House of Horror 16 - Justice League Horrors Week 2
House of Horror 17 - Justice League Horrors Week 3
House of Horror 18 - Justice League Horrors Week 4
House of Romance 19 - Are Romance Comics Foolish ?
House of Horror 20 - Vampires 2
House of Horror 21 - The Green Part 1
House of Horror 22 - The Green Part 2
House of Horror 23 - Superfamily Horrors
House of Horror 24 - Going To Gotham!
House of Horror 25 - Mystik U!
House of Horror 26 - National Comics
House of Horror 27 - Memorial Day and Zombies!!!
House of Horror 28 - The Low, Low Woods
House of Horror 29 - Returning To The Dark Mansion

If you haven’t joined the House of Horror all you need to do is click the “join button” here ! If you are new and would like to catch up on what we have read you can check out the House of Horror library here !

We are finally jumping into the world of John Constantine! We have seen him in various books like Justice League Dark and the Witching Hour but we have never focused on him. As Constantine is one of the bigger characters that reside in the dark corner of DC horror comics House of Horror is taking a deep dive. From his first appearance in Swamp Thing to his legendary Vertigo series, there is a lot of ground to cover. We are only scratching the surface with New 52’s Constantine books 1-6. The first issue of this series is FREE for non-DC Universe Infinite subscribers so you can still join in the conversation!!!

If those 6 books weren’t enough for you we also have the full 12 issue series of John Constantine: Hellblazer. This is the first time House of Horror has entered the Sandman Universe and I can’t wait to crack open that digital comic to see what mystical and horrific things we will find.

Books to Read

Constantine 1 (2013) (rated 15+)

Constantine 2 (2013) (rated 15+)

Constantine 3 (2013) (rated 15+)

Constantine 4 (2013) (rated 15+)

Constantine 5 (2013) (rated 15+)

Constantine 6 (2013) (rated 15+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 1 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 2 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 3 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 4 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 5 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 6 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 7 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 8 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 9 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 10 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 11 (2019) (rated 17+)

John Constantine: Hellblazer 12 (2019) (rated 17+)

Yes, yes, I know. There are a lot of books to read. While this is the most ambitious reading list House of Horror has ever done, I would like to remind everyone that you don’t need to read everything.

If you do want to read more on John Constantine let me direct you to DC History Club. @msgtv and @TurokSonOfStone1950 took a deep dive on John Constantine’s history!

Remember to keep your peepers peeled to your DM’s! We have some House of Horror EXCLUSIVE wallpapers and bookmarks only for HoH members!

If you are new to House of Horror and missed out on our EXCLUSIVE digital goodies you can always access them at the bottom of our first post that can be found on our club page! Or you can just click one of the links below.
Swamp Thing Wallpapers
Batwoman Wallpapers/Bookmark
Zatanna Wallpapers/Bookmark
National Comics Wallpapers/Bookmarks
iZombie Wallpapers/Bookmark
DC Horror Wallpapers/Bookmarks
The Low, Low Woods Wallpapers/Bookmarks
Deadman and Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love Wallpapers/Bookmarks

Don’t forget to let us know what you thought of the books? Did you like the New 52 Constantine series? Have you read any of the other Sandman Universe books? Which one was your favorite? Did you like John Constantine: Hellblazer?

A few new horror comics are hitting comic store shelves this week! We might not be reading the books right away and some of them might even be discussed in other clubs upon release. Think of this as a preview of what might be lurking in the dark corners of House of Horror.

Released 6/22

Released 6/29
zilch…

New to DCUI 6/22: please note these are subject to change

New to DCUI 6/29: please note these are subject to change

Have you checked out our Panel-A-Day topic? Have you seen any horrific panels that you want to share with us? This is the place to do so!

Panel-A-Day Brought To You By House of Horror

Greetings Horror Hounds! Welcome to a place that we Horror Hounds can share our favorite panels that we find in horror comics, one panel at a time! The idea is to only share one panel each day. Please make sure to let us know what comic the panel is from! I will start things off with this panel from Constantine: The Hellblazer #7. The only thing that I ask, if you think the image is gory please use the spoiler tool. Below are steps for using the spoiler t…

Random Poll

Who is your favorite John Constantine?

• Gordon Sumner
• Keanu Reeves
• Matt Ryan

[D4RK5TARZ]

Have you been joining along in the Pride celebration all month with the DC Community Clubs? You should take this quiz for bragging rights!

DC Pride Month Multi-Club Quiz

[image] It wouldn’t be a celebration without a quiz, right? Whether you’ve dived into DCUI’s Pride Month activities or you just love DC comics, let’s see how well you know these LGBTQ+ characters, stories and creators. Take the quiz below, then tell us how you did (if you want, we don’t consider that bragging).

Have you voted for your selections in the DC Pride Hall of Fame?

DC Pride Hall of Fame Awards Polls

[pride hof] A dedicated committee has nominated some of the greatest and most influential LGBTQ characters from around DC Comics, icons and creators for your consideration for the 2021 DC Pride Hall of Fame Awards. Your votes will help us celebrate and recognize the contributions these characters, creators and stories have made to building a more accepting, loving and representative DC Universe. You may vote for up to four nominees per category. The awards polls close at midnight on June 30t…

[discordia57]

Tricky, @D4RK5TARZ, I see what you did there, Lol! I would agree, he obviously looks the most like John, but I’ll keep my vote since Gordo never actually played him, sadly. It would have been fun to see a film version in the early 90’s with Sting as Constantine.

[D4RK5TARZ]

Sting Helps John Constantine Celebrate His 30th Anniversary

Personally, I think Gordy made a good life decision to change his name to Sting. I threw Sting into the mix as he was the visual inspiration for John Constantine.

[bssimon.65231]

Love the recent Hellblazer series! A shame it only got 13 issues. It was clear Spurrier, Campbell, etc. all had a lot more ideas to explore.

[capo-mage]

I loved it too!!! Also wish there was more too. I got a ton of (idk what vol, I could check but I don’t wanna move lol) issues on the one I’m reading that I began b4 joining this club. It’s the Hellblazer with like 300+ issues, that one. One of the coolest names for a character imho “Papa Midnight”.

[D4RK5TARZ]

@capo-mage

One of the coolest names for a character imho “Papa Midnight”.

He has shown up in at least 3 Constantine/Hellblazer series. He was in the New 52 and Rebirth books along with the original series that you are reading.

[capo-mage]

Oh yeah I know him ultra well. I love him. Talk about pranking your buddy. They do the most hardcore pranks possible lol.

[D4RK5TARZ]

Just finished the first trade paperback of the New 52 Constantine series. As this is the first time I have read anything from this series, even if I had the book sitting on my shelf for months, I have really enjoyed the story. There are some pieces that I am not exactly sure how they fit but that is half of the fun. It was also cool to see Zatanna show up, even if it was for one book.

Has anyone else read New 52 Constatine? If so, did you like it?

[capo-mage]

I loved it,big surprise right? lol…

[D4RK5TARZ]

I remember hearing not so great things about it so I wasn’t sure what to think.

[capo-mage]

I went in blind & it just kept getting better as I read.

[D4RK5TARZ]

I agree, it definitely gets better as the story progresses. I have a few other books I need to read before I return to that series but I will be returning to it. One of titles is the other Constantine book listed above.

[capo-mage]

Nice it’s very good. Mansion I mean imho.

[D4RK5TARZ]

Pride Profile: John Constantine. This popular character needs no introduction, but we’re giving him one anyway. Created by Alan Moore for Swamp Thing #37 because Steve Bissette and John Totleben wanted to draw Sting, Constantine is a chain smoking working class con artist, manipulator, and magician who has saved the DCU more times than your average magical hero. With the creation of the Vertigo imprint, Constantine’s Hellblazer became one of its centerpieces running for three hundred issues. Adding to that are starring turns in subsequent comic series, a movie, appearances on five different television shows, multiple animated projects and more to come. For a man who likes to present himself as uncaring and cynical, Constantine sure seems to fall hard in love a lot. From Desmond in the Arrowverse to Zatanna in the DCU, Constantine cares more than he would like to admit.

Hellblazer

Justice League Dark

Swamp Thing #37

Pride Profile: John Constantine

[Pride_Profile_John Constantine] Pride Profile: John Constantine. This popular character needs no introduction, but we’re giving him one anyway. Created by Alan Moore for Swamp Thing #37 because Steve Bissette and John Totleben wanted to draw Sting, Constantine is a chain smoking working class con artist, manipulator, and magician who has saved the DCU more times than your average magical hero. With the creation of the Vertigo imprint, Constantine’s Hellblazer became one of its cen…

[LaserPuff]

@D4RK5TARZ

I would like to remind everyone that you don’t need to read everything.

This is incorrect, you must read everything or the circle of power will be disrupted and you’ll be responsible for the unleashing of horrible demons upon the world. These aren’t the good kind demons either. They won’t torture you with bloodletting or sucking your soul out with a straw type. They will make you listen to baby shark and watch VeggieTales cartoons.

[LaserPuff]

I’ve been reading the Sandman Hellblazer. I really like it. The stories are unpredictable, the characters are over the top and yet relatable in their tragedies. The art is dark and grimy and a little otherworldly at times.

There a a couple of stand out stories in these books. I just finished issues 7 & 8 it was so bizarre, disturbing and sad. It centers around a fisherman that Constantine is investigating and it takes some real turns as he discovers the awful things the fisherman has been up to.

This story makes you think about greed and conservative and the lengths some go to be successful.

The end is totally worth the read.

[capo-mage]

Saving it til I finish his previous stuff. Idk if I can hold out tho? I REALLY wanna read that one- but, the one I’m on now has like 340+ issues lol. I might have to just read the new stuff than read the older stuff concurrently. It works, I’m sure everyone here has done it at some point. U still get the easter eggs, just in reverse…

[LaserPuff]

Nope, haven’t read the original Hellblazer series. I’ve every intention to read it at some point soon though.

[EDT]

I hesitate to check out anything from the New 52 era. I will most likely work up to checking out those first few issues of the NEw 52 Constantine book, but that era of DC has a lot of issues in how it approached their writing and contained mostly bad stuff in my opinion.

But while I work up to that selection, I can say that the 12-issue limited series from the Black Label imprint is overall pretty good. One part that stands out to me is the story involving the mermaid, I thought that was a great showcase of Horror being viewed from two different viewpoints. Basically, a demonstration that HUmans can be horrific for selfish reasons but the literal monsters are horrific for…pretty understandable reasons to be honest. But I do feel a lot from this run feels just off enough. The whole final storyline reminds me of The Fear Machine storyline from the original Hellblazer title, but that OG plot had better build-up and execution that this book. Again, not terrible, but just not as strong or impactful.