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John Constantine ()〔''Swamp Thing'' (vol. 2) No. 73--John corrects Chester Williams's "Constanteen" pronunciation; ''Hellblazer'' No. 34, letters column; ''Hellblazer'' No. 40, rhymed with "design" in a song.〕 (also known as Hellblazer) is a fictional character, an antihero, appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''The Saga of the Swamp Thing'' No. 37 (June 1985), and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben. He serves as the lead character of the comic books ''Hellblazer'' (1988–2013), ''Constantine'' (2013–2015), and ''Constantine: The Hellblazer'' (2015–). The titular Hellblazer,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=''Comics History 101: Constantine'' ) October 20, 2014〕 Constantine is a working class magician, occult detective and con man stationed in London. He is known for his endless cynicism, deadpan snarking, ruthless cunning and constant chain smoking, but is also a passionate humanist driven by a heartfelt desire to do some good in his life. Originally a supporting character who played a pivotal role in the "American Gothic" ''Swamp Thing'' storyline, Constantine received his own comic in 1988. Pop artist Sting served as visual inspiration for the character.〔 A live-action film was also released in 2005 entitled ''Constantine'', where an Americanized version of the character is played by actor Keanu Reeves. Welsh actor Matt Ryan was cast in the role of Constantine for the 2014 NBC television series ''Constantine'', a role he reprised on the CW series ''Arrow''. The ''Hellblazer'' series was the longest-running and most successful title of DC's Vertigo imprint. ''Empire Magazine'' ranked Constantine third in their 50 Greatest Comic Characters of All Time,〔(''Empire'' | The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters )〕 while IGN ranked him No. 29 in their Top 100 Comic Book Heroes, and the character ranked No. 10 in ''Wizard Magazine's'' Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time. ==Creation and conception== John Constantine first appeared in 1985 as a recurring character in the horror series ''The Saga of the Swamp Thing'', in which he acted as a "supernatural advisor" to the main character. In these early appearances, Constantine was depicted as a sorcerer of questionable morality, whose appearance was based on that of the musician Sting (specifically, as Sting appeared in the films ''Brimstone and Treacle'' and ''Quadrophenia''). Alan Moore created the character after artists Stephen R. Bissette and John Totleben, who were fans of the Police, expressed a desire to draw a character who looked like Sting.〔"Alan Moore On (Just About) Everything", ''The Comics Journal'' No. 106 (March 1986), p. 41〕 They had already drawn at least one such character in Sting's likeness, as a briefly glimpsed background figure wearing a black-and-red-striped T-shirt, in ''Swamp Thing'' No. 25 (1984) who was later retroactively declared as being John Constantine. In his earliest Swamp Thing appearances, the character is drawn with a marked resemblance to Sting, and in ''Swamp Thing'' No. 51, Constantine appears on a boat with the name "The Honourable Gordon Sumner" on the bow. John Constantine's official debut was not until ''Swamp Thing'' No. 37 when he was drawn by Rick Veitch. However, Crisis On Infinite Earths #4 (his second official appearance, in a cameo role) shipped two weeks prior to the release of Swamp Thing #37. In Crisis On Infinite Earths #4, written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by George Perez, Constantine is wearing a green suit as opposed to his more traditional suit and trenchcoat ensemble. Moore describes the creation of Constantine as being drawn from a number of "really good ideas... about serial killers, the Winchester House, and... want() to draw Sting in a story."〔"Alan Moore On (Just About) Everything", ''The Comics Journal'' No. 106 (March 1986), p. 42〕 Calling these disparate strands a "big intellectual puzzle", Constantine was the result of "fit() it all together."〔 Initially created "purely to get Sting into the story", by the time of the 1985 San Diego ComicCon, Moore stated that "()t's turning into something more than that now."〔 Veitch's contribution was to give Constantine an earring, something he considered risque for 1985. Asked in 1985 about the similarities between John Constantine and the character Baron Winters (from Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan's ''Night Force''), Moore revealed that he was a "big fan" of Wolfman and ''Night Force'', but that there was "no intention to rip off Baron Winters."〔 He stated, Constantine and Winters met each other during Moore's run on ''Swamp Thing'' and again during Gaiman's ''The Books of Magic''. Speaking to comics magazine ''Wizard'' in 1993, Moore elaborated: In 1988, Constantine was given his own title, ''Hellblazer'', published by DC Comics. In 1993, at the launch of DC's Vertigo Comics imprint, ''Hellblazer'' was made an official Vertigo publication. It was the longest continuously published Vertigo title. The policy was reversed in 2011, when a version of Constantine appeared in the DC Universe crossover series ''Brightest Day'', a spin-off series, ''Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing''. Peter Milligan added him in the roster of The New 52 series ''Justice League Dark''.〔〔 Milligan began writing ''Justice League Dark'' while also writing the Vertigo's ''Hellblazer'' series, being a writer of both series at the same time. In an interview, Milligan told Newsarama, Beginning in ''Justice League Dark'' issue No. 9, Jeff Lemire assumed writing duties on the series, replacing Milligan who had remained on the Vertigo title. Speaking with CBR News exclusively, Lemire said he considers ''Justice League Dark'' his dream gig at DC Comics because Constantine is one of his all-time favourite characters not just in comics, but in all fiction. Lemire also teased that while Constantine, Zatanna and Deadman would remain on the roster, the team would change in his opening arc and expand.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Jeff Lemire takes on Justice League Dark )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Constantine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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