Saga of the Swamp Thing: 1st John Constantine Appearance

By Benjamin Nobel, December 21, 2021

Let’s start with a game: I’ll show you twelve images, and you mentally mark which ones you recognize as John Constantine. From your selections, we’ll learn where you stand on the true first appearance of John Constantine in comics. (Don’t worry, I’ll explain what I mean by that as we go). Ready? Play!

 

OK! Have you reviewed all twelve and decided which ones you recognize to be John Constantine? The first answer that I want to ask you about, is what you decided for #10. Here is the context: the panel pictured in #10 follows a “horrific accident” where Abby is being harassed by a salesman, just as a car comes along with a swordfish strapped to its roof, and, well, here’s how that ended:

Yeah… the salesman was impaled by the swordfish.

Abby then tries to leave the crowd of onlookers (“Please… I have to come through…”)…

And just over her shoulder, is… someone… He isn’t named and he doesn’t speak, but he’s definitely somebody. Take a look at the full panel in context:

Who? Who is that?!? Well, at this point in time it is June of 1984 — the issue we’ve just been reading is Saga of the Swamp Thing #25, and the name “John Constantine” wouldn’t appear until a year later in issue #37.

So at the time this issue was published, when asked “who is that?,” you were likely to answer, “Sting!” [image 1 from the twelve you looked at in the beginning is Sting in Quadrophenia], or perhaps you might have said “Gordon Sumner!” (which is Sting’s real name)…

Or at least that answer is what the artistic team was apparently going for! [Although I for one was somehow reminded of Dana Carvey from Choppin’ Broccoli… image 3 from the twelve in the beginning]

Because this unnamed non-speaking character was meant to look like Sting, and after drawing him the artists tasked Alan Moore with figuring out who he would become — here’s Stephen Bissette commenting on this:

I love how he put that, “You better do something with him, because we’re not going to stop drawing him” … and just to remind you who Stephen Bissette is, yes, it is that Stephen Bissette, as in the same one in the art credits when you look up Saga of the Swamp Thing #25 on CGC’s census:

So it is very cool to hear John Constantine’s “origin-story-as-a-character from-the-creative-team’s-perspective” straight from the source! How awesome that Steve Bissette and John Totleben effectively decided “we want to draw a character that looks like Sting,” and then straight-up said to writer Alan Moore, “You better do something with him, because we’re not going to stop drawing him!” This was no accidental background character; no: this was somebody. In June of 1984 the world just didn’t know who it would be, quite yet.

Moore remembers it exactly this same way, remarking in a Wizard Magazine interview that his approach as a writer was always to work as closely with the artists as possible, so in the case of Swamp Thing he struck up an immediate friendship with Bissette and Totleben, asking them for notes about things they wanted to do in the series.

“One of those early notes was they both wanted to do a character that looked like Sting. I think DC is terrified that Sting will sue them, although Sting has seen the character and commented in Rolling Stone that he thought it was great. He was very flattered to have a comic character who looked like him, but DC gets nervous about these things. They started to eradicate all traces of references in the introduction of the early Swamp Thing books to John Constantine’s resemblance to Sting. But I can state categorically that the character only existed because Steve and John wanted to do a character that looked like Sting. Having been given that challenge, how could I fit Sting into Swamp Thing? — Alan Moore”

They may have worked to eradicate most traces to Sting in the early Swamp Thing books but definitely not all were removed… Remembering that Sting’s real name is Gordon Sumner, check out the name of John Constantine’s boat in the below panel from Swamp Thing #51:

“The Honorable (?) Gordon Sumner!!“

So from that first drawing of a character physically based upon Sting in Saga of the Swamp Thing #25, and the discussions among the creative team that followed, Alan Moore then developed the character John Constantine…. who would appear by name in issue #37.

“I had an idea that most of the mystics in comics are generally older people, very austere, very proper, very middle class in a lot of ways. They are not at all functional on the street. It struck me that it might be interesting for once to do an almost blue-collar warlock. Somebody who was streetwise, working class, and from a different background than the standard run of comic book mystics. Constantine started to grow out of that. — Alan Moore”

So that’s how Hellblazer “began” — a really neat “creative-team-level origin story” wouldn’t you agree? And lest you think that there’s a possibility that there was an “earlier Sting” drawn prior to Saga of the Swamp Thing #25, for example in DC Sampler #3 (the book which provided image number 4 from the twelve you looked at in the beginning), let’s have Stephen Bissette set you straight on that:

I think the reason some collectors get confused about the timeline of DC Sampler #3 is because CGC only categorizes it with the year 1984 on their census (no month is listed on census, as there is no month mentioned in the indicia page of the book), making it understandable that some collectors might in turn question when in 1984 it was actually published. And inside that issue is the following promotional material, where the character we now know as John Constantine still isn’t named yet but his image appears in this gorgeous promotion:

But this above artwork demonstrably came after issue #25 of Saga of the Swamp Thing (which is cover dated June 1984 and has a Library of Congress Copyright Date of February 28, 1984). Meanwhile DC Database lists DC Sampler #3 under the cover date of November 1984 with a publication date of September 25, 1984; and MAW corroborates this date, showing DC Sampler #3 with a Library of Congress Copyright Date of September 25, 1984. Here’s what Stephen Bissette shared about that ad:

So: Saga of the Swamp Thing #25 came first — where the yet-to-be-named character was drawn for the first time and the artists asked the writer to figure out who he would become — and then by the time the DC Sampler ad appeared later that same year, they already had it “pretty much worked out” (yet fans would have to wait until Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 for more than just an image of who we now know to be John Constantine).

In addition to DC Sampler #3, some collectors have also asked about other issues that could potentially “lay claim” to Constantine’s first appearance — another book I’ve heard discussed is Crisis on Infinite Earths #4 (but why anyone would have questioned that book is a puzzle to me since that’s way out in July of 1985). All of the quotes I’ve been showing you from Bissette are from a conversation that took place in 2018 on Facebook on this very subject in response to the following question posed by Rich Handley, asking this exact John Constantine question (“someone is claiming there was an appearance before #25?”), to which Stephen Bissette then replied to set the record straight and conversations ensued:

Case closed: Bissette says nope, no prior appearances, it all started in that panel from #25, where the character we today know as John Constantine was standing behind Abby, just after the salesman and the swordfish “met”!

So: when you looked at those 12 images I showed you in the beginning, what was your answer when you looked at #10? Did you recognize that image as being John Constantine?? And now that you’ve heard the backstory, how do you feel now?

And how does the rest of the hobby answer (currently)? Let’s next take a look at how some of the big names in the hobby answer the same question! OK big names, have a look at #10 and tell us what you think!

First, let’s ask the Overstreet Price Guide. When they look at that panel from #25, they say: yes, that’s John Constantine:

Then there’s my fellow CPV Price Guide collaborator, Doug Sulipa, an absolute encyclopedia of comic book knowledge: his “Advisor Note” for issue #25 of Saga of the Swamp Thing makes crystal clear that when he looks at that panel, he says yes, that’s John Constantine:

How about ComicBase? When they look at that panel, they too say yes, that’s John Constantine:

Next let’s see what MyComicShop thinks… yep, they too say yes, that’s John Constantine:

Over at ComicsPriceGuide, they too cite the 1st cameo appearance of John Constantine in this issue, as well as pointing out the connection to Sting:

And then over at ComicLink we have quite an interestingly-phrased description: “Retroactively determined to be 1st appearance (in cameo) of John Constantine.“

Among the sources we’ve reviewed thus far, the phrase “retroactively determined” gives us the first “hint” that there’s a little bit of “controversy” in the hobby over the first appearance of John Constantine. And indeed, there’s even an article out there entitled, “The debate surrounding John Constantine’s first appearance” which cites DC sources as standing by issue #37 as the “official” first appearance of John Constantine.

DC Database says the following about issue #25:

Wow: although I give them credit for stating that “John Constantine could have possibly made his first appearance in this issue” and giving an explanation stating their viewpoint, it strikes me as “highly incomplete” to pass off the cameo as simply a character that “shares no other traits … other than physical inspiration” and then saying that “some people” have claimed this to be Constantine’s first appearance.

“Some people”? Don’t take it from “some people”… take it from Stephen Bissette himself!! In the 2018 exchange cited earlier, Bissette taught us the true origin: that he and Totleben drew the “unnamed, non-speaking character” not as some random unimportant background character but rather with deliberate intention that this was “someone” (someone drawn with specific inspiration [Sting] and meant to be a recurring character) and that Alan Moore had better figure out a story for him (“You better do something with him, because we’re not going to stop drawing him!“)

That’s the origin of the creative-team-development of this character that Bissette is describing here, which is a way different situation from the picture painted by DC Database in their commentary. Bissette drew “him” and said he was going to keep on doing so — that’s why Alan Moore came up with a name and a backstory, and ultimately the character we know as John Constantine was developed and “assigned” to “him.” I suppose you could argue that this assignment was done “retroactively”… but that doesn’t do full justice to the backstory behind the creation of John Constantine because via the behind-the-scenes creative process among the creative team you can draw a direct line from that one-panel cameo in #25, to the character we came to know in issue #37.

But did DC Database actually know all of that before their commentary was written? Have others in the hobby who dismiss issue #25 actually heard what Stephen Bissette and Alan Moore had to say on the subject? Given that the Bissette conversation is buried in a 2018 Facebook thread, I have to wonder if the #25 detractors are operating with incomplete information (or wrote their views a very long time ago)?

I only added issue #25 to my collection within the last year (and naturally, as a collector who cares about rarity, I went after the 95¢ cover price variant), and at the time I started my hunt I wasn’t actually aware that there was any debate over John Constantine’s appearance in this issue… Given what appears in the Overstreet guide I had assumed it was a settled fact. It wasn’t until my copy returned from CGC grading and I looked at what they placed on the label, that I realized that this first appearance must be one of those fun situations that falls under the category of “it’s complicated”… because CGC mentions nothing about John Constantine whatsover on their label (currently) for issue #25! Can you believe it? I was shocked to see that the only Key Comments note they place is “Jason Blood appearance”:

Among all of the “big names” in the hobby, arguably CGC is the one whose stance has the biggest result on market value… So given their current stance of completely ignoring the 1st cameo appearance of John Constantine (perhaps siding with the view currently held by DC Database), no wonder Saga of the Swamp Thing #25 has such a lower market value versus what we might expect!

And CBCS gives the book the exact same treatment as CGC does, merely stating “Jason Blood appearance” on their label as well:

I propose that it is time for CGC and CBCS to study this situation further, to learn from what Stephen Bissette shared in 2018 about the true behind-the-scenes “origin story” of John Constantine’s creation as a character, and then to update their labels! This cameo truly deserves mention. And to completely ignore it, as CGC and CBCS currently do, is truly an unfortunate situation that needs a fix. Readers: please bombard CGC and CBCS with requests to update their key comments notes for issue #25 and share the facts with them, won’t you?

Keanu Reeves Interview

Keanu Reeves has been giving interviews recently, to promote the new Matrix film (side note: did you know that Reeves is Canadian and was raised in Toronto?), and you probably know that he played John Constantine in the 2005 film.

So I found it quite noteworthy during this Colbert interview, when he was asked, “Is there a character you’ve played before you’d like to play again, that noone is asking you to? And keep in mind, when you say this, someone will then ask you to!”

Keanu answered “that’s not true” to the “someone will then ask you” part, but then said: “I would love to play John Constantine again.”

Stephen Colbert then followed up, “Great film! Love that! Are you saying right now, on national television, that you are willing to play John Constantine again — with the prospect that Stephen Colbert might have a guest-starring role — that noone will make that movie?!?“

Keanu answered, “I’ve tried. I’ve tried, Stephen.” Listen to the crowd’s reaction when he says this… It is in this clip, and the exchange starts about 25 seconds in: I’d say the people want another John Constantine movie. And importantly, so does Keanu — to the point where he states that he’s tried, actively to get one made! Might it help that he’s now discussed this on national television, and that Colbert only-half-jokingly wants a role in it as a “reluctant demon”?

Happy Collecting! 🙂

 

Whether we ever get another Constantine movie (or not), I find the comics surrounding his 1st appearance to be very highly collectible, especially Saga of the Swamp Thing #25 given that it is currently “overlooked” by CGC, and of course his “full” first appearance in #37 is incredibly appealing as a collectible (and yes, there’s a 95¢ cover price variant of that one too, and that most-rare Canadian Price Variant type is exceedingly difficult to find in high grade, so set your expectations low: as of this writing on 12/21/2021 there is still not a single 9.8 price variant copy on CGC’s census for issue #37).

Happy Collecting!

– Ben p.s. The twelve pictures from the beginning are (1) Sting in Quadrophenia, (2) Keanu Reeves in Constantine, (3) Dana Carvey from Choppin’ Broccoli, (4) Constantine in the ad in DC Sampler #3, and (5) through (12) are all from Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 & #38, with the exception of (10) from #25.