din, she/her, arctic fox enthusiast. this is where I'm going to be crying about john constantine for the foreseeable future and you are so very welcome to join me in this hell!
(stumbles back into her hellblazer tears after a shoulder injury and a nasty cold)
so like there is so much to say about the séance in swamp thing #50, and I'm sure a ton of people have said a ton of things about it better than I can articulate cause there's just so many layers to it to discuss; the way john orchestrated it and manipulated people into it, the people lost in this moment, the way john's relationship with zee is forever changed because her father is one of the casualties, the way it supports swamp thing's arc and ties into the lesson of the whole thing etc etc ...
but I keep coming back to this specific moment, the first casualty, when sargon spontaneously fucking combusts:
because I think that this moment and this page is a perfect distillation of who john is, it really defines his character.
this is a thing that needs doing, that he is in charge of and instigated, that needs to go according to his plan.
and when someone is lost as part of that plan, it is immediately compartmentalized. everyone else reacts with shock and disbelief, but john's respones is that it's alright; the plan is still in place; we carry on.
and what I think about the most in this is the line "but john [...] your hand ..." - because it's not just that someone died, it's also that john gets hurt by someone's death directly, in this case literally. the comment specifically about his hand tells us that he is likely getting severely burned as he keeps holding this burning hand to maintain the circle, but he pushes past his own pain as well as the death of someone he put in a position to die because there's no other choice but to finish what he's started.
and that's john's story in a nutshell, and it's all right here like a little case study in one page with just a few lines.
also, something kind of heartwarming and excellent in john's first swamp thing arc is the kinda slow burn that is how swamp thing changes his opinion of him and how they become allies and sort-of friends. c:
under the cut because this is really just me gushing with pictures:
john very much starts out his usual dipshit nonsense with swamp thing and gives him no reason to like him (37):
and swamp thing very much doesn't, and is happy to manhandle john out of frustration (38):
to telling him to his face he doesn't like him (39):
but he still recognises the fact that john has knowledge he doesn't, and thinks about him when he hasn't seen him for a while because of the games john's playing with him and because he knows that he needs john to at least some degree to understand what is going on and his place in it (44):
there's an interesting shift overall in swamp thing's demeanor from frustration to resignation about john that is at its clearest in 45:
which john rewards by telling him about the multiverse and about the brujería in 46, which is also the first time he cracks in front of swamp thing:
the fact that swamp thing apologizes to john here, when only a few issues earlier he was more or less willing to punch him in the face, shows the fairly rapid escalation of their relationship from reluctant to something of a proper partnership.
john's still kind of a dick to him all through 46 -- he's irritated with swamp thing for not keeping up with the information he's given and for now understanding the big picture -- but I think the fact that john is actually giving him answers here, as well as accidentally revealing that he is more than just a know-it-all manipulator, marks a big shift in how swamp thing feels about john and is part of the foundation for his later choice to save him from death at the hands of the brujería even when john asks him not to.
the biggest part is probably this, though:
the fact that john does eventually give him the answers he's looking for, about himself and his place in the world.
so swamp thing goes to the parliament of trees. I think it's interesting that john accompanies him. john's not very sentimental and it's likely he just wanted to keep eyes on swamp thing and get to know as soon as possible what the parliament would tell him, but john's also got a hell of a soft heart at the core of things, so maybe there's a part of him that just wants to make sure that swamp thing is okay.
the same part that asks him if he IS okay, after swamp thing's met with the parliament (47):
the same part that looks saddened for him.
and then there's swamp thing, who shows this grief and heartbreak to john to begin with. and it's true he's alone except for him in this moment, and that he is so far removed from any source of comfort he would normally try to find (abby, mostly), but damn if I don't believe that at this point, there is a part of him that thinks that john may understand, or even offer a sliver of comfort or insight.
we can't forget that swamp thing used to be human, even if those memories are murky for him. and that all humans seek comfort and companionship in some way. and john showed swamp thing his own humanity just a few days prior to this, and so, swamp thing feels safe enough to show him this vulnerability in turn.
I'd love to know what john's response was to this, heh. probably something along the lines of how screw them, swamp thing doesn't need them. like, he needs swamp thing at this point, to fulfill his part of something pretty damn serious, and he can't have swamp thing be too depresed to do what needs doing, so there's no way he didn't say anything at all. and john knows what it's like to be cast out -- by his family, by society, by the magical community -- he knows what it's like not to belong.
which is why I think it's probable he'd say something about how swamp thing doesn't need the parliament to make it. and I think that he'd say that with more honesty and empathy than he'd maybe have meant to.
and swamp thing would have listened to that, because he has no one else to hear him at this point in time.
which is all obviously conjecture on my part, but I think it strengthens the theme that's at the heart of what turns their animosity into an uneasy sort of friendship: reciprocity.
and that shared vulnerability, and john giving swamp thing answers, and them perhaps understanding each other more than they'd think, that then comes down to this (48):
and this (49):
where he doesn't let john give up. because for once, swamp thing is the one with the cards, and who has the plan, and he seals the brujería in and gets john and himself out of there alive.
and the fucking symmetry of swamp thing taking john by the collar again but this time to make him fucking go, fucking live, I can't, man, I love this shit
(they forgot to colour john in on the second panel haha I love old comics)
and then they together come up with a new plan. standing together as equals, fucking holding each other's hands for the first time, figuring this shit out. like. we've come so so far from john leading swamp thing around and swamp thing hating him for it. with so much death beind them and swamp thing choosing john's life even when john wasn't ready to.
there was a lot leading here, but this is the moment, in my eyes, where they're forever bound together in some kind of partnership. even if their attitudes and opinions on each other ebb and flow, this is like. this is why john returns to swamp thing, this is why we see swamp thing in hellblazer, this is why new adaptations keep ensuring they stay together. this is too good to let go of
and john shows a lot more faith in swamp thing than anyone is ready for or understands during the séance in 50, and like, man.
and then we have 51, where swamp thing returns the question john asked him after the parliament, essentially - are you okay?
which john deflects, as he does. but I love that swamp thing's answer to the new question he asks is to just wonder about john again. because it makes sense, doesn't it? like. this guy showed up out of nowhere with more knowledge about the world than swamp thing could have ever gathered himself, yanked him around with it for a while, but then becamse something like a friend, and certainly an ally.
and john deflects, again. because he's probably already shown more of his hand to swamp thing than he really wants to. because he feels like shit because he lost a lot of people during this. because he's leaving, thinks he won't see swamp thing again, so why do details matter. because he wants to wash his hands of this whole experience, probably.
and then swamp thing tries to extend something sincere to him as he leaves, and he can't have that, for all the above reasons:
but I love this whole exchange. swamp thing who has something sincere to say to him, even if it goes unsaid. because he regards john as someone worthwhile to him, as a good man.
and john deflecting, again, but that swamp thing allows him. because maybe swamp thing understands what it's realy about.
and because their relationship has gone full circle, with john back to being infuriating and yanking swamp thing around. just ... affectionately, this time.
idk man. I just love this progression. such a solid, great journey for the pair of them that perfectly sets up their continued relationship, both good and bad. it just shows us so perfectly why they can't really walk away from each other's lives after all this. because swamp thing saved john's, and in a way john saved his, and they saved the fucking world together, and they view each other as people.
okay, so, the brujería arc. there's so much to talk about.
one of the first things that stands out to me on this reread is judith's betrayal of john and the rest of the crew, and how john was completely blindsided by this.
one of john's greatest strength is his ability to read people. it's what makes him a good manipulator and con artist and magician. the fact that he's able to intuitively understand most people and play them is basically his entire skillset (and part of what makes hellblazer as a comic so compelling), and he's usually not the one getting betrayed as a result -- he's the betrayer.
which isn't to say that it doesn't happen, obviously. he's fallible and he makes mistakes. but judith stands out regardless as someone who would have been close to him and who turned not just on him but on everyone else associated with him and herself in a way that I don't remember anyone else doing off the top of my head. like she straight killed everyone else with her own two hands and attempted to have john killed too, which holy shit, what a backstabbing.
it's been years since I read the run so I can't remember for sure (and feel free to let me know if I've missed someone or something obvious) but I don't believe this kind of oversight ever happens again on john's part? things still go wrong and he fucks up, but iirc it's more that he misread a situation or didn't have all available information, or there was a loophole someone else found in something he said or did -- or the all-time hellblazer classic, he gets it right but in the worst possible way.
and while it's most likely just a different direction taken in the writing as hellblazer found its feet it makes me feel like on a character level, maybe john was so shaken up by judith's actions and betrayal that that's part of it. that he can't let this happen again, or even really form a crew of as many people again for fear of someone in that crew hurting everyone else in it again.
honestly, he's a lot more lonely and alone after this initial stint in swamp thing and as we open on him in hellblazer, right? he has allies, but never really a crew like this again (again, iirc). we never really see him wrangle as many moving parts/people again.
so, y'know. that being judith's fault, whether intentionally or not. I think that's narratively interesting and something to dig into that was overlooked by the source material.
swamp thing #46, the first time we get to hear about newcastle:
it is absolutely fascinating to see what later became one of the most horrible backstories ever that’s entirely rife with trauma be treated so flippantly at its inception.
like, to my memory john never jokes about newcastle, even darkly to cope, once he’s ported to hellblazer and that backstory is expanded on. which I think was the right call because the backstory it wound up being is amazing and so, so so fitting for the genre and provided incredible motivation for john’s character, but here it is like it’s just a big shrug haha
and this feels particularly dissonant in context of this issue, where we're also shown john's real sensitivity to what he is surrounded by and has to do all the time, a few pages later:
(this was the moment I fell in love with him by the way. like. the fear and the upset, the crack in the facade. it's so good - he's been a cryptic dick (mostly) for like seven issues, and then this. and you go, oh. oh, this is bad. and wow, this guy is not okay.)
but it does make you react even more to that flippant shrug about newcastle. and there’s some interesting things to think about here with the early intention of his characterisation. like, was he meant to generally be more deadpan and sassy? black humour isn't really a big part of hellblazer but in another world it could have been and thus been a pretty different comic if they'd leaned into rather than away from that moment. which is fun to think about.
seeing that moment again, I wondered if maybe he was originally meant to be more indifferent about what he was doing and less burdened by it, but this page and reaction about the invunche sort of negates that, doesn't it. like, he's clearly been conceived from the get go with a lot of vulnerability, including about his sexuality and his role in society, so the deflection shown towards newcastle is like ...
it's like they made it worse, I think. they had him originally able to deflect it with a joke, and then they made it so bad for him that he can't do that anymore, and made it feel very different once we got to his own pov in hellblazer later.
I always like stuff like this, it reminds me of the human hands and minds that brought the stories to life and the fact that things change as we go. it’s neat.
also I am not getting over the fact that batman and john met in the og swamp thing in 1985
like I love seeing them bounce off each other in some of the DC reimaginings but I always forget that they literally met. in the og. in the 80s. for some reason. batman's appearance here is completely pointless and it's so funny to me like . ok !
so something that I find interesting about john's early appearances is the fact that he's depicted with a stud earring in his right ear.
this is from swamp thing #37 (his first appearance) but iirc the earring stays all through swamp thing and early hellblazer, where it eventually gets discarded presumably for ease of drawing (to avoid keeping track of it).
this was published june '85.
obviously john was later confirmed as bisexual in '92.
and this earring, it's really capturing my attention on this reread. the stereotype of gay men wearing an earring in the right ear to signal their sexuality apparently peaked in the 80s and may go back to the 60s. whether this was a common practise or not really seems to vary depending on who you ask and accounts differ even locally, but it was well in place as a stereotype and myth by the time this comic was made and john was introduced to us with the 'gay earring'.
which is something I didn't catch at all on my first read - that he was probably intended as a queer character from the very start, and this signal being clearly in place to show that.
it's almost like how magic works in this world, honestly - regardless of objective truth (whether the 'gay earring' was a true signal amidst queer people, and which ear was gay to begin with even if it was), the belief in this stereotype manifests it as a form of truth regardless. and so john's got the 'gay earring', and he's later confirmed as bi.
I think these two pages show that intention even further:
from swamp thing #38.
'fruit loop' as a derogatory statement is a subset of the usual 'fruity' pejoratives towards gay men (source) which were well established in the 80s. 'fruit loop' can also mean a crazy person (and as I understand that is a vastly more common usage today). obviously at this time john's done time in ravenscar and being called crazy would probably offend him, but this interaction seems obviously intended to be understood as john being identified as a queer man and harassed for it.
I also find john's reaction to this happening very intriguing; he's tense, confrontational, and unintentionally harms himelf when faced with this intolerance and implicit threat of it, which feels like a pretty stark contrast to his more modern who-gives-a-shit portrayals (which I like a hell of a lot for different reasons). it's just pretty neat to note that as the times have changed, john's opinion of his own sexuality appears to have changed accordingly.
and obviously it doesn't escape my notice that this was written and published during the HIV/AIDS epidemic which makes it all feel both more heavy and more bold. I hope someone out there felt seen by reading this comic at the time.
as a last note I also like that he seems to have been intended as solidly bi from the get-go, because he is identified as a 'fruit loop' while he's talking about and being comforted about his dead girlfriend.
