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Me rn

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Where to start reading Dick Grayson?

Instead of updating the last guide I’m making this new one which will be divided into the four main stages of Dick’s life

This will be really long so under a cut

Keep reading

sometimes i re-read the '92 comic run just for this specific scene

Idc if you think "poor little meow meow" is annoying, it's not the same as "cinnamon roll/smol bean" and you KNOW this. Cinnamon roll and smol bean were cutesy complimentary words used to mean "precious" or "adorable." When I call someone a poor little meow meow I am embodying the essence of a wealthy victorian widow lifting the chin of a shivering street urchin with her cane.

Ok so I’ve got a few questions! So I like the character of John Constantine but I will admit I don’t know as much about him as a should. Like most I know about him is from the CW and comic book fans who right fanfiction and timblr blogs like you. I’ve a read few hellblazer comics (barely touched the new 52) but what hellblazer stories would you suggest I read? Should I just start from the beginning and read? I would just read the whole thing but I have ADHD and struggle to read. I think the only full hellblazer arc I’ve read is the one with John’s three demon children. My other question is what fanon things about John Constantine do you hate the most? I know you and MilfZatanna don’t like John being a slutty bisexual, but what else as well?

Hello! Also I don't blame you (fellow ADHD person here), the comic is super long and it has hit or misses when it comes to writing at times. It took me long time to complete the whole series so I think you could test the waters first with a few stories. It's a horror book, the original run is dated in a few bits, so proceed with caution. If you need any specific trigger warnings you can ask me!

If you want to get into classic Hellblazer, there are a few essential arcs I can remember

For Hellblazer (1988)

- Original Sins (#1-#9)

- The Devil You Know (10-13, with tie-ins with Swamp Thing 76-77 (tw for Sexual assault on these last two mentioned, though, I personally dislike those tie ins even if they bring context, so you can just read Hellblazer and skip them)

- The Fear Machine (14-22)

- The family Man (23-24, 28-31)

- Dangerous Habits (41-46) (I started in here, it's easily the most famous storyline for John, this was the base inspiration for Keanu Reeves' Constantine in 2005. After I finished this one I jumped back to the start of the comics).

Bonus short stories inside the run I loved:

- Early Warning/How I Learned To love the Bomb (#25-26). Good horror story by Grant Morrison. Very anxiety inducing and fucked up, a big social call out to nuclear weapons and it's very worth the read.

- Hold me (#27) by Neil Gaiman. Easily one of the best stories for Constantine ever. Very heart wrecking. If you enjoyed the Sandman, you will like this story.

- Forty (#63): John's 40th birthday! A very fun issue. You will see Swamp Thing, Zatanna and other friends on his birthday party, one of my favourite issues from the run.

Now these are personal favourites. People usually recommend Jaime Delano's and Garth Ennis' runs for Hellblazer, but I get that reading so much can be tiring. If you really want to fully into John, I'm dropping my friend's reading list here, she lists all the good runs + the essential arcs on each one of them.

Comics outside the main run I would recommend

- Constantine: City of Demons (mini). It's an elseworld if I remember right, but it's a fun read.

- Constantine: All His Engines (graphic novel). Written By Mike Carey, easily one of my favourite writers for John. It's a stand alone story and it was the base inspiration for the City of Demons animated movie.

- Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman (1990) + Hellblazer/ Books of Magic (1997, crossover). Both recommendations focus on Tim Hunter, but John is a big player on both titles. The second one focuses a lot on John's troubled past and it's a good character exploration.

- Dark Entries by Ian Rankin. Graphic Novel. John is lured to get into a closed set reality show and he soon realises he has been lead into a trap among the other contestants. He's now stuck on a demon lead reality show and has to find his way out. This was like watching a horror movie, I really enjoyed it.

Recommendations post Vertigo

Constantine: The Hellblazer (2015): New 52 wasn't a good period for Constantine. Going from mischaracterisation to boiling him down to essential traits at the point of seeming cartoon-y. BUT this comic in particular felt a bit closer to the old John. It's not Vertigo Constantine, but it's a good read and it feels like a modern reinvention of the old John. This is the first time his bisexuality is addressed in a decent way, too.

- Sandman Universe presents: Hellblazer (2019) (One shot) + John Constantine: Hellblazer (2019) by Si Spurrier (should be read together).

So this comic is easily the best run Constantine has had since his Vertigo days. It's basically the original Constantine, perfectly adapted and translated to modern days. Criminally short but it's great and I recommend it for beginners too.

I'm sorry if got a bit carried away by the recommendations, I hope this helps because I understand it's a lot of material so it's great to test waters first.

As for the fanon things, I think I mainly don't like how they've boiled down John to very simple traits now? It's a topic I could talk all day, but that's basically it. Everyone knows him as the "asshole, quirky magic man who is unbelievably powerful, the go-to Wizard of the DC universe"

Which is wrong because, John has been the odd man out most of the time. He either doesn't get called by the big magic leagues because of his untrustworthy reputation or because he himself doesn't like to be grouped with big magicians. Right, he can make his way on wealthy circles when it's beneficial to him, but he is basically the embodiment of the working class.

There's also the misconception that he is a "bad magic user". Don't take me wrong, he's not as powerful as characters like Zatanna, Doctor Fate and Co., but his magic knowledge is huge. He's a self taught occultist and he spent years perfecting his craft. He can use magic, but he will use it as a last resort. (Biggest examples of his magic is the use of hypnosis, illusions and Synchronicity manipulation, I will have to explaine the last one later).

John doesn't always get his love interest killed either. This has been used as a excuse to not give him a well rounded (and long lasting) male love interest, but truth is that John does indeed messes his relationships up, but they do not end up in deadly fates 100% of the time. If anything, at least 3-4 of John's female love interests have had main roles on the original comic runs (Zed, Kit, Dani, Angie).

Don't get me wrong, John is very open about his sexuality, but the notion of him flirting with every person he meets is...weird. He is a charming man, he has chemistry with people, but that's it. He has mainly been on monogamous relationships as much we are told, and his interactions with threesomes have been one night stands and so on (I'm ignoring the existence of Nick Necro💗) . In summary: he's confident on his sexuality, but he isn't as promiscuos as people paint him to be. He has had stable relationships.

Another misconception: John isn't mentor material, I'm sorry to break the headcanons. He has said he doesn't feel comfortable or likes kids, but he is an unreliable narrator. He is kind to them, but his trauma related to Newcastle and Astra makes him tag himself as someone unsafe and unworthy of being around them (also linked to the past domestic abuse done by his father, Thomas). As said before: he's scared of commitment in every aspect of his life for this reason.

There's also a misconception and also weird thing that people have about saying "Constantine doesn't care anyone but himself, he doesn't have any friends nor he loves anyone" and "Everyone he loves die"

That's the thing about him. He's a very social person. He actually has friends, he has relatives, he has had a lot of partners. But John is self destructive and has fear of commitment and his magic background doesn't help. He builds bridges as fast as he burns them. He cares about people a lot and for that reason he self sabotages his relationships because he either feels unworthy of love or "I better mess this up before they get caught on my magic bullshit and end up dead".

So yeah the situation with John on this case is more nuanced. He experiences a lot of lost on his life, a lot of it's self sabotages, some of it is sacrifice, and the part left is a casualty of collateral damage of his plans.

I got a biiiit carried away but I hope I could help a bit with this 🙏