Hero, Superhero, Antihero, Villain: The Top 10 Most Interesting Comic Book Characters

John Constantine

Character: Ahhh John Constantine, one of Vertigo's flagship characters: blue-collar occultist, chain-smoking cynic, ex-punk and total bastard. What makes Constantine great is that despite his profession as an occultist, warlock and protector of London from nasty supernatural things, he's a very ordinary and very believable character. He first appeared during Alan Moore's run writing “Swamp Thing”, the popular ecological horror comic, and became something of a recurring character, portrayed as an immoral, scruffy sorcerer in his suit and trenchcoat (with features inspired by the musician Sting), manipulating and conning other characters into doing what he wants them to. Since then, John has been given his own, extremely popular comic series “Hellblazer”, which has attracted star writers such as Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, Mike Carey and even crime novelist Ian Rankin. John's powers are numerous: he can raise demons, create illusions, erase memories, use divination, and so on, but more often than not he refuses to use them, preferring trickery, even tricken the First of the Fallen (the Devil) into curing him of terminal lung cancer! His relationships with others usually end tragically, he has a habit of attracting trouble and is often haunted by ghosts, yet despite this, he remains cheerful, sarcastic and promiscuous.

Alternate versions, mass media and pop culture: “Constantine” the film, starring Keanu Reeves as Constantine, turned the character from the manipulative Liverpudlian we know and love into just another American action hero, sadly, even changing the pronunciation of his name! Battling against the forces of Hell (rather than Heaven, Hell, Hades and whatever else, as in the comics) this version is a very Catholic-based mythos. A sequel is now in the works. In other media, John has appeared briefly in a crowd in one of the “Justice League of America” cartoons, and has appeared in many other Vertigo and DC comics, including the award-winning “The Sandman” series and “The Books of Magic”, as well as numerous homages in other comics, novels and films.

Why I like him: I have to say I'm a big “Hellblazer” fan. To me, Constantine is the epitome of modern day magic: practical, cynical and down to earth. The London he inhabits is so close to the real one and the series brilliantly captures that strange otherworldliness that certain parts of the city have. John Constantine is also remarkable for being one of the most realistic characters in modern comics because he actually ages (he will turn 55 this year), as well as interacting directly with “real world” issues, one recent issue had him moaning about the smoking ban in England!

Death

Character: Death is, quite simply, the personification of death. A character from Vertigo's remarkable “The Sandman” written by bestselling writer Neil Gaiman, this version of Death is not your average Grim Reaper. Death from “The Sandman” is a bubbly, sensible young goth girl, pretty, cheerful and practical. Her sigil is an ankh (the Egyptian hieroglyph for life) and she usually wears a large silver one around her neck. For those of you who have not yet read “The Sandman” (and I highly recommend you do, whether or not you usually read comics, “Sandman” is something quite extraordinary), the comics follow the exploits of seven entities known as The Endless (by order of age) Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium. Each one has a different domain and attributes fitting the thing they personify. They are not gods, more of ideas, they look different depending on who is looking at them, and have different “aspects” which can die. The series follows Dream of the Endless (the titular Sandman) and his interactions with various mortals, gods, demons, angels and other entities, and is arrestingly inventive. It was extremely tempting to just fill this entire list with Sandman characters!

Death is one of the most popular characters from the series, partially thanks to the innovative portrayal of a familiar figure, partly for her position as an antidote to Dream's gloomily formal nature, and partly because she's the sort of person you would want to be friends with.

Alternate versions, mass media and pop culture:

Death's popularity have leant her several spin off comics, including “Death: the High Cost of Living”, which adds further mythology to her character, and “The Girl who Would be Death”, as well as numerous appearances in comics like “The Books of Magic”, “Hellblazer” and “Lobo”. She also appears in a sex education pamphlet for high school classes, where she places a condom on a banana, with the help of a very embarrassed John Constantine. Death-like goth girls have apparently “appeared” to some of the creators since her introduction in Sandman, and her design has become something of a counter-culture icon. A film adaptation of “Death: The High Cost of Living” has been rumoured for some time.