John Constantine is a character easily identified when he turns up in comic books, on TV or in movies.
His signature short blonde locks, tan trench coat and ever-present cigarette make him one of the most recognizable characters in comic book history.
However, Constantine hasn't always looked like the way we envision him today and throughout his 30-year history, that look has changed dramatically.
Take a look at how DC's most famous conman has evolved over the years.
Swamp Thing #47: April, 1986
Let's start with Constantine's original look. When writer Alan Moore and artists Steve Bissette and John Totleben created the character, they looked to a rock star for their inspiration: Sting. All three men were fans of The Police, and when you look at early Constantine, the resemblance is unmistakable. In Swamp Thing #51, Constantine even pops up on a boat named "The Honorable Gordon Sumner" (Gordon Sumner is Sting's real name).
According to rumor, at some point, Sting actually gave Constantine his seal of approval.
Constantine's first appearance was Swamp Thing #37 and in that, he appears as we know him today, although he's a bit more dapper than we're used to. The very first time we see him in the pages of Swamp Thing, he's buttoned up in his trench coat, wearing a white shirt, tie and some nice Italian leather shoes, sporting his signature short platinum blonde hair, just like we usually envision him. And as always, there's a cigarette dangling out of his mouth in many panels throughout that particular run of Swamp Thing.
Hellblazer #1: December, 1987
As a character, Constantine became so popular that he got his own comic book title in 1988, Hellblazer. This title established Constantine's look and added a few new details: the trench coat took on a more yellowish hue and the suit underneath was a bright blue, with matching blue shoes. In the early issues of Hellblazer, Constantine was fashionable, a style icon of the time. The cigarette stayed firmly in place. Constantine kept this look throughout the early run of the title, although sometimes the shoes were brown.
Hellblazer #13: January, 1989
Constantine's look got a little more casual by 1989 as he ditched the blue suit and opted instead, for blue jeans. The shoes also looked more like sneakers and Constantine's short blonde locks got a little longer, although his hair often still stood up at odd angles. He even occasionally donned sunglasses and lost the tie (although it still popped up from time to time). This was a new more comfortable Constantine.
Hellblazer #49: December, 1991
Although Constantine's basic look stayed the same throughout the run of Hellblazer, artists occasionally played around with the color palettes of the character's outfit. For example, in Hellblazer #49, Constantine's signature crisp white shirt takes on a pink hue and his tie gets the skinny treatment, as that was the popular trend of the time. The hair was also longer and less spiked. Constantine also started looking a lot less like Sting and more like his own character.
Hellblazer #61: December, 1992
On rare occasions, such as in issue #61, Constantine actually loses the coat. But fans didn't have to worry: usually the coat was never far from John's reach and he always grabbed it and put it on when going out.
Hellblazer #71: October, 1993
In Hellblazer #71, Constantine finds himself homeless, and his look, therefore, represents this. His hair is now longer than it's ever been and he sports a beard (still blonde). But underneath a threadbare red blanket is the trench coat and tattered clothes that he refused to leave behind. Fortunately, Constantine pulls himself back together by issue #72.
Hellblazer #113: April 1997
Constantine's style remained about the same throughout the 1990s, although by issue #113, we noticed something distinctive: Constantine's hair was now graying with age and he looked older. He even gained a bit of weight. The smoking and the lifestyle seemed as if it finally took its toll on the character, something obvious in #113's cover art.
Hellblazer #162: April, 2000
The first time we saw Constantine without his signature coat and suit happened in several throwback issues, when we saw him as a young man, the lead singer of a punk rock band. Instead of his usual coat, in these issues Constantine wears a motorcycle jacket and looks completely different from how we've seen him before, and, obviously, a lot younger.
Constantine, the movie: 2005
In 2005, we got our first cinematic look at John Constantine, but his look drastically changed. Played by Keanu Reeves, gone were the unruly blonde locks, replaced by simple brown hair. Even more distracting, though, was the fact that in the film, Constantine was suddenly American, which most would argue defeats the purpose of the character. Even the trench coat was gone, replaced by a simple black suit.
For obvious reasons, the film was not a success with Constantine fans or critics.
Justice League Dark #1: September, 2011
After Hellblazer's run ended, DC thought Constantine should join the DC universe, chock full of superheroes, in Justice League Dark in 2011. It was an odd match, but one thing was for certain: the artists decided to stay true to Constantine's look. This title ran until 2015 and John's style remained the same throughout.
Constantine TV series, NBC: 2014
Last year saw the debut of the first Constantine TV series on NBC. And the character was back to how we knew him: trench coat and all. Of course, because of network regulations on showing characters smoking, we never got to see the character actually puff on a cigarette, but we often saw him with one dangling from his lip. Matt Ryan portrayed the character and showed us the grizzled blonde Constantine we knew from the comics.
Unfortunately, NBC canceled the Constantine series, after a large fan effort failed to save it. But we'll always have our memories of Ryan in the role, who actually helped set up the new comic book title that arrived this year.
Constantine: The Hellblazer: June 2015
It wasn't until this year, 2015, when Constantine finally got his own solo title again with Constantine: The Hellblazer #1. And although the comic acknowledges events that occurred in Justice League Dark (as in the character is now aware of superheroes), the story of the first Constantine: The Hellblazer takes John back to his roots, as to how we remember him, similar to his first appearances in Swamp Thing and Hellblazer.
Constantine's look is similar to his first: the short cropped hair, the trench coat, the suit, but it's been updated to reflect what's going on in fashion in the here and now (check out the new boots). He's also ditched the jeans and is now going full-on suit again under the coat.
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