Batman/Deadpool #1--John Constantine: Hellblazer & Doctor Strange Preview

 

John Constantine is a warlock and occult detective. As Hellblazer, he's a chain-smoking humanitarian who protects people like you and me from otherworldly dangers. In Batman: Gotham By Gaslight--A League for Justice, John Constantine helps a group of heroes as they seek to prevent General Zod and Lex Luthor from changing the world as they know it. 

Dr Stephen Strange once served people as an acclaimed surgeon. Now, he protects Humanity as Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. Or at least he does, when Earth's first vampire doesn't try to assassinate him, or the king of Latveria swindles him out of his powers. When an immortal villain threatens to change the world as we know it, Doctor Strange will work to defend the sacred timeline in 1776.

How will John Constantine and Stephen Strange get along when they meet? Who will they protect? And what evils will they battle? Here's all the info from DC Connect:

  

DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool #1

Writers: Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Tom Taylor, Mariko Tamaki & G Willow Wilson

Artist: Dan Mora, Hayden Sherman, Bruno Redondo, Amanda Conner & Denys Cowan

Cover Artists: Dan Mora, Lee Bermejo, Mark Brooks, Jim Cheung, Amanda Conner, Nick Dragotta, Jenny Frison, Andy Kubert, Jae Lee, Jim Lee, Alexander Lozano, Sean Murphy, Frank Quitely, Bruno Redondo, Hayden Sherman, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ryan Sook, Sozomaika & Blank sketch variant cover

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $7.99/$8.99 Card Stock

Release Date: November 19, 2025

 

The moment you’ve been waiting for!

 

The Dark Knight and the Merc with a Mouth team up for an adventure so mind-bending you’ll think you’re in a dream! Brought to you by legendary creators Grant Morrison and Dan Mora! And be sure not to miss these incredible extra stories:

 

Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Joshua Williamson team up with Hayden Sherman for a magical Constantine/Doctor Strange tale! Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo bring you an epic Nightwing/Dick Grayson and Laura Kinney/Wolverine story! Mariko Tamaki and Amanda Conner smash Harley Quinn and the Hulk together! G Willow Wilson and Denys Cowan tell an electrifying Static and Ms Marvel yarn!

 

Now, let's take a look inside this magical Constantine/Doctor Strange tale:

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

Constantine's Supernatural Adventures Part 3

We visited Wales because we wanted to visit Portmoiron, the seaside resort where the 1960s TV series "The Prisoner" was filmed. We stayed in Llandudno because we wanted to explore Conwy Castle. We visited Holy Trinity Church because it was a beautiful church, and because it was raining so hard that Sunday that driving somewhere else didn't make sense. Now, having learned about Saint Asaph from an episode of "Constantine," we have another reason to visit Wales in the future. 

Taking Jesus down from the cross
on the wooden angel carved by Handel Edwards
in Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno.

At it's best, Constantine inspires and educates me. Unfortunately, the TV series has sometimes treated the supernatural lightly, focusing on spectacle over substance. Some episodes have focused on ratcheting up the action and inter-team, while retaining high levels of danger and graphic violence. They've stylized the colorful aspects of voodoo practices, and portrayed its practitioners like the stylish drug lord in "Miami Vice." We've seen John's incantations result in spectral explosions, his companion Zed's highly visual but unexplained visions, and silly team-up acts like John and his Voodoo opposite breaking into a vault in a graveyard. While they steal a body from a graveyard in full daylight (and no one says, "Hey, don't do that!"), in the next scene they are preparing to ritually burn the corpse in the dead of night. Such antics may look exciting, dramatic, and stylish onscreen, but they sap my interest in the series.

If you believe in positive aspects of the supernatural, such as God, then it naturally follows that you must believe in the accompanying negative aspects as well, such as the Devil and demons. These subjects should be treated carefully, with the seriousness and respect they deserve. They're not cool or fun, silly or inconsequential. As John himself reminds us, dabbling in these areas can significantly injure us and others. 

So, as in all aspects of life, while I like the show, I also dislike some of the things it does. At least I have my cardboard print to remind me of what I like most about Constantine. Framing it presented some problems, as it measured-out at 10"x13." I finally found an inexpensive 13"x13" plastic frame with a 1' interior depth designed for displaying T-shirts. As eight screws spaced along the interior of its four sides connect the front to the back, I had to cut small holes for the screws on the top and bottom edges. Still, it doesn't look too bad on the wall, and when I grow tired of the print, I can unscrew the case and display one of my T-shirts. Perhaps one of my T-shirts featuring Rocket Raccoon.

In the meantime, this lively, colorful poster relates to a current interest of mine, of delving more into what makes Horror literature popular. Its imagery reminds me that any important story that resonates with a large number of people must combine seriousness with fun, spectacle with substance, and levity and inspiration. As in our lives, it's getting the mix right that remains the challenge, regardless of the medium in which the story is told. Otherwise, regardless of its initial popularity, stands a good chance of being shunted into an early grave by the constant flood of stories crafted by more talented storytellers.

Dragon Dave

Constantine's Supernatural Adventures Part 2

During our visit to Llandudno, we worshipped in Holy Trinity Church. If I'm reading the Church of Wales website correctly, we could have visited another church in the city, and we would have been in the Diocese of St. Asaph. But it was raining that Sunday morning, and the wind gusts propelled us along the slick sidewalks like the insistent hand of God. So perhaps it's just as well we didn't try to venture any father from our lodging that day. 

Besides, the episode of the TV series Constantine that would awaken my interest in Saint Asaph would lie two years in my future. The series features John Constantine, an exorcist and master of the occult. He's aided by a woman with strange visionary powers, and an angel who occasionally advises him.

One of my favorite episodes so far suggested that the angel is actually John's guardian angel, and that he has watched over him all his life. His comments in that episode suggest that John's decision to investigate the occult was prompted by this the way in which his parents mistreated and abused him during adolescence. But John cuts the angel off before he can tell us more, as he doesn't want to get distracted from his current task. He wants to relieve a demon-possessed child from injuring others, and prevent the demon from fleeing to another troubled child. Unfortunately, time is not on his side. 

The Holy Trinity church had a beautiful interior, no doubt rivaling many cathedrals. One object in particular caught my attention. It came, curiously enough, in the shape of an angel.

This angel may look scary, as if it owes more to the occult than Christianity. But each portion of the angel contains intricate carvings to inspire worshippers, and bolster their faith.

Incredible, don't you think?

Dragon Dave

Constantine's Supernatural Adventures Part 1

Visits to comic book shops sometimes pay unexpected dividends. Like free postcards advertising an interesting book or crossover series, or even the occasional movie poster. One day I picked up this cardboard print advertising the TV series Constantine. It's based on the DC comic of the same name, which enjoyed tremendous popularity in previous decades under the title Hellblazer. As the title suggests, this is a story delving into dark themes, and concerns battles involving the supernatural.

I also bought a comic that contained two stories, one from the new title, and an earlier Hellblazer. In both, John Constantine uses his knowledge of the occult to fight evil. These stories and the poster led me to watch the show. 

At their best, the episodes highlight the importance of respecting the supernatural. And there's a lot to like. There's an angel that periodically advises him. There are all the artifacts from his previous adventures, and the books he has studied to gain his mastery of the occult. John knows which supernatural forces inhabit particular geographic and cultural situations, as exemplified when he encounters Coblynau spirits in a Welsh mining town in Pennsylvania. In the same episode, he also recites a prayer to reveal whether a former pastor is human, or a spirit in disguise. When the pastor begins reciting it with him, and identifies the prayer as St. Patrick's Breastplate, John knows that he can trust the man, and perhaps rely on him to help combat the forces killing those working in the mines. It became a nice story about redemption and reclaiming one's faith, when the pastor takes up his calling again, and reopens his church at the end of the episode. 

Incidentally, the name of the pastor's church was St. Asaph. There's a town named after this sixth century Christian bishop and saint, and we probably drove past it unaware on our visit to Wales a couple years ago. As it happened, we spent a weekend in Llandudno, a mere twenty-five minute drive from St. Asaph, and could have visited the town, had Constantine been on the TV at that time. 

Llandudno is a charming seaside resort, one we'd revisit in a heart beat. 

If we venture back that way in the future, perhaps we can add St. Asaph to our itinerary.

Incidentally, I found Saint Patrick's Breastplate a really uplifting prayer. Like me, most Christians have prayed one small portion of it at one time or another in worship services, but are probably unfamiliar with it. It's worth reading in its entirety, for those of you so inclined.

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links
The St Patrick's Breastplate prayer
Welsh Coblynau