Hellblazer: Pandemonium is an original graphic novel

Graphic novel

A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...

 released February 10, 2010 by Vertigo.

The book is intended to mark the 25th anniversary of the first appearance of John Constantine

John Constantine

John Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...

 in the pages of Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing, a fictional character, is a plant elemental in the created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century . The Swamp Thing then returned in his own series, set in the contemporary world and in...

and will be written by Jamie Delano

Jamie Delano

Jamie Delano is a British comics writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers. Best known as the first writer of the comic book series Hellblazer, starring John Constantine.- Biography :...

, the first writer on the character's solo series Hellblazer

Hellblazer

Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...

, with art by Jock

Jock (artist)

Mark Simpson, known by the pen name Jock, is a British comics artist, best known for his work in 2000 AD and on The Losers.-Career:...

.

Story

The graphic novel is a self contained story, venturing into political ground that Jamie Delano is well known for. A chance encounter with a young Muslim girl on the tube leads Constantine to the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

, where there is an explosion. Framed for involvement in this, John Constantine is forced by MI6 to visit Iraq to investigate a supernatural entity, possibly a djinn.

Events escalate while he is there, and lead to him eventually being drawn into a high stakes poker game with his old adversary, Nergal

Nergal

The name Nergal, Nirgal, or Nirgali refers to a deity in Babylon with the main seat of his cult at Cuthah represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew bible as the deity of the city of Cuth : "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal"...

 for souls.

Publication history

The book has been delayed several times from the originally slated publication date of sometime in 2008. It was eventually released as a hardcover graphic novel by Vertigo in February 2010 (ISBN 1-4012-2035-5) and in the UK by Titan Books

Titan Books

Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...

in March 2010 (ISBN 1845768655).

External links

• Hellblazer: Pandemonium at DC Comics.com