John Constantine Reading Order

This reading order is designed to give a timeline of major storylines featuring John Constantine throughout DC Comics. It may not encompass every one of his appearances but is an outline of the major ones and the stories that affect them.

The continuity details relating to each specific storyline are explained in the “Review” of each storyline. Every “Review” link will provide a detailed continuity breakdown of that story and will explain any reference the story makes to other aspects of the DC Universe. All of this can be found under the “Continuity” section of each link.

Jump to: New 52 – Rebirth

New 52

At the beginning of the New 52, the DC Universe was reset. In this new continuity, almost all of John Constantine’s history is wiped clean.

Constantine was reintroduced through the Justice League Dark (Reading Order) series and, soon after, started a solo adventure through the Constantine series. These separate adventures are rather difficult to coalesce into a single reading order, as aspects from both do not line up and other aspects directly contradict. However, the order presented here makes all possible effort to make the singular narrative work out.

In addition, the New 52 era saw John Constantine make a copious number of brief appearances in other comics. Most of these appearances are not necessary to understand Constantine’s journey through this era, but this reading order attempts to include them during breaks in this main storyline.

With the start of the Constantine: The Hellblazer series, aspects of Constantine’s history, from his original Vertigo series, begin to return to continuity. The cause of this returning continuity is not explained and, seemingly, retcons a few aspects of Constantine’s history from the Constantine series (specifically in relation to the death of his parents).

ToS: PS = Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger
JLA = Justice League of America
ToS: P = Trinity of Sin: Pandora
Constantine: TH = Constantine: The Hellblazer
Justice League Dark issues are from the Vol. 1 series.
Sword of Sorcery issues are from the Vol. 2 series.
Animal Man issues are from the Vol. 2 series.
Phantom Stranger issues are from the Vol. 4 series.
Swamp Thing issues are from the Vol. 5 series.
All-Star Western issues are from the Vol. 3 series.
Justice League of America issue are from the Vol. 3 series.
Justice League issues are from the Vol. 2 series.
Secret Origins issues are from the Vol. 3 series.

Notes

1. Constantine's role in this issue is briefly mentioned in the Justice League Dark (Reading Order) and I, Vampire crossover that occurs later.
2. Though Constantine only has an extremely small role in this issue, the issue helps conclude the crossover between Justice League Dark and I, Vampire.
3. Constantine's role in this issue helps explain Amethyst's appearance in the Justice League Dark series. See our "Amethyst Reading Order" for more information about her story.
4. Constantine and the rest of the Justice League Dark only have a small role here. It may be helpful in establishing their role in helping out other magical communities but also can easily be skipped.
5. These issues help give some closure to Constantine's association with Amethyst. The story is mostly about Amethyst but Constantine plays a small role.
6. These issues have Constantine as a supporting character. They somewhat continue Constantine's association with the I, Vampire series but are not essential.
7. Constantine and the rest of the Justice League Dark only have a small role here. However, it helps establish their association with the Phantom Stranger (Reading Order), something that becomes more important in the Forever Evil: Blight (Reading Order) event. It is also worth noting that some period of time appears to pass between Phantom Stranger #4 and #8 but, for the sake of convenience, we have grouped them together in this reading order.
8. In the New 52 era, this is the first meeting between Swamp Thing and Constantine. Constantine only plays a supporting role but the importance of this meeting may make it worthwhile for fans of both characters.
9. Constantine only plays a supporting role in these issues. It is worth noting that these issues directly mention the Swamp Thing issues that precede them on this reading order.
10. This issue concludes by changing Constantine's memories. However, this change is never mentioned again. To rectify this seeming contradiction, we have placed Constantine #13-17, which partly deal with reviving Constantine's memories, immediately after Justice League Dark Annual #2.
11. This issue technically takes place in an alternate version of the future. It stars Constantine but may not appeal to readers exclusively looking for his present day actions.
12. Justice League Dark #35, #38, and #40 all contain appearances from a "fake" version of Constantine. However, readers interested in his character may find the actions of this doppelganger interesting, especially in how they relate to his relationship with Zatanna (Reading Order). The real Constantine appears in Justice League Dark #40. However, his role here is minimal and is not referenced after this point.
13. Only the Constantine story from this issue is relevant to Constantine's reading order.
14. These issues see the association between Swamp Thing and Constantine come to a head. Readers who enjoyed their earlier encounters may find these issues interesting.
15. Constantine has a very small role within this comic. It can easily be skipped but may be of interest for readers looking for a lighthearted take on the character.

Rebirth

The Rebirth era continues the continuity established in the New 52 era. This is confirmed by the fact that some of Constantine's earliest Rebirth appearances mention the events of Constantine #3 and Constantine's actions in the Trinity War (Reading Order). However, the Rebirth era also continues to bring back aspects of Constantine's history from his Vertigo series, something that began at the conclusion of the New 52 era. This is confirmed by more references to the original Hellblazer series and even a few references to the Vertigo Swamp Thing series.

Constantine's journey through this era is far more straightforward than his journey through the New 52 era. It is primarily confined to The Hellblazer series, with only brief appearances elsewhere.

This era is still in progress and this reading order will be updated as Constantine's presence in his solo series and in the new Justice League Dark series continues.

Notes

1. Only the Constantine stories from these issues are relevant to Constantine's Reading Order. Constantine's role here is pretty inconsequential to his progression through this era but may be interesting for some fans.

All DC Comics Reading Orders