Editing Hellblazer (section)

===1988–1991===
====Jamie Delano (#1–24, #28–40, #84, #250)====
[[File:Hellblazercover.jpg|thumb|left|Jamie Delano would often put his own political views in the comic, as seen here in the cover of ''Hellblazer'' #3 by Dave McKean. The artwork depicts John Constantine passing by a vandalized image of [[Margaret Thatcher]] and a sign that says, "Voting [[Conservative Party (UK)|Tory]] can damage your health", both of which are the cause of London burning in the background.<ref name="God#1"/><ref name="Vulture"/>]]

Having previously worked on ''[[D.R. & Quinch]]'' for ''[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]]'', a title made popular by John Constantine's creator Alan Moore, Delano was selected to start the character's first run in his own comic by then editor [[Karen Berger]] in 1988. Delano's run was characterised by his political satire, taking on late-1980s and -90s tropes such as with city financiers being literal demons, and Constantine meeting with [[Freemasons]] from the [[Houses of Parliament]]. He also had [[environmentalism|environmentalist]] issues crop up, especially in "The Fear Machine" (issues #15–22), where John fell in with a travelling community of environmental activists. Indeed, editor Karen Berger noted on Delano's departure the irony that his final issue was handed in the week that Thatcher was forced out of office.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hellblazer #40|page=38|publisher=[[DC Comics]]}}</ref>

Five main storylines were in the run. The first, collected as "Original Sins",<ref>{{cite book|title=Original Sins|publisher=Vertigo|date=October 1998|isbn=1-56389-052-6}}</ref> deals with John travelling to America to exorcise a demon, [[Mnemoth]], and investigate a strange cult known as Damnation's Army, crossing paths with a demon called [[List of Characters in Hellblazer#Nergal|Nergal]] (from whom he gains demon blood), and having to be responsible for killing an old friend, [[List of Characters in Hellblazer#The Ghosts|Gary Lester]], and betraying another friend, called [[List of Characters in Hellblazer#Mary 'Zed' Martin|Zed]], in the process. The following four issues, "The Devil You Know"<ref name="Rare Cuts">{{cite book|title=Rare Cuts|publisher=Vertigo|date=May 2007|isbn= 978-1-4012-1269-8}}</ref> finally explain John's failure to save a young girl, [[List of Characters in Hellblazer#The Ghosts|Astra]], from a demon in [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], an event that left him near insane and incarcerated in an asylum known as Ravenscar, and still haunted him to the comic's end. He eventually discovers that the demon responsible for this was Nergal, and uses a technological scheme to trap him, and lead him back to hell. It also contains a crossover with ''Swamp Thing'', where Constantine loses his body while the Swamp Thing uses it to procreate.

This was followed by a lengthy nine-issue story arc, "The Fear Machine",<ref>{{cite book|title=The Fear Machine|publisher=Vertigo|date=June 2008|isbn=978-1-4012-1810-2}}</ref> revolving around a masonic plot to collect people's fears,  to raise a dormant god known as Juntakillokian, and his efforts to prevent this with the help of environmentalists, including [[List of characters in Hellblazer#Other Supporting Characters|Mercury]], a young psychic girl, and [[List of characters in Hellblazer#Other Supporting Characters|Marj]], her mother, with whom he becomes romantically involved. The penultimate major run of Delano's tenure was "[[List of characters in Hellblazer#The Family Man|The Family Man]]",<ref>{{cite book|title=The Family Man|publisher=Titan Books|date=November 2008|isbn= 978-1-84576-978-9}}</ref> which differed from the main body of the series thus far in that Constantine's nemesis is not supernatural (beyond an opening [[metafiction]]al encounter with a fictional [[Fence (criminal)|fence]]), but a former policeman turned serial killer. John's ethical quandary as to whether murder is ever acceptable, and his coping with the murder of his father, [[List of Characters in Hellblazer#The Ghosts|Thomas]], frames this story. During this run on the title, Grant Morrison (issues #25 & 26) and [[Neil Gaiman]] (issue #27) both filled in during a three-month break, with Morrison's story dealing with nuclear fear, and Neil Gaiman's being a ghost story about homelessness.

Delano's run ended with "[[List of Characters in Hellblazer#The Golden Child|The Golden Child]]", where John is reunited with Marj and Mercury, who help him discover that he murdered his more perfect twin in the womb, culminating in an extended story, in which  what would have occurred had the other twin survived in his place is revealed.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hellblazer #40|publisher=DC Comics}}</ref> During his run, there was also a stand-alone issue, ''Hellblazer Annual'' #1, exploring Constantine's ancestry, and featuring the video to John's punk band, Mucous Membrane's song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV6Sl_u1s3M "Venus of the Hardsell"].

Jamie Delano returned to the title on several occasions. Between the Garth Ennis and Paul Jenkins runs on ''Hellblazer'', he finally told the story of why John's best friend Chas 'owes' him (issue #84), and he returned again for one of the five Christmas stories in issue #250. He also wrote the miniseries ''[[The Horrorist (comics)|The Horrorist]]'' in 1995, and ''[[Hellblazer Special: Bad Blood|Bad Blood]]'' in 2000, both featuring John Constantine. A more substantial return was made in 2010 for a hardcover graphic novel ''[[Hellblazer: Pandemonium]]'' with artist Jock to commemorate the 25th anniversary of John Constantine's first appearance in ''Swamp Thing''.<ref name=cbr10971>{{cite web |first=Emmett |last=Furey |url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=10971 |title=Back into Hell: Jamie Delano returns to John Constantine's world |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |date=July 27, 2007 |access-date=July 28, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508045734/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=10971 |archive-date=May 8, 2008 }}</ref>