John Constantine takes the iconic Route 66 by storm in his own version of the Batmobile in new official art. DC’s new John Constantine: Hellblazer: Dead in America has brought the titular sorcerer back to America, on a cross-country trek to fight the ultimate evil. Every superhero deserves their own iconic vehicle, and Constantine has been traveling through the heartland in a double-decker bus, which takes center stage in the cover for issue five.
DC shared their April/May solicitations, including John Constantine: Hellblazer: Dead in America #5, which will be written by Si Spurrier and Aaron Campbell, with art by Priscilla Petraites, John Pearson and John McCrea. The book’s cover, by Campbell, features John Constantine reclining on the top of a red, double-decker bus.
John Constantine: Hellblazer: Dead in America #5 (2024) | |
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Release Date: | May 21, 2024 |
Writers: | Si Spurrier and Aaron Campbell |
Artists: | Priscilla Petraites, John Pearson and John McCrea |
Cover Artist: | Aaron Campbell |
Variant Covers: | Dani |
John Constantine, his son Noah, and bodyguard Nat have been blazing a trail across the face of America in their double-decker Routemaster bus, finding themselves on the wrong end of an eruption of supernatural and mystical threats—all thanks to a scattering of Dream’s sand. In this anthology-format issue, three particularly memorable run-ins with hitchhikers and drifters on America’s roadsides come to the fore…but can Constantine add up their meaning in time to uncover who—or what—is to blame for this rise in terror? | |
The cover also shows a road sign for Route 66, a once-popular road running throughout the American continent. The book will also ship with a variant cover by Dani.
John Consantine Has Returned to America for His Darkest Trip Yet
Some Of His Best Stories Are Set in America
Although John Constantine is quintessentially British, some of his best stories, including his first appearances in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, are set in America, and DC Black Label’s new Dead in America is shaping up to be his biggest adventure yet in the country. The continuation of Spurrier and Campbell’s previous Hellblazer run, Dead in America, also ties into the Sandman, as a speck of Dream’s dust has led to the crisis at hand. A dark force is making its presence known in America, and John Constantine may be our only hope of stopping it.
Yet Dead in America is more than a simple cross-country trek–it is looking at the American experience through the eyes of an outsider. Although John has been to America on many occasions, he is still a stranger in a strange land. This gives Constantine a unique perspective on America and its culture, one that Spurrier and Campbell are mining to great effect. John’s dark and dangerous journey into the American heartland invokes the character’s classic Swamp Thing appearances, and fans can expect gruesome takes on American icons.
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And one of these would be Route 66. Prior to the American Interstate System being completed, Route 66 was a road running from Lake Michigan to Los Angeles, California, and achieved cultural notoriety in the 1950s and 1960s. Campbell’s cover gets fans hyped for John’s trek by juxtaposing the Route 66 sign with a double-decker bus, which is part of Britain’s cultural landscape. Although not traveled as heavily as it was, Route 66 still lingers in the American memory and John Constantine is about to take on this cultural icon in a new cover for Dead in America #5.
John Constantine: Dead in America #5 is on sale May 21 from DC Comics!
