Witness the birth of John Constantine in Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #1 preview

There are comic book origin stories and then there are comic book origin stories.

Check out the birth - and we mean literally - of DC occult hero John Constantine in this preview of the opening pages of Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #1, the new Black Label (i.e. Mature Readers) three-issue limited series by writer Tom Taylor and artist Darick Robertson that DC calls John Constantine's "very first tale."

You can say that again.

"A billionaire falls out of the sky and is gruesomely skewered on a church spire. Bizarrely, Angel Wings are attached to his back. More follow until, hallelujah, it's raining businessmen," reads the issue's solicitations copy.

"Detective Aisha Bukhari is stumped by this, until she's visited by her childhood friend, occult investigator John Constantine. DC's Hellblazer discovers a link between the falling elite and a shocking moment in his and Aisha's misspent youth. How do these killings tie to the first death on John's hands? How does this involve heaven and hell? Even if this is kind of John's fault, will Constantine be happy to let a few more rich bastards fall from the sky, like a vindictive Robin Hood?"

Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #1 goes on sale Tuesday, September 1. Visit the delivery room for the Constantine family's very special occasion in our preview gallery. Needless to say, Constantine was not your usual newborn.

Yeah, he probably just wanted a cigarette.

Image 1 of 6

Are you a fan of Hellblazer? Check out our countdown of the best magical superheroes of all time. And yes, John Constantine makes the list.

Newsarama is a comic book website covering news, interviews, features, deep dives, reviews and more. Now part of GamesRadar, the website was first established in 1995 by Michael Doran.