Short intro to Jamie Delano's interview
I admit that I was and am really bored with Covid being in the air that we breathe.
Thought this to myself:
"Maybe I should do an interview to a writer that I admire and gave his own particular voice to a fascinating character such as John Constantine is in the early 80's".
I've lightened up a ciggie and thought on some questions to ask Jamie while Constantine was staring at me wearing his Hellblazer.
Got a little less bored then because maybe John got some answers regarding Covid through Jamie's voice.
Below is the interview that I made to Jamie Delano while I was having a coffee and drinking water.
01. You're Jamie Delano born in Northampton, can you please describe to the readers when a simple man as yourself suddenly turns out to be a terrific writer?
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| Jamie Delano |
Several assumptions there in that question… But, I am Jamie Delano; I was born in Northampton; I had a standard UK education for the time (1954-72), and elected not to attend university, but instead worked for ten years at a variety of regular jobs – bookshop manager, librarian, timber-yard worker, taxi driver/despatcher – while harbouring a deep-seated belief that I would one day be a writer (if not necessarily a “terrific” one), before actually becoming one (professionally) in the early 1980s.
I was lucky in having Alan Moore as a hometown friend from my mid-teens. He had a love of comics (which I – imagining myself a sometime novelist – did not particularly share). Alan’s enthusiasm for the comics medium, persistence, and his talent as a writer, gained him a foothold in establishing his long career. As his success began to be recognised, he suggested to me that maybe I could also make a living as a writer by experimenting with, and learning the basics of, graphic storytelling. This sounded good to me – I was a bit bored by then with driving taxis – and, long story short, jumped at his offer of an introduction to a UK Marvel editor, with a view to trying my hand at a few projects, such as Night Raven, Captain Britain and Doctor Who. My efforts were reasonably well-received and I went on to develop my craft across various other comics projects over the subsequent decades until – around 2010 or so – I finally realised my ambition to become a novelist. (http://lepusbooks.co.uk/homepage/jamie-delano/)
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| Book with Jamie Delano's run at Nightraven along artist David Lloyd |
02. You're mostly known in comics market for developing Hellblazer character after he appeared on DC comic book Swamp Thing's Alan Moore's run.
You gave him a voice with the character not being so mysterious as he was but a modern magician/trickster.
Can you tell us if John reflects a bit of you and Northampton's atmosphere?
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| Northampton - UK |
Those early Hellblazer stories certainly reflect something of the atmosphere of England (and Northampton) in the 1980s. Inevitably – as I was pretty much totally absorbed in the character for four years – Constantine’s style and outlook on the world was somewhat coloured by own. Although my own life was a lot less exciting, the reckless bravery lacking, and magical practice deficient. But yes, I had nothing else to work with but my own imagination and experience in animating John Constantine in the environments and situations in which I placed him, so there’s certainly a streak of me running through him… a somewhat dark perspective, intrinsic sensitivity deflected by harsh wit.
3. Northampton's also the birth town of Bauhaus the band, that people describe them as being godfathers of gothic.
Knowing that Peter Murphy and all Bauhaus members love comics and David J actually sang about comics with Alan Moore, can you tell us if you ever met them or if their music influenced you while developing the character?
(I ask you this because John's full of grief and sorrow being also a character that's fond of arts and music).
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| Bauhaus - Northampton concert ticket |
I did meet a couple of the Bauhaus guys once or twice, but they were more associates of Moore than myself. I couldn’t say that their music influenced me, or, particularly, the development of Constantine… other than that they were similarly reflective of the 80s UK national zeitgeist.
04. In my humble opinion Johnny's character that's interpreted by British actor David Thewlis in British director Mike Leigh's masterpiece movie "Naked" released on 1993 ressembles a lot John Constantine's character, that was first published in 1988 through DC, because of their constant ramblings about the end of the world and even sharing the same name.
Have you watched this movie?
Do you think that this movie was loosely inspired in Hellblazer's character that was developed by you?
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| David Thewlis at "Naked" |
I did see NAKED many years ago but honestly cannot now recall much about it. Much has been written about Constantine and influences over the years. The best I can say is that all art and literature exits in the same (vast) territory of the imagination and bleeds out through the consciouness of ‘creators’ onto their canvas or page. Colours and ideas necessarily bleed into one another. Works that are of a time and place tend to flock (emotionally) together. I will say that – reminded by his role in FARGO – I would, in an instant, give Thewliss the role of Constantine in any screen portrayal.
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05. Hellblazer's a fascinating character with an excellent background.
In your runs at the magazine, you developed it into something unique. (since his childhood, teenage years and a man that didn't believed in politics at all).
In your mind, do you see him a bit of an anarchist that tries to give light to people who he meets while bringing them lots of darkness?
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| Hellblazer page written by Jamie and drawn by John Ridgeway |
Constantine displays an instinctive and uncompromising distrust of any agency that seeks to exert power and influence over the lives of his fellow human beings, whether they be superhuman or mundane ‘authorities’. The wills of both Heaven and Hell are equally to be resisted when they seek to co-opt the man or woman-in-the-street in the pursuit of their political or religious goals, to the detriment of those men and women. These supernatural entities might be seen as in some way allegorical of human ideological tendencies… ‘Anarchist’ is a fair description.
06. John Constantine has a pal that's Chas.
Knowing a bit of your own professional life as a cab driver, did you thought at the time while developing the character that he was your own pal in some of your past life?
Chas’ profession was partly a tip of the hat to my own experience, but also a practical choice. Constantine needed a sidekick/gopher, someone to bounce shit off of: Chas can drive while Constantine can’t; he has access to information and people Constantine may not have; he is loyal, although the suspicion is that loyalty is at least in part coerced. Their relationship (a deep one) is also a gently subversive riff on the classic hero and sidekick setup. Chas remains one of my favourite characters of the Hellblazer canon. I was badly offended by his portrayal, and casual murder, in the Keanu Reeves movie.
07. I've loved reading Hellblazer that was published in 1989/1990 on four volumes in black and white by Titan Books UK that compiled Hellblazer issues 1 to 14 with your writing, artworks by John Ridgeway, Alfredo Alcala and Richard Piers Rayner with awesome introductions to them by writers such as Shaun Hutson, Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker and Roz Kaveney while containing a chapter of Swamp Thing's issue 76 written and drawn by Rick Veitch named "l'adoration de la terre" being John Constantine the man who conceived with Abby Holland, her baby Tefe Holland with a bit of mind control by The Swamp Thing aka Alec Holland.
Do you prefer your Hellblazer work printed in black and white or colour?
What's your opinion regarding such a complicated issue with John Constantine's mind being controled by an earth elemental to conceive birth?
In general I’m happy with either colour or black and white renditions of my stories. Sometimes colour enhances drawing, sometimes it detracts. Readers tend to prefer colour, though, and my opinions on the matter are never vehement.
Demon blood in his veins, earth-elemental mind control… Constantine generally finds a way to maintain his own perspective no matter which entity attempts to guide or coerce him. If he harbours any resentment at these ‘liberties’ taken with his mind and body he’s quite capable of extracting payback.
08. In this particular period time, we as human beings are dealing with a terrible plague/virus named Covid that infects human beings by touch, being John, a man not so found of hugs or embraces in your stories and also someone who doesn't trust politicians at all, how would you think that he would react to this plague as a simple man/magician?
As a man of ‘certain age’ Constantine’s inclination would probably be to bunker up inside somewhere, well-stocked up on booze and ciggies and frozen pizza, watching all the idiots outside rubbing shoulders from a high window. If he suspected the virus was supernaturally directed, he’d likely attempt some ramshackle magic to reflect the infection back on those who launched it. He has, in the past, brought a djinn from the middle-east into the corridors of power, to exact retribution on war-mongering politicians… so a government whose ideological wilful neglect of its citizens’ well-being might well risk developing a nasty cough and coming over a bit feverish and breathless.
09. How do you consider yourself as a writer/human being, being born in Northampton?
There are certainly more attractive and exciting places to find oneself spending a life, but we’re all attached to, and nourished by, our roots. And I have long been of the opinion that boredom is the best stimulus to a young imagination. Northampton has certainly produced its share of creatives over the years, so perhaps there’s something in that… or in the water.
10. Can you tell us some of your art influences while developing John Constantine's character?
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| "Callan" TV series starring Edward Woodward |
It’s hard to be specific. All writers are ultimately a product of all their reading, modified by their own direct experience. Thinking about Constantine, I can perhaps glimpse traces of influence by many sources… from Chandler through Mervyn Peake to Callan (70s British TV series starring Edward Woodward). Wish I could be more specific, but I’m not very good at analysis, especially when it comes to my own work. I prefer to defer to the objectivity of critics. ;)
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| Mervyn Peake |
Many thanks in advance for your answers Jamie, I grew up reading your John Constantine's comic books that deeply influenced some of the decisions that I've dealt in my own professional/personal life.
You’re welcome, Manuel. I appreciate your interest. I hope these brief answers offer some insight. If you want to follow up on any point, please feel free.
Jamie Delano – Lockdown England, 2020
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