S2E43 - John Constantine

It's the magical conman from Liverpool, John Constantine! Anthony & Doc discuss this Sting lookalike and why he has so few friends. Plus hear the worst attempt at a Scouse accent you've ever heard! SHOW NOTES: IntroShoutout to Freudian Sips – mother-daughter duo have drinks and talk about brains, psychology, and all manner of interesting topics (NSFW) (2:32)Background (5:37)John Constantine created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben in The Saga of Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985)Originally designed by the artists to look like Sting, since they were fans of the PoliceStarted off as a DC character, but shifted to Vertigo in 1993, where he essentially stayed for over 20 years until the New 52 combined the DC and Vertigo universesIn the Vertigo universe, he ages in real time, unlike most comic book charactersBorn as a sole surviving twin – he inadvertently strangled his twin in the womb with his own umbilical cord – the birth also killed his mother, and his father resented him for her deathDiscovered he is the latest in a long family line of mages known as Laughing MagiciansRan away from home after messing up a curse on his father that left him frailMoved to London in 1969, got involved with the occult, and started a punk rock band called Mucous MembraneAlso in a relationship with Zatanna Zatara, although it was revealed that he was bisexualHis first act of heroism - in an attempt to save a young girl, he summoned a demon, but did so incorrectly, and it took the girl to hell – the demon, Negral, became one of his recurring antagonistsLater met Swamp Thing, and helped teach him to become more powerful – one of John's longest friendsA chain smoker, he contracted lung cancer – tricked one demon into drinking holy water, then sold his soul to another demon – rather than fight over it, the demons agree to cure him of his cancerLater blackmails God to keep his soul out of Hell, because if he goes to Hell he will take over, release the demons and not care about what happensTries and fails to save his sister's soul from Hell – demons get one over on himNew 52 – some small changes to backstory, but personality remains essentially the sameGets transported to Earth-2, where he cooperates with that world's version of himself until it's revealed that one of them has to die in order to save Earth-2 – he kills the native Earth-2 version, but tricks Darkseid and manages to save a large number of survivorsIssues (20:44)Difficulty keeping close relationships of any kind with people – most people are kept at a distanceAdrenaline addiction to dangerous and mysterious situations – also a nicotine addict (29:33)Has magic ability, but often chooses not to use it unless he has to (36:29)Treatment (44:53)In universeOut of universeSkit (54:50)Ending (61:12) References: "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by They Might Be Giants - Anthony - 0:43Tiny Toons music video for "Particle Man" by They Might Be Giants - Anthony - 0:57Constantine film - Anthony - 3:47Mighty Peking Man - Anthony - 5:20Matt Ryan (actor) - Anthony - 5:48Matt Ryan (quarterback) - Anthony - 5:50"Don't Stand So Close to Me" by the Police - Anthony - 6:44 Synchronicity by the Police - Anthony - 6:51"Venus of the Hardsell" by Mucous Membrance - Anthony - 10:15Best Friends Forever - South Park - Anthony - 15:06J. Jonah Jameson episode - Anthony - 29:40Spawn episode - Anthony - 53:48"Fields of Gold" by Sting - Doc - 54:22 iTunes: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Spotify: hereTwitterFacebookE-mailPatreon