 Hellblazer was first published during the early days of the Modern Age of Comics , and so its themes were dark , <unk> , politically and morally complex as its contemporaries . Hellblazer mixes supernatural and real life horror , akin to contemporary gothic , with <unk> , surrealism and occult detective fiction elements . Unlike other comic books , Hellblazer is unique as it follows real time in its span of 20 years , with its protagonist John Constantine aging in every publication . Because of this , writers of the series often places their era 's culture and social commentary in their run . When Jamie Delano first wrote the series in the late 1980s and early 1990s , his issues were heavily inspired by the era such as punk rock and the British economy . Delano would be the first to put his political views in the series , an element never before seen in mainstream comics , such as his negative views of Thatcher 's regime and by 2005 includes the War on Terror . This made John Constantine different from other comic book characters at that time , in that he fights the political and social injustice of Great Britain . 
