Jamie Delano

Jamie Delano. (Born 1954, Northampton, UK) British comics writer. Part of the first post-Alan Moore "Brit Wave" of writers, which also included Neil Gaiman and Peter Milligan. Best known as the first writer of the comic Hellblazer starring the Alan Moore/Rick Veitch/Steve Bissette-created John Constantine.

Delano was hand-picked by Moore to continue the character, originally a secondary character in Moore's revolutionary ''Swamp Thing''. Delano established the character in his own right, fleshing out what had been, in Moore's hands, a more shadowy, wisecracking sort of figure. It was also Delano who set the character firmly in London, Moore(and later Veitch) preferring to present him travelling virtually anywhere at will. Delano's Constantine is very much flesh and blood, never using magic when a con will do, frequently drunk, down & out, and haunted by his accidental condemning of a little girl named Astra to Hell.

Delano's approach owes much to the quiet and vicious work of Ramsey Campbell and it is this tone that subsequent writers have either had to adopt or go violently against. This also makes Delano the first Vertigo writer, as Hellblazer is often thought of as the company's flagship title. He established the character's history--and his family's--going all the way back to the time of King Arthur in one of the more emblematic Constantine stories, "The Bloody Saint,"(1989) drawn by Bryan Talbot. Much of his version of Constantine was the basis of the 2005 Constantine film.

Most of his work since leaving the book to Garth Ennis and many others since(though he has gone back to the character a number of times) has also been for DC/Vertigo, both radical (and, some contend, often underrated) treatments of established characters and more pointed, political works, a list of which(from his site) can be found below.

Much of Delano's often bitingly witty work shares concerns with that of other British comics writers like Pat Mills, and can be characterized as science fiction, or horror, but often is a blend thereof and used very allegorically. Frequent subjects in his work include the War of the sexes(World Without End), imperialism and genocide(Ghostdancing), and environmental & cultural collapse(2020 Visions, Animal Man). One of Vertigo's most prolific, most crucial but, in the opinion of many, too often overlooked creators. Some would even argue that only Alan Moore's own influence was greater.

Delano Bibliography (from the author's own site)

1983/84: Numerous NIGHT RAVEN prose stories in The Mighty World Of Marvel monthly (Marvel Comics UK). Illustrated by Alan Davis and others.

1984: A dozen issues of CAPTAIN BRITAIN (Marvel Comics UK). Artist: Alan Davis.

1985/86: Some stories in DR. WHO monthly (Marvel Comics UK). Artist: John Ridgeway.

1988/91: Issues 1—40 (excluding a few in the middle), and issue 84, of HELLBLAZER (DC Comics). Artists: John Ridgeway, Richard Piers-Rayner, Mark Buckingham, Bryan Talbot, Steve Pugh, Sean Phillips, and others.

1990: WORLD WITHOUT END (DC Comics). A six-part original miniseries. Artist: John Higgins.

1992/94: ANIMAL MAN (DC Comics, Vertigo). Issues 51—79. Artist: Steve Pugh.

1993: NIGHT RAVEN – House Of Cards (Marvel Comics UK). One-shot. Artist: David Lloyd.

1995: GHOSTDANCING (DC Comics, Vertigo). A six-part original miniseries. Artist: Richard Case.

1995: TAINTED (DC Comics, Vertigo). Original one-shot. Artist: Al Davison.

1995: THE HORRORIST (DC Comics, Vertigo). Two 48-page issues. Artist: David Lloyd.

1996: BATMAN/MANBAT (DC Comics). Artist: John Bolton.

1997: 2020 VISIONS (DC Comics, Vertigo). An original 12-part series. Artists: Issues 1—3 Frank Quitely; 2—6 Warren Pleece; 7—9 James Romberger; 10—12 Steve Pugh. Collected editions published by Cyberosia in the USA, and Recerca in Spain.

1997: SHADOWMAN (Acclaim Comics). Issues 5—15 (13—15 co-written with Dick Foreman. Artist: Charlie Adlard.

1998: HELL ETERNAL (DC Comics, Vertigo). One-shot. Artist: Sean Phillips.

1999: CRUEL & UNUSUAL (DC Comics, Vertigo). An original 4-part series. Co-written with Tom Peyer. Artists: John McCrea & Andrew Chiu.

1999: THE TERRITORY (Dark Horse Comics). An original 4-part miniseries. Co-created with David Lloyd.

2000: BAD BLOOD (DC Comics, Vertigo). 4-part Hellblazer special. Artists: Phillip Bond & Warren Pleece.

2000: DARKSEID – Legends of the DC Universe (DC Comics). Two parts. Artist: Steve Pugh

2000/02: OUTLAW NATION (DC Comics, Vertigo). Original series. Nineteen issues. Artists: Goran Sudzuka, Sebastijan Camagajevic & Goran Parlov.