Sting is sending out an S.O.S. to all of John Constantine's fans.
DC Comics/VERTIGO has posted a short video from one Gordon Sumner, better known as the legendary musician Sting, announcing that he's written the foreword to the upcoming John Constantine, Hellblazer: 30th Anniversary Celebration commemorative collection. The foreward will feature Sting's "take on the perspective of the Golden Boy, Constantine’s alternate-universe twin, touching on his relationship with the occult detective over the years."
According to the statement from DC, Sting recorded the video while preparing for his upcoming 44/876 tour with Shaggy. The musician’s inclusion in the Hellblazer Celebration hardcover is a nod to Sting inspiring John Constantine's look. The character first appeared in The Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 in 1985 and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben. Based physically on Sting, Constantine proved popular enough in 1988 to be spun off into his own VERTIGO series Hellblazer, which ran for an impressive 300 issues. The replacement series Constantine immediately followed, after Constantine was brought back to the relaunched DC Universe as part of "The New 52" to lead the supernatural team Justice League Dark. In DC's "Rebirth" era, Constantine currently appears in his latest monthly series, The Hellblazer, which will end with its twenty-fourth issue.
In the 23-second video (which you can view HERE), Sting dons Constantine's signature trenchcoat and makes the following announcement: "Hi, my name is Sting. I'm here to celebrate the John Constantine, Hellblazer 30th anniversary. John and I have a long history, so I've written a forward to the edition, which goes into more detail about our relationship. And so, I wish him well -- He's done very well for himself."
The commemorative collection will explore the complete history of the series with four one-page essays written by author Rich Handley. It will also include a comprehensive timeline of Constantine’s life and three one-page stories featured in Hellblazer issues #1, 2 and 4. Memorable stories from writers Alan Moore, Jamie Delano, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis, Paul Jenkins, Brian Azzarello, and others reflect the best of the long-lasting series, including Constantine's first appearance in The Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 and Hellblazer issues #11, 27, 41, 63, 120, 146, 229 and 240.
The John Constantine, Hellblazer: 30th Anniversary Celebration commemorative collection will be available for purchased on October 30, 2018.