Comic book fans tend to complain about anything. They'll complain about characters getting their costumes changed, they'll complain about storylines they don't enjoy like they're been personally victimised, and they'll without fail kick off when somebody of a different race gets cast as a certain fictional person because reasons. Every so often, however, they'll be entirely on the money in their disappointment, as was the case in Hollywood's first attempt at bringing Constantine to the big screen. The Hellblazer comics are a wonderfully grimy, gritty story of the Scouse magician and con man John Constantine, who's about as anti as anti-heroes get. The film cast Keanu Reeves as a black haired, American dude in a clean suit fighting demons. It was still pretty good, but it wasn't Constantine. Finally things are being set right with the Constantine TV show which premièred on NBC this past week, starring (Welsh - close enough) Matt Ryan in the eponymous role, looking perfect in the part. That's not the only thing the show got right. Clearly the producers have more respect for the source material than anybody involved in the film - not only was the pilot a pretty close adaptation of the comics, but it was stuffed with nods and shout-outs to them, too. Here are the seventeen references and Easter eggs from the Constantine pilot you need to see.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
