11 Essential Storylines To Read If You're Just Getting Into Comics

6. Hellblazer: Original Sins

One of the most influential comic book texts of the eighties (no, we're not talking about Watchmen just yet) has to be Alan Moore's Hellblazer. Created during Moore's stint on Swamp Thing at the beginning of the decade, John Constantine - the perennial occult scouser himself - has gone onto establish himself as being one of DC's premier characters. Sure, he's been botched quite a few times on the big screen, but his series from the eighties in particular is in a league of its own.

A comic rooted firmly in the horror genre, Hellblazer follows the exploits of Sting lookalike and expert magician Constantine as he exorcises, hexes, and manipulates his way across the UK (and later the US too) fighting spirits and other occult forces. John also happens to be one of the first openly bisexual characters to have featured in the medium, making him an icon of both the horror genre and of LGBT* representation in comics too.

The character is fantastic in every regard, really, and the series exemplifies Moore's talents in the genre, as well as the likes of Jamie Delano et al. There's plenty of material to get to grips with - yes - but, because the character kind of occupies his own space in the DCU, you don't really have to worry about reading up on any history to get stuck in. Oh, and while we all know that Moore's reputation precedes him in this instance, it's important to emphasise just how revolutionary the OG Hellblazer series was when it initially dropped. There are few stories out there more important than it.