Saga Of The Swamp Thing vol 4 s/c back

The fourth volume of Alan Moore's southern gothic run finds John Constantine (whose first ever appearance was in SWAMP THING BOOK 3) invading Swamp Thing's turf and getting right under what passes for the Elemental's skin. Finally the big bang which the Scouse's been priming him for arrives, and it's grim as Hell.

Alan Moore exhumes Caine and Abel for Gaiman to play with later, and we hear hints of the infamous Newcastle incident as it becomes increasingly clear that the unfazeable Constantine has been a big, behind-the-scenes bastard in the realms of DC's occult for a very long time. As a postscript, one of the many things that stood out in this series was Moore's magical ability to imbue John Constantine with enough charisma to make the callous bastard command readers' undiluted affection. And, as entertaining as much of the HELLBLAZER series has been, particularly under Ennis's everyday slight-of-hand, no one else has since matched the sheer presence one feels when the man appears on the page under Moore.