Hellblazer 1

"C'mon then, you maggoty piece of Hell meat! Eat me! I'll bloody choke you!"

- John Constantine

Plot
A demon of hunger known as Mnemoth has been released in New York City and begins infecting various people. Those infected by Mnemoth's influence become ravenously hungry. But the more they eat, the hungrier they become. Henry Wambach starves to death despite the fact that he eats copious amounts of food.

In London, John Constantine returns to his flat to find one of his old band mates from Mucous Membrane, Gary Lester in his apartment. Gary is sitting in his bathtub covered in bugs. John sprays him down with aerosol and tries to calm Gary down. Gary tells John, that he had tried to contain the essence of Mnemoth after a botched exorcism upon a young Sudanese boy. He mailed the bottled demon to the address of one of John's old girlfriends in New York (believing that John was still staying there).

First, John travels to the Sudan to consult with a medicine man as to the nature of Mnemoth. He then takes Gary and travels to New York to make contact with the Voodoo crime lord, Papa Midnite. He tells Midnite that it would be in his best interest to help him against Mnemoth. He asks Midnite to watch over Gary Lester.

John then goes to the apartment of his old girlfriend, Emma. The demon bottle is not there. He finds Emma's ghost who walks and chats with him for a while. John realizes that Mnemoth has been released and he follows trails of swarming insects to an old church. He faces off with Mnemoth in his full fury. John races out of the church, unable to stop Mnemoth.

Appearances
Featured Characters:
 * John Constantine

Supporting Characters:


 * Chas Chandler
 * Emma
 * Gary Lester

Villains:
 * Mnemoth
 * Papa Midnite
 * Papa Midnite's zombie servant

Other Characters:
 * Ali
 * Dinkan Shaman
 * Eddie
 * Gino
 * Henry Wambach
 * Kenny
 * Marty
 * Mighty Mouse undefined
 * Mrs. McGuire
 * Satchmo Hawkins undefined
 * Wayne
 * Priest (unnamed)
 * Professor (unnamed)
 * Sudanese boy (unnamed)

Locations:
 * Africa
 * Morocco
 * Tangier
 * Sudan


 * England
 * London
 * British Museum
 * London Heathrow Airport
 * Paddington


 * United States of America
 * New York City
 * Manhattan
 * Greenwich Village
 * Midnight Club

Items:
 * Cedella's skull
 * John's hypnosis pendant
 * John's Pith Helmet undefined
 * Gary Lester's Demon Bottle

Vehicles:

Notes & Trivia

 * Forty-page premier issue.


 * This issue is reprinted in the Hellblazer: Original Sins trade paperback.


 * John Constantine first appeared in Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #37. He appeared last in Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #67.


 * Although published in 1988, issues #1 and 2 of this series takes place in November of 1987. This storyline chronlogically takes place five months after the events chronicled in Hellblazer #3.


 * Ali appears next in Hellblazer #4.


 * The entity known as the Invunche killed Emma in Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #37.


 * Gary Lester makes a chronlogically earlier appearance in a flashback in Hellblazer #11, which precedes the flashback sequences from this issue.


 * This issue makes reference to the botched Newcastle exorcism. The details surrounding this event are revealed in Hellblazer #11.


 * First appearance of Papa Midnite. Papa Midnite becomes a recurring supporting character for the remainder of the series and the title character of his own five-issue limited series in 2005. He chronologically appeared last in flashback in Hellblazer #72.

First Appearances: Ali (a new shop clerk); Dinkan Shaman; Gary Lester (a drug-addicted occultist); Eddie (one of Mnemoth's victims); Gino (a hot dog vendor); Henry Wambach (a post office employee); Kenny (a Londoner); Marty (a diner); Mighty Mouse (John's neighbor); Mnemoth (a hunger demon); Mrs. McGuire (John's landlady); Papa Midnite (a Haitian occultist); Papa Midnite's zombie servant; Priest (name unknown); Professor of the British Museum; Satchmo Hawkins (a writer for XS Magazine); Sudanese boy; Wayne (a Londoner)

Final Appearances: The Dinkan Shaman; Eddie (dies in this issue); Gino; Henry Wambach (dies in this issue); Kenny; Marty; the Professor; the Sudanese boy; Wayne


 * The original title for this series was Hellraiser, but it was changed prior to publication so as to not be confused with the 1988 Clive Barker horror film, Hellraiser.


 * The back cover to this issue features a testimonial to the series written by Alan Moore - the creator of John Constantine.


 * This issue takes place in the month of November.


 * When speaking of Gary Lester's exorcism skills, John makes a tongue-in-cheek reference to William Friedkin. William Friedkin was the director of the 1973 motion picture The Exorcist.


 * This issue features a fictitious magazine article written by Satchmo Hawkins entitled, "Faces on the Street". The column appears as a feature in XS Magazine and is partially printed on the inside front cover of this issue.