Roots Of The Swamp Thing: Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, The Un-Men And More

On the night of the Last Supper, three dark sorcerers plot to derail Jesus Christ's growing movement; 33 years earlier, they posed as Magi to spy on his birth and determine if he represented a threat. Not recognizing his powers, they let him live, a decision they now regret. The sorcerers summon Bilial, King of the Enochian Demons, asking him to destroy the Son of God. As a sacrifice, they pluck out their eyes and add them to a stew of human body parts. Bilial considers their request while feasting on their eyes, intrigued by the thought of succeeding where Lucifer failed. In the bedroom of prostitute Mary Magdalene, a Roman guard named Marcus (the Golden Gladiator) relaxes after a night of love-making. As payment, she asks that he spare the life of a Nazarene carpenter whose message of love has angered Pontius Pilate. He promises, but as he leaves, Bilial enters his body, laying an egg in his stomach. Thrown back in time by the Claw of Aelkh�nd, Alec is drawn to this era; along the way, he witnesses the fallen Mayan Empire; the Druids of ancient Britain, lead by evil priest Blackbriar Thorne; the inscribing of ancient religious scrolls in India; and the corruption of Rome under Tiberius Caesar. Finally, he arrives in Jerusalem, where he disguises himself as an olive and spies on Christ meditating in the Garden of Gethsemane. Back at Mary's home, Centurions search for Marcus and find him passed out in an alley. His face has yellowed and his eyes have reddened, and when they wake him, he spouts dark poetry. Unaware what has happened, they find this amusing and lead him away. In the Garden, Alec makes his way to the Holy Grail, offering fruit nectar to Christ's wine to soothe his contemplations. Fully awake and rhyming galore, Marcus resumes his duties and learns that Judas Iscariot has turned informer and will lead them to Christ. Mary protests, reminding him of his promise, but the possessed Marcus slaps her and leaves to round up the Apostles. The Centurions and Apostles enter the Garden, where Alec confronts Marcus in an effort to protect the Messiah, noticing the signs of a rhyming demon beneath Marcus's human features. Alec throws Marcus against a wall. Peter mistakes him for an Angel, inspiring the Apostles to revolt against their captors. In the mele�, Peter severs Marcus's ear. As Jesus drinks from the Grail, consuming Alec's body, the elemental is gripped in the Power of God and bears witness to a miracle: Christ picks up the ear and heals Marcus, performing an exorcism. As Marcus vomits up an infant demon, Alec recognizes the birth of Etrigan. Bilial is furious, having intended his son to reign as a Prince of Hell; instead, the exorcism has bound him to Earth. The Centurions arrest Jesus and the Apostles, bringing them before Pilate. Judged guilty of blasphemy, the Messiah is put to the lash and condemned to crucifixion, which he silently endures. Mother Mary and the Apostles look on sadly as he hangs from the Cross in Golgotha. Joseph of Arimethea carries the Grail to the Cross and catches Christ's blood in it; around his neck is a piece of amber, which he places in the Grail. In this amber, Alec will become encased in the days of Camelot. Marcus and Mary watch from a distance. Marcus blames himself, but she reminds him of Christ's teaching that "forgiveness begins with the self." His resolve renewed, he vows to put an end to Tiberius Caesar's tyranny, knowing this day the Son of God has been slain. As Christ dies, Alec's spirit is thrown back into the maelstrom of time to continue on its journey. At last, he understands what has been sending him through time: in consuming him, Christ made him part of his master spell of love over all of existence.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #88: "Morning of the Magician" [unpublished]

NOTE: Illustrated by Michael Zulli, this tale was slated for issue #88 but was canceled following a conflict between Rick Veitch and DC Comics. However, issue #90 and Swamp Thing Secret Files & Origins reference these events. Having obtained a copy of the script, I am including the events of this story for posterity. It should be noted that the accepted years of Christ's birth and death―1 and 33 A.D., respectively―are debatable due to evidence involving King Herod's death. A questionable census date adds to the confusion. Thus, I have allowed time to account for a math error. Strangely, though fan rumblings about this issue often mention Alec becoming the Cross and learning from Christ how to be peaceful in defeating his enemies, these elements are entirely absent from the script.

After Christ's passing, the Brujer�a require initiates to cleanse themselves of baptism by standing under a waterfall in the Thaigu�n River for forty days and nights, catch a skull thrown by instructors, kill their best friends and sign documents in blood. The Brujer�a's waste-coats are made from the flesh of disinterred Christian corpses. Their warriors, the Invunche, have their necks and limbs disjointed at the age of six months, forcing them to spend their lives with their heads on backwards.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #48: "An American Gothic-A Murder of Crows"

Christianity also affects the Folk, an elf-like race in Europe that thrived as a civilization since mankind was still in its infancy. Known to humans as the Tuatha de Daanan ("the Children of Danu"), the Folk worship Danu, goddess of the Moon's cycle and grace. Following the coming of Christ, mankind hunts down and kills the Folk, fearing their advanced skills. The dying Folk scatter to isolated valleys and distant mountaintops, their villages pillaged, their pride stolen, but no matter how well they hide, man always finds and destroys them.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #131: "Folk Remedy"

Sent back in time by a Hell-Jewel, Alec briefly arrives in ancient Rome, a prisoner in Caesar's arena. Among the gladiators is time-traveler Milo Mobius, cursed with immortality, who is distracted by Alec's arrival and cut down in battle. As Alec is swept forward in time, Milo rises unscathed and continues on his own journey.

Swamp Thing (Series 1) #12: "The Eternity Man"

NOTE: Given the date, the "Caesar" in question would appear to be Trajan Caesar.

c. 100 to 200 A.D.

An Irishman with a crippling deformity witnesses a Druid king slaying another man with only a beam of light played upon a faceted gemstone. His name is not recorded.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #80: "The Longest Day"

This deformed Irishman is cast out from his clan. He receives a final meal of barley and linseed gravel, then is hung and thrown into a bog as a sacrifice to the sun god Bel. Ages later, arising from a casket of peat, he becomes Earth's next plant elemental.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #68: "Reflections in a Golden Eye"

In time, God-fearing men will christen this Irishman-turned-elemental Saint Columba.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #80: "The Longest Day"

Roman Emperor Constantine officially converts a pagan tradition known as Saturnalia into the "Christian" holiday of Christmas. Thus, a holiday once celebrated with orges and dancing becomes a time of praying, much to the frustration of the being known as the Lord of the Dance.

John Constantine, Hellblazer #49: "Lord of the Dance"

NOTE: Emperor Constantine is not mentioned by name in the story, but it's interesting to mention this historical fact since it's possible John Constantine's ancestor might be responsible for the creation of Christmas.

Some time between 400 and 1400 A.D.

Several East Anglican churches built during the Middle Ages contain images depicting Alec's travels through time, during which he met Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #99: "Leaves in a Tempest"

NOTE: No specific date is mentioned, just that it happened during the Middle Ages.

Swamp Thing (Series 4) #8: "Missing Links, Conclusion"

NOTE: No specific date is mentioned, just that it happened during the Middle Ages.

Christian monks end the tradition of Saturnalia, forcing pagans to convert to Christianity and rewriting history to eliminate the Lord of the Dance's role in the holiday. Thereafter, the being once known as the Lord of the Dance roams the planet a ghost with no past and no meaning.

John Constantine, Hellblazer #49: "Lord of the Dance"

NOTE: No specific date is mentioned, just that it happened during the Middle Ages.

Some time between 433 and 493 A.D.

Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, travels to Dun Laoghaire and blesses an underground cave near what will be known, centuries hence, as Enniskerry Road. This transforms a pool of water in the cave to holy water.

John Constantine, Hellblazer #42: "Dangerous Habits, Part Two—A Drop of the Hard Stuff"

NOTE: This placement is based on the generally accepted years when Saint Patrick ministered in Ireland.

c. 500 to 600 A.D.

Sent back in time by the Claw of Aelkh�nd, Alec visits sixth century England, where he is known as the Monster of the Fens. Justin Arthur (the Shining Knight of All-Star Squadron) and his winged-horse Victory greet him in the time stream, eliciting his help in preventing the fall of Camelot and King Arthur Uther Pendragon. Alec materializes in a castle garden, where the necromancer Merlin and the demon Etrigan observe a war. Merlin tears out a page from his Eternity Book for Etrigan in case he should ever need to take refuge inside a human host. Morgaine LeFay's forces include mounted warriors astride giant bats, called Batriders. Destroying one in flight, Etrigan takes his leave. Merlin bemoans Camelot's fate: Arthur, obsessed over the Holy Grail, has sent his Knights to seek the relic, allowing LeFay and Mordred to attack. Merlin knows the Crisis on Infinite Earths will plague the 20th century, for Justin has traveled to that era and taught his people much, including modern English. Arthur enters with Guinevere and throttles Merlin for failing to find the Grail. He hears voices in his head and refuses to accept that the army of ghouls attacking Camelot is real. An explosion levels a rampart, and as guards rush Arthur inside, Prince Valiant and others try to ward off the attackers. Alec agrees to help, hoping Sir Justin can send him home when the war is over. Growing tendrils through the castle walls, he lifts Camelot upon his back and exits the battlefield, leaving Mordred and LeFay speechless. Having foreseen Camelot's fall, LeFay sends Batriders to continue the attack. Justin fights his way back to the castle, returning from southern Gaul on a quest to recall the Round Table Knights. The Knights have all perished in battle, but not before finding the Grail. All rejoice when Justin presents the fabled relic, but as Arthur lifts an amber gem from within―a gem that will later become the Claw of Aelkh�nd―its powers send Alec further back in time. Without Alec, the fabled city of Camelot falls―literally. As Mordred and LeFay celebrate victory, a Batrider flies off with the gem. To hide his identity, Etrigan uses Merlin's page to take on the form of Jason Blood.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #87: "Fall of the House of Pendragon"

Following Arthur's death, Merlin leaves Camelot in search of the boy-king, Kon-sten-tyn (an ancestor of John Constantine), prophecied to assume the throne as King-Abbot of Dumnonia and the Western Lands as Arthur's successor. He finds the boy living among wild swines and trains him in the arts of war, politics and sacred lore. Kon-sten-tyn takes up Arthur's sword, Excalibur, and is seen as a king who can lead England to greatness. A brave, proud ruler, Kon-sten-tyn fights many wars and builds his own Camelot, which he christens Ravenscar. In time, however, he seeks more knowledge than Merlin can provide, sailing the Western Sea to find Atlantis. Pirates attack his ship, killing his crew and severing his arm. Using magic, he summons a great storm and escapes as the waves destroy the pirate ship. He floats to a distant land, where the last of the Sidhe reside. The Sidhe build him an arm of silver, and he lives among them for a year and a day, taking their queen, Nimue, as his lover. Nimue bears him a son, then leaves with her people, for the time of Man has come and they must leave this world. Kon-sten-tyn returns home with his son, sacrificing him at age 19 to the Goddess Mother so he himself can live on. As the king gets older, however, he falls out of touch with his people's turn toward Christianity, concerned more with his own power and longevity. Merlin warns against such folly, angering the king, who summons fire to scorch the wizard's body. Having freed the Dragon at the core of the Earth, he says, he has its power. In time, Kon-sten-tyne takes a new wife, a prancing mare of he sea, who gives him another son before returning to the ocean. Nineteen years later, he sacrifices that son to the Goddess Mother as well. One day, he orders the execution of a group of monks spreading the word of God, but calls their leader, Petroc, to convert him to Christianity so he can rule as a Christian abbot and keep his people's favor. In place of his castle, a great temple is built, but beneath it, he secretly continues to practice heathenistic worship. As an old man, he beheads Merlin, using black magic to keep the head alive to serve him. At the end of his life, he finally releases Merlin to die, then summons forth the great dragon of the earth to attack the king's tower so he can vanquish it and die a martyr, thus attaining sainthood in the eyes of the church.

John Constantine, Hellblazer Annual #1: "The Bloody Saint"

c. 600 to 900 A.D.

According to Balkan legend, the first known member of the Arcane family builds Castle Arcane from dragon bones during the Dark Ages. A curse thereafter plagues the Arcane family, for the dragons had been an emblem of his family's village.

Vertigo Secret Files & Origins-Swamp Thing: "Lady Arcane"

At the height of the Mayan Empire, the fallen elemental Matango tricks the Mayans into destroying themselves. Knowing the Mayan custom of eating hallucinogenic mushrooms for divination and communion with the gods, Matango feeds the Mayans visions and instructions of burning down their own forests to make room for more cities and crops. Devout in their beliefs, they do as ordered. This leaves their sustenance, derived from the forests, several days' journey away. Thus, the Mayan culture collapses as their ability to find food fails.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #105: "The Quest for the Elementals II-Living Sacrifices"

NOTE: No date is given for these events within the story, but since 900 A.D. is the approximate year Mayan civilization began to decline, I have used that date.

M'Nagalah the Eternal, Rh'Thulla of the Wind, and Kag'Naru of the Air, use mind control to touch men's minds, implanting visions that twist their intellects and corrupt their very souls. Their goal is to return to this universe and dominate mankind, having laid the groundwork for evil. However, they are unsuccessful in their plans.

Challengers of the Unknown #83: "Chapter 3-The Gods Crawl Closer"

NOTE: M'Nagalah, Rh'Thulla and Kag'Naru, as well as the storyline itself, are based on the anti-mythology of H.P. Lovecraft, commonly known as the Cthulhu Mythos (so named by the efforts of August Derleth in publishing and promoting Lovecraft's work).

Challengers of the Unknown #83: "Chapter 3-The Gods Crawl Closer"

NOTE: M'Nagalah, Rh'Thulla and Kag'Naru, not to mention the issue's storyline itself, are based on the anti-mythology of H.P. Lovecraft, commonly known as the Cthulhu Mythos (so named by the efforts of August Derleth in publishing and promoting Lovecraft's work).

While slaughtering Saracens in Antioch during the First Crusade, a group of knights stumble across the hiding place of Pandora's Box and seize it for the glory of Rome. However, Seljuk raiders waylay the caravan and steal the box en route. For the next seven centuries, its location remains a mystery.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #2: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 2"

Following the Crusades, a priest claims God has told him the Holy Land can only be won if an army of children sets forth to conquer the heathens. Families with too many mouths to feed happily turn their children over. Since they are doing God's work, God will provide for them. The children march to the sea and are placed in the dark holds of boats bound for the Holy Land, without proper clothing, food, medicine or sanitation. Most survivors are sold into slavery or handed over to brothel-keepers as they leave the ship. Others are placed in dirty cells to die of starvation, cholera and pox, but some refuse to succumb to despair, holding fast to the dream of a place hidden from the deceitful eyes of adults. Through sheer force of will and strength of belief, twelve children survive to make their dream a reality, forming the alternate dimensional paradise called Free Country. Known thereafter as the Crusaders, these twelve make it their mission to create thresholds for children who need to be rescued from the adult world. Among them are children named Maya and Nibb, as well as the mischievous Puck portrayed in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) Annual #7: "A Child's Garden Revisited"

NOTE: A Children's Crusade crossover.

Challengers of the Unknown #83: "Chapter 3-The Gods Crawl Closer"

c. mid-1300s A.D.

Sent through time by a Hell-Jewel, Alec finds himself in Europe at the time of the Black Death. Evading a mob that has mistaken him for a plague victim, Alec comes upon a villa where he learns how his connection to time-traveler Milo Mobius began. Milo, having stolen the jewel from his lover Gretel in order to secure immortality in this time of death, is cursed to live an eternity alone, forever dying and being drawn back to the dawn of time until a friend ends his curse by killing him. The mob soon spots Alec and accidentally torches Milo's home. Milo dies in flame, but as Alec is swept forward in time, Milo rises unscathed and continues on his own eternal journey through time.

Swamp Thing (Series 1) #12: "The Eternity Man"

Late 1400s to early 1500s A.D.

Gothic artist Hieronymus Bosch paints a portrait of Sargon the Sorcerer.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #49: "An American Gothic—Crisis in Heaven: The Summoning"

NOTE: No exact date is given for the painting's creation, so I have given a range of years in which the artist's career flourished.

A tree is born in what will become known as the Tongass National Forest. The tree's spirit is named Hemlock, and he will live for more than 500 years.

Swamp Thing (Series 3) #5: "Killing Time, Part Two—Burning Down the House"

Early 1500s (before 1519 A.D.)

A Samurai named Asano Kanemoto defends Odawara, Japan, from the enemies of his master, Lord Nagauji. Bound by the bushido warrior code, Asano slays a traitorous soldier named Hachisuka and all who follow him. Nagauji survives the war, but Asano's father is the only general not to fall in battle. Despite Asano's skills, his father berates him for dishonoring their family name with his fear of dying. To teach him a lesson, his father bounds his hands and feet and leaves him hanging from a tree, upside down, to face the elements. Once he no longer shows fear, his father says, he will cut him down. However, the kudzu vines that bound him reach out to his mind, offering him life immortal and freedom from pain if he agrees to become the Green's assassin once his duty to Nagauji has ended.

Swamp Thing (Series 3) #15: "Red Harvest, Part Five—Burning Bushido"

NOTE: My placement assumes that "Lord Nagauji" refers to Hojo Nagauji, a Japanese warlord who retained power from 1495 to 1519.

Japanese warlord Hojo Nagauji dies. His Samurai service to Nagauji completed, Asano Kanemoto begins serving as Kudzu, assassin for the Green. His body becomes plant-based and assumes a mixture of traditional Samurai look and plant-like extensions.

Swamp Thing (Series 3) #15: "Red Harvest, Part Five-Burning Bushido"

Included with Kudzu's new look is a pair of Samurai swords that can slay any creature he wishes.

Swamp Thing (Series 3) #16: "Red Harvest, Part Six-Woman in Green"

Kudzu's first task: to eliminate the reigning Erl-King. Residing in Turkey's Ottoman Empire, this elemental has forsaken his duty to the Green by refusing to step down and let another take his place. Kudzu carries out his duty and is granted the freedom to live out immortality as he sees fit until such a time as the plant kingdom is again betrayed.

Swamp Thing (Series 3) #15: "Red Harvest, Part Five-Burning Bushido"

Swedish Captain Jon Logerquist founds Gotham Town, an urban jungle in New Jersey not far from Manhattan. In later years, the town will be re-named Gotham City.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #52: "Natural Consequences"

Every fifteen to twenty years thereafter, Gotham citizens are found dead, a fibrous substance spilling from their heads and extremities. For three centuries, their deaths remain unexplained, until finally being attributed to the fallen elemental named Matango and the Grey.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) Annual #4: "Threads"

Harry Constantine, an ancestor of future mage John Constantine, joins Oliver Cromwell's Drogheda Massacre, not to further the Christian cause but rather to steal loot. When he crosses a woman known as the Ribbon Queen, she curses him with immortality and has him buried alive to rot forever.

John Constantine, Hellblazer #62: "End of the Line"

Stuart Fisby kills Alfred "Alf" Oldland because he covets Alf's wife, Lil. Soon thereafter, Alf is reborn as the reigning Swamp Thing, known to others as the Erl King, Jack-in-the-Green. However, he knows not who committed the murder and spends more than a century searching for his killer's identity.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #47: "An American Gothic-The Parliament of Trees"

NOTE: No date is provided, but a Bubonic reference places it in the 1660s. Oddly, a fairy named Jack in Hellblazer #93 bears a striking resemblance to Jack-in-the-Green.

Oldland's estate is known as the Oldland Croft, and is located at Hither Green, England.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #1: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 1"

After her husband's death, Lil falls in love with Stuart Fisby, unaware he was Alf's murderer.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #2: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 2"

In time, Jack-in-the-Green befriends a man named Simon, who lives in the Bubonic Plague-ridden town of Purchester, England. Simon believes him a demon because of his plant-like appearance and his strange powers, but the man still thinks fondly of him. Jack tells Simon of his wife Lil and of his travels to Egypt, Africa and Antarctica. When Simon dies of the plague, Jack creates a gravesite for him, summoning forth great flames to cleanse the entire town of disease.

Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days: "Jack-in-the-Green"

NOTE: Jack-in-the-Green's ability to summon fire is a precursor to Alec Holland's eventual ability to do the same as the champion for the Parliament of Flames.

In Divinity, Maine, a religious zealot named Gideon sentences a fellow settler called Ravenwind to death at the stake for the crime of necromancy. Gideon has only one leg, and before dying, Ravenwind puts a curse on him that all future Gideons will be born with the same affliction. The curse lasts on into the 1900s, with numerous one-legged Gideons persecuting Ravenwind witches.

Swamp Thing (Series 1) #5: "The Last of the Ravenwind Witches"

Resisting the retirement call of the Parliament of Trees, the tormented Jack-in-the-Green takes root at his abandoned Oldland Croft estate. There, he haunts and terrifies visitors and intruders for the next century, oblivious of the tremendous passage of time due to his severely repressed mental state.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #1: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 1"

After centuries of abuse at the hands of mankind, the last of the Tuatha de Daanan (the Folk, or "the Children of Danu") charter a ship from Europe to North America, hoping to begin afresh in the New World. They settle in eastern Pennsylvania since it reminds them of home and because it's a source of natural energy(what humans call magic). One young Folk, Mave, is a child at the time; three centuries hence, she will be vital in saving Alec's life.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #131: "Folk Remedy"

Linton Midnite, an African child who will be known as magician Papa Midnite two centuries hence, and his twin sister Luna are born to slave parents in Manhattan.

Hellblazer Special—Papa Midnite #1: "Chapter I"

NOTE: Their birth year is not established, but since they are shown to be teens in 1710, their birth most likely occurred some time in the 1690s. Hellblazer #74 indicates Midnite's sister is named Cedella, and that they were born in Trenchtown, Jamaica, but the Papa Midnite miniseries implies that backstory to be a fabrication on Midnite's part to scam his enemies. Midnite's first name is also revealed in issue #74.

A child is born to African slaves owned by a White landowner in the Carolinas, who gives him the slave name "Sambo."

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #5: "Chapter V"

An African slave from the Kru tribe uses magic to escape the White man's world and create a secret hiding place for himself in New York's Hudson Valley, using a concealment charm to keep others from locating him. His hideaway remains unnoticed for the next 43 years.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #3: "Chapter III"

Numerous people are found dead, an unidentified fibrous substance spilling from their head and extremities, with no apparent cause. Several old women are burned as witches for the crimes, but two centuries later, the true cause of the deaths would be discovered: the encroaching of the Grey, led by the fallen elemental, Matango.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) Annual #4: "Threads"

The fallen angel Dekker, cast out of the court of the Archangel Michael for putting forth the outrageous idea that humanity constitutes an elemental force, tries to regain entrance to God's Kingdom by proving his theory. Determined to find one being who embodies the human element and bring him under his aegis so he can pull the human's strings while posing as his servant, Dekker decides (after millennia of failed searching among the greatest of men) that the elemental force he seeks must reside not among nobles, but rather with common men with great intellects and lower morals. To that end, he works in a tavern frequented by the likes of Benjamin Franklin, looking for that one special human, but none display the elemental force he seeks.

Swamp Thing (Series 4) #8: "Missing Links, Conclusion"

NOTE: A more specific date is difficult to determine, given that Franklin lived from 1706 to 1790. Since he probably wasn't a frequent tavern patron until at least his 20s, however, we can reasonably assume this occurred some time between the 1720s and 1790.

A child is born to an African couple in Angola. He is later captured and sold as a slave to a White man in Kingston, who gives him the slave name "Quack."

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #5: "Chapter V"

Following their mother's death, a Black teen named Linton Midnite and his twin sister Luna concoct a scam to hurt White men in Manhattan looking to take sexual advantage of Black women. The scam goes as follows: Playing on their racism and stupidity, Midnite sells them an evening with Luna, convincing them to leave their billfolds with him until they're done. Luna, a psychic, then shows the men the horrors their kind have inflicted on the Black race, causing them to lose their minds.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #1: "Chapter I"

Midnite and Luna play their sexual scam on another White colonist. Luna wonders what would happen if they tried it on an innocent White man, but her brother says there is no such thing. The two have built a comfortable life for themselves using Juju magic to make zombie servants of their slave masters. On a nearby pier, a wealthy landowner named Phillipse buys a Coromantine slave from Ghana, an Ashanti warrior. The slaver names him Cuffee and sends him to sleep in a barn, ordering a slave named Prince to teach him how to serve his masters. Like Cuffee, Prince is from Ghana, and they form a bond. Cuffee asks why the slaves have not yet taken over, and Prince says there were too many languages to communicate. Since most new slaves are Akans from Ghana, rebellious talk has begun. Cuffee learns English and unites the enslaved, determined to kill all Caucasians and seize the land. He visits Luna and Midnite, looking to buy guns. Midnite offers unlimited weapons, plus a magic powder that will stop bullets. Cuffee pays dearly for it, unaware Midnite has merely given him pepper and indigo. That night, Cuffee holds his son, Fortune, anxious to raise him as a free man. Then, with a group of his followers, he slaughters several White landowners, letting one get away as a warning to the others, confident his magic powder will save them. When it fails to do so, the injured slaves vow revenge on Midnite.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #1: "Chapter I"

Cuffee's revolution is short-lived, as the colonists quickly slaughter the out-numbered slaves. That night, as Midnite steps outside to use the outhouse, Cuffee and his remaining rebels capture him and Luna to exact punishment. The White men can't tell them apart, Cuffee says, so if he wants to live, Midnite had better help them get away. When they encounter a group of soldiers led by a racist officer named Daniel Horsmanden, Midnite projects the illusion of Cuffee's men being White, and the soldiers pass them by without a fight. Midnite brags of his powers, but Cuffee hits him with a rifle, still angry over his earlier betrayal. Cuffee brings them into the woods, where a slave named Kwaku holds them at gunpoint. After a week, they are tired and hungry, and to make things worse, it snows. Midnite tries to confuse Cuffee with visions of his past in Africa, but the slave sees through them. His wife tries to keep little Fortune warm, but their future is bleak. Horsmanden's men enter the area. Spotting some of the slaves, they kill the men and rape the women. Luna wants to help, but Midnite knows there's nowhere to run. Cuffee tosses a machete to them, saying their punishment will be that one must give the other a quick death, then die a slow, painful death at the hands of the slaves; they must choose who dies first. If they refuse, Cuffee says they'll both suffer, and that they'll rape Luna. To protect her, Midnite grabs the machete and beheads his sister, then tries to kill himself. They stop him, then commit mass suicide, leaving him alive and binding him to walk the Earth in perpetuity. Cuffee's wife tries to kill Fortune to spare him a worse death, but Horsmanden shoots her, taking the baby to work as an errand boy for his cook. Cursed with immortality, Midnite makes his escape just in time.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #2: "Chapter II"

NOTE: "Cuffee" is misspelled as "Kuffee" at one point. Also, although a soldier tells Hormandedn that Cuffee's wife is about to strangle Fortune, the artwork clearly shows that she is, in fact, preparing to cut him open, not strangle him.

A child is born to an African couple in on the Ivory Coast. She is later captured and sold as a slave to a White landowner, who gives her the slave name "Maggie."

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #5: "Chapter V"

1712 to 1741 A.D.

Linton Midnite spends three decades wandering the land, seeking out as many village elders as he can so he can add their greatest powers to his arsenal of skills and take revenge on "the pink race."

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #3: "Chapter III"

A child is born to African slaves owned by a White landowner in Manhattan, who gives him the slave name "Prince."

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #5: "Chapter V"

Hugh Constantine—a magician/conman, and an ancestor of British mage John Constantine—leaves London to find his fortune in Manhattan, where he opens a pub and begins formulating scams with a slave named Caesar, owner by a wealthy landowner named Phillipse.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #3: "Chapter III"

1731 to 1740 A.D.

Hugh Constantine spends nine years trying to find a way to make his fortune, often outside the confines of the law, but fails in his efforts to launch a successful business.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #3: "Chapter III"

Summer 1740 A.D.

Linton Midnite, an ex-slave cursed with immortality, visits Hugh Constantine's Manhattan pub. With Midnite's help, Constantine and his business partner, Phillipse's Caesar, hatch a scheme to use magic to turn East River sludge into Mancurian ale, generating enough money to line their pockets while also furthering the revolution against slavery. Midnite stipulates that they send Fortune, a slave owned by a sadistic, wealthy court reporter named Horsmanden—and the son of Midnite's fallen enemy, Cuffee.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #3: "Chapter III"

In his quest to seek out and learn from African village elders, Midnite locates a Kru wiseman who has used magic to hide from the White man for 43 years, in New York's Hudson Valley region. The elder is not pleased to have his solitude disrupted, but Midnite asks the man to teach him the Kru power of concealment so he can avenge the African people. Daniel Horsmanden, meanwhile, prepares for his duties as court reporter, chastising his servant, Fortune, for his laziness. He sends Fortune to the pub of Hugh Constantine as a work-for-hire. En route, Fortune grows furious watching the subjugation of his fellow slaves. At the pub, Constantine inadvertently wakes the baby of his partner, Phillipse's Caesar, and Caesar's Irish lover, Margaret "Peggy" Sorubiero. Much to her frustration, Caesar has just robbed Hogg's General Store. Fortune follows a map out to the wilderness, where he falls into a hole�the hidden home of Midnite. The magician tells him he no longer hates Fortune's father Cuffee, and in fact has come to embrace his cause, ashamed at how he betrayed Cuffee's revolution years before. He recruits Fortune into his fold, taking him to a secret meeting of revolutionaries, including Constantine and Caesar. The revolutionaries christen their leader "Papa Midnite." He pulls a yellow rabbit from a bag, summoning Twi magic to transform it into Anansi, the West African trickster god. With Anansi's help, Midnite plans to reverse the roles of slaver and slave, and shows them a vision of what it could be like to be the White man's masters. In this vision, Fortune, now Hormanden's owner, receives a warning from Midnite's deceased sister, Luna: "Succeed. Beware."

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #3: "Chapter III"

Two British soldiers sit near a campfire in Manhattan, one happy to be out of the fighting, the other miserable about the cold weather. Moments later, their fort explodes in an act of revolution, warming them both. Fortune leads the revolt, disgusted to see Constantine and Caesar looting the homes they're supposed to be burning. That night, the image of an angel appears to Daniel Horsmanden, leading him to Constantine's pub, where he arrests the magician and his partner for starting the fires, and Peggy for fornicating with a negro. Fortune runs to inform Midnite, whom he finds communing with Luna's skull. Midnite is unfazed by the news, and realizes his mentor intends to sacrifice them, and anyone else necessary to achieve his goals. Midnite shows him a vision of the future: millions of Black men murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. The African gods will rise against the Whites, he says, and thousands may die so millions will live. Constantine and Caesar stand trial, but Caesar is disheartened when Peggy is afraid to support him. The trial is interrupted by a fire at Smith's Fly. Midnite uses magic to appear to Horsmanden as an angel, urging him to warn others to "fear the dark ones." In fury, the White locals start beating any slaves they can find. Constantine, Caesar and Peggy are tied up to be burned at the stake. Horsmanden offers them freedom if they name names, and Caesar relents, hoping to free Peggy to raise their son. Even as Caesar betrays his fellow rebels, however, Hormanden—driven by the will of the "angel"—orders his men to burn them anyway.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #4: "Chapter IV"

As the anti-slave riots rage outside, Midnite argues with Luna's skull from the safety of Constantine's pub. Meanwhile, Horsmanden returns home and tells Fortune to get inside and avoid the mob�not out of concern for Fortune, but to protect his investment. When Horsmanden utters "Papa knows your heart," Fortune realizes Midnite has betrayed them and runs to confront the magician, but Midnite assures him he still honors Cuffee's revolution and is fanning White racism to rouse the African gods to action. Horsmanden throw many slaves into cells, mistreating them to make them reveal the name of their leader. As fear creeps back into the hearts of his followers, Midnite worries that his plan is failing and summons Anansi once more, asking him to stop Fortune from turning him in. Ever the trickster, Anansi instead places Midnite at the stake. As Horsmanden ignites the wood around him, the burnt bodies of Hugh Constantine, Caesar and Peggy hang from a nearby tree. Midnite's body burns, but being cursed, he remains barely alive, a crisp carcass in agony, slowly reforming. Fortune lets him down from the stake and wheelbarrows him to the docks, to join slaves being sold to the West Indies. As he leaves, Constantine's eyes open; then, with a splash of energy, he returns to his living form, having sucked the lifeforces of his friends to survive the execution�like his descendant, John Constantine, this Constantine has sacrified his friends for his own good.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #5: "Chapter V"

April 1741 to 2004 A.D.

After the failure of Midnite's revolt, Fortune goes back to a life of slavery. In time, he builds a family, watching helplessly as they are beaten, starved and sold away from him. Resentful that Midnite failed to free his people, Fortune dies a miserable old man. For the next two centuries, his spirit remains earthbound, holding a grudge against Midnite for not doing more to help his people in all that time.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #5: "Chapter V"

A child is born who will come to be known as Mad Hettie. Though possessing the knowledge of a High Priestess, she lives the life of a bag-lady, babbling her prophecies loudly for all to hear.

The Sandman, Master of Dreams #3: "Dream a Little Dream of Me"

In the wake of Papa Midnite's failed slave revolt, Daniel Horsmanden serves as presecutor against many slaves, in which 30 Blacks are killed, 50 are beaten and 70 are sold to the West Indies. After his prosecutions result in the deaths of four White men as well, however, his people turn against him and make him an outcast. In an attempt to justify his actions, he writes a book called The Great Negro Plot of 1741. but the book does little to redeem his reputation.

Hellblazer Special―Papa Midnite #5: "Chapter V"

Early 1770s A.D.

Lord and Lady Constantine of England, ancestors of the magician John Constantine, are hanged for treason, and their young daughter Johanna is disinherited and thrown onto the streets to fend for herself. Developing a reputation as a purveyor of petty street magic, a card-sharper and a thimble-rigger, she survives thanks to her sharp wits and her knowledge of the arcane arts.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #2: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 2"

NOTE: No specific date is given, just that it occurred when Johanna was "barely old enough to bleed." Given a birth year of 1760, this most likely occured in the early 1770s.

An American Indian named Grey Elk finds a great quartz crystal in a grotto beneath his tribal home of Echo Valley. Within lies the trapped spirit of Alec Holland, whom Grey Elk calls the Visitor.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #86: "Heroes of the Revolution"

Unknown to either Grey Elk or Alec, the crystal is actually Tuuru, the second founding father of the Parliament of Trees, who can take on many forms.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #89: "Founding Fathers"

Alec spends many years communing with Grey Elk, sharing prophecies of what will come. Alec is traveling backward through time and knows that an amber gem (the Claw of Aelkh�nd) will some day free him from the quartz; that a White Man named Tomahawk will possess the gem at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1799; and that Grey Elk's daughter Moon Fawn will find Tomahawk, marry him, and bear a son named Hawk

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #86: "Heroes of the Revolution"

The Erl King known as Jack-in-the-Green visits magician Johanna Constantine to inquire if she knows the identity of the man who killed his mortal incarnation, Alf Oldland, in the 1660s. Constantine knows the answer but keeps the information to herself for future use.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #1: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 1"

Ho'tah Makanaw of the Seminole Indian tribe is born near what will later be called Benson's Swamp in Florida. At the time, his people have not yet had any contact with White Men.

Swamp Thing (Series 1) #20: "The Mirror Monster"

A privately chartered merchant clipper, the Lokk, sets out on a whaling expedition to the Arctic Sea. The first mate's name is Talbard.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #1: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 1"

Johanna Constantine and her daughter, Mouse, are forced to spend the winter sleeping in a hayloft, as the Constantine family has been stripped of its status. Before that, the duo had spent time in debtor's jail. Mouse poses as a boy-Johanna's little brother-for the streets of London are too dangerous a place for young girls.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #1: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 1"

Dorian Blackwood, eldest of the homunculus "sons" of the immortal Lady Blackwood (Pandora of Greek myth), locates her missing box in the private collection of a dead Norweigian prince, found aboard the man's ship. He charters a ride back to England aboard the whaling vessel Bryggen, but receives word from his brethren that his mother has gone insane after 10,000 years bound to the box. Rather than safeguarding it, she now wishes to open it, which would bring a holocaust upon the Earth. The homunculus "sons," created to help protect mankind from the box, are torn in their loyalty-some, led by Dorian, vow to stop her, while others continue serving her. Dorian chains up the box in the ship's cargo hold and scuttles it with an ax, intending to bury it at the bottom of the Arctic Sea.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #2: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 2"

The privately chartered merchant clipper, Lokk, spots a sinking ship off the coast of Spitzbergen, Norway. The captain orders First Mate Talbard to mount a rescue party. Talbard's team finds the ship abandoned, with evidence it was scuttled on purpose. In the cargo hold is a giant box suspended from chains. Thinking it a treasure chest, Talbard sets about cutting it loose, but when sailors named Svenson and Rasmussen vanish without a trace, the men panic. Talbard tries to save them, but Dorian rises from the water, telling him to flee. The ship sinks a hundred fathoms deep. Meanwhile, in a one-room flat in London, Johanna Constantine practices alchemy, calling on the Parliament of Flames to transmute ordinary metals into gold. When this fails, her daughter, Mouse, worries they'll spend another winter homeless. The landlord bursts in, furious that Johanna lied to him by claiming the brass ring she gave him as rent was made of gold. He prepares to beat her, but a gentleman named Tweed arrives to bring her to Westminster. There, Mr. Bramble, head of the Interventionist Branch, hires her to locate the missing box, which she is told not to open under any circumstances. Her price: that her family regain its stripped heredity title, an estate and a lifelong annuity of �5,000 pounds a year. At Blackwood Manor, in Wych Cross, Dorian's mother, Lady Blackwood, tortures another son to find where Dorian has taken the box. He won't tell, so she kills him to divine the truth from his entrails. Unable to raise the ship on her own, Johanna takes Mouse to the Oldland Croft at Hither Green. Once the home of Alf Oldland (also known as Jack-in-the-Green), the estate now lies empty and haunted. She asks his assistance, offering to reveal who killed him when he was a mortal. Next, she tracks down Captain Rafe McCallister, her old lover, to hire his ship, the Jezebel, for the trip. He is wooing a woman named Bessie at the time, but upon seeing Johanna, he soon forgets Bessie. At sunrise, Johanna and Mouse meet Rafe at Deadman's Dock, and the ship sets sail. The two resume their relationship along the way but are interrupted by the arrival of Jack-in-the-Green, who hides in a figurehead so none will see him. When the Jezebel arrives at Spitzbergen, Johanna and Mouse rent a room at the Mariner's Inn, where they receive an unexpected visitor: Dorian Blackwood, who has come to stop them from locating the box.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #1: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 1"

NOTE: Pandora's box bears a striking resemblance to the Lament Configuration puzzle seen in Clive Barker's Hellraiser films, complete with chains. This is ironic, as Hellblazer was originally named Hellraiser until the film necessitated a title change for the comic.

Dorian Blackwood tries to kill Johanna Constantine, but she uses her powers to subdue the would-be assassin in a tangle of tree-roots. Still, Dorian urges her never to open the box, for it would unleash a holocaust that would destroy mankind. He tells her of the box's origins, Lady Blackwood's insanity and his own efforts to protect humanity from the box being opened. When she refuses to desist in her plans, he again tries to kill her, but she shoots him, knocking him out the door. In the morning, she sends Mouse to sneak aboard the Bryggen and steal the captain's log so she can determine the location of the sunken ship. However, Mouse finds the captain murdered and barely avoids being killed by Dorian. As she escapes with the log, the crew sees Dorian and fights him. Johanna is proud of her, but Mouse is terrified by the whole ordeal. Using the log's notes, Rafe brings the Jezebel above the wrecked ship. Two sailors, Tobias ("Toby") and Michael, place bets that she'll go home empty-handed, but Johanna drops a rock with a twig tied to it into the water, allowing Jack-in-the-Green to raise the ship from the depths. To his frustration, she withholds the information he seeks since she still needs his assistance. He warns of terrible voices in the box, clamoring to be free, but she is unphased. Lady Blackwood learns that Johanna has found the box, however, and pursues the Jezebel. Rather than return to England and risk attack, the Jezebel makes for Spitzbergen.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #2: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 2"

NOTE: It's interesting to note that Johanna Constantine's treatment of Jack-in-the-Green mirrors how her descendant, John Constantine, will one day treat Jack's Erl King successor, Alec Holland.

As Toby and Michael unpack the box at Spitzbergen, Johanna and Rafe head for a nearby church and prepare for a fight. Rafe's crew cover the approaches with cannons, while Mouse helps Johanna draw sealing sigils on the church walls. Jack-in-the-Green tries to warp the timbers of Blackwood's ship, but the ancient witch has put a spirit-ward on the ship, preventing him from approaching. Johanna, suspecting the box is an entryway to the spirit world, asks Jack's help in getting inside. Mouse begs her not to go, but she must. Giving her a tuber, Jack takes her to the borders of the Green but will go no further, for what lies inside the box hungers and hates. The box's spirits revel in the opportunity to torture her forever, but she manages to escape by making a deal with the spirits.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #3: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 3"

The deal, according to Hell's Rules of Engagement, stipulates that the lead spirit-Echida, mother of monsters-must promise no harm will come either to Johanna or Mouse, and that the demon will answer three questions truthfull if released from the box. With little choice, Echida agrees.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #4: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 4"

Johanna realizes Lady Blackwood was once Pandora of Greek mythology, and that this was her fabled box. Blackwood's homunculus sons attack, meanwhile, killing Toby and others. To Rafe's horror, the homunculii regenerate as quickly as they fall. Dorian offers to help him, an uneasy ally against a common enemy. He kills several of his brothers and confronts his mother, who melts him where he stands. Jack-in-the-Green, meanwhile, returns to the Jezebel to help McCallister defeat Blackwood's homunculii. She tells him the information he has long sought-that Stuart Fisby is the one who killed him-but says a hundred years have passed and both Fisby and Lil are beyond the reach of revenge. She binds him to his current form, then sets him aflame. Unable to escape the body in time, Jack-in-the-Green ends his years as Erl-King the same way he began them: burning in agonizing fire. At that moment, to Mouse's horror, Johanna keeps her side of the deal by opening Pandora's box, allowing its evil occupants to escape into the real world.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #3: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 3"

NOTE: Although Lady Blackwood seems to destroy Jack-in-the-Green by incinerating his body before he can create a new one, that does not reconcile with Swamp Thing annual #5, which shows him to have retired as a member of the Parliament of Trees.

Per their deal, Echida must answer three questions before being freed. Johanna's first question: how did the box come to be? The answer: when Echida's children defied Lucifer Morningstar by breeding so much that they nearly overran the bounds of Hell, the demon Mulciber fashioned a prison to hold them. Never intended to distill and crystalize into material form, the box fell into the physical world 10,000 years ago. There, it was gated to Empress Pandora by a rival prince, who forbade her to open it but hoped she would anyway so he could overthrow her empire. This unleashed Hell on Earth until an alliance of mortal sorcerers trapped the demons in the box once more with a word of binding. In punishment, Pandora was cursed with immortality, unable to die except at the demons' hands, and charged with guarding the box forever. Now, after 10,000 years, she has gone mad, determined to open it so she can finally die. The second question: how can she attain wealth and power? The answer: the Devil and the Wandering Jew meet in a tavern every hundred years to drink and swap tales, and there the Dark Lord will grant that which she seeks. Frustrated by this riddle, Johanna unveils one of her own with the third question: what is the word of binding that will seal the demons in the box? Furious, Echida spells it on the floor, covering Johanna's mouth so she can't say it. Outside, the Jezebel crew and homunculii wipe each other out in battle. The lone survivor is Rafe, who collapses trying to reach Pandora. Ignoring him, Pandora enters the church and asks to be killed swiftly, but when the demons begin ripping her to shreds, she angrily lashes out at Echida, who drops Johanna, allowing her to speak the word of binding. The box pulls the demons back in, Pandora along with them, and as she reaches for Johanna, she latches onto Mouse instead, who ends up trapped within. Devastated, Johanna returns to London to deliver the box, urging Bramble and Tweed to bury it and never open it. Humoring her request, they grant her the title of Lady, the deed to the Blackwood Manor at Wych Cross and an annual endowment of �5,000. Outside, Rafe awaits. She tells him she's re-naming the estate Fawney Rig and sending the box back to Hell so no one can use it. She also plans to find the tavern where the Devil and the Wandering Jew meet, so she can get Mouse back.

Hellblazer Special―Lady Constantine #4: "Hell Hath No Fury, Part 4"

Florida's Seminole Indians first encounter White Men when ten drunk traders storm a village that will later be called Benson's Swamp. Twelve-year-old Ho'tah Makanaw grows ill after drinking from the Grotto of Eternal Youth, surviving only because he is in his tent when the men kill everyone else in his tribe. He keeps the memory of his people alive for another 180 years by drinking the water regularly.

Swamp Thing (Series 1) #20: "The Mirror Monster"

Jason Blood befriends artist Francisco Goya, who shows him original sketches of his new painting-in-progress, El Sue�o de la Raz�n Produce Monstruos ("The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters").

The Saga of the Swamp Thing (Series 2) #25: "The Sleep of Reason"

December 31, 1799 A.D.

To celebrate the American War for Independence and the turn of the century, the citizens of Gotham Town hold a parade to honor three Heroes of the Rebellion: Tomahawk, Daniel Hunter and Bess Lynn (Miss Liberty). Gotham's tax collector, Tom Haukins, drunkenly interrupts, claiming to be the Tomahawk and crying historical inaccuracy. A fight breaks out, and the actor portraying Tomahawk runs off-stage to hide his identity. He is Lord Gerald Shilling, a man whose malleable face allows him to impersonate anyone. Bess leads Haukins away from the bar and sobers him up, then sends him and fellow tax-man Leroy Johnson (Stovepipe) to the Transvaal Trader to collect its fees. Stovepipe, however, is Shilling in disguise, hired by Jason Blood to lure him aboard. Blood knows Haukins will soon possess a gem he seeks. A small boat pulls up next to the Trader, ferrying two American Indians, Wise Owl and his sister Moon Fawn. They prepare a cloaking spell to protect against spirits, then leave an amber gem in Haukins' boat, broken off from the quartz crystal holding Alec Holland's spirit. Their father, Grey Elk, sent them here to fulfill Alec's final prophecies. Haukins is horrified to learn that the Trader's cargo consists of African slaves. Disgusted, he returns to his boat and finds the gem. Exposing Shilling's ruse, Haukins tries to kill him to avenge Dan Hunter (who was skinned alive thanks to Shilling's treachery), when suddenly the gem comes alive. The wooden boat grows arms and paddles itself furiously to shore at Bristol, where the terrified men hold on for life as it crashes through the embankment of a stately manor being built by Bruce Wayne's ancestor, Darius Wayne. The two fall into a cave filled with bats; this will some day be Batman's Bat Cave. As they brawl, the gem falls in a boiling stream. Shilling reaches in to grab it, the boiling liquid petrifying his arm into a permanent claw, the gem forever seared into his hand. Thus is created the Claw of Aelkh�nd.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #86: "Heroes of the Revolution"

NOTE: This story features cameos by many classic Western comic book characters of DC's past. Tomahawk and Dan Hunter (an ancestor of time-traveler Rip Hunter) first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #69 (1947). Miss Liberty first appeared in Tomahawk #81 (1962). Lord Gerald Shilling first appeared in Tomahawk #28 (1954). Stovepipe first appeared in Tomahawk #97 (1965). Moon Fawn first appeared in Hawk, Son of Tomahawk #131 (1970). And Grey Elk first appeared in Hawk, Son of Tomahawk #137 (1972).

January 1, 1800 A.D.

As fireworks herald a new century, Jason Blood becomes the demon Etrigan and destroys the Transvaal Trader, no longer needing the slaving ship. Haukins breaks off Shilling's petrified arm and staggers out of the cave, where Wise Owl and Moon Fawn help him aboard. They explain the nature of their mission, beginning twenty years prior when their father found Alec's spirit trapped in a crystal in Echo Valley. They ask Haukins to join them, revealing another of Alec's prophecies: that Haukins and Moon Fawn will wed and bear a son named Hawk. The trio begin a months-long trek over rivers and mountains, Haukins complaining constantly. Moon Fawn begins to doubt Alec's prophecy of marriage, but the outdoors soon rejuvenate Haukins' spirit, bringing to the forefront the proud, strong frontiersman he had been in his youth. The change is gradual but complete as he sheds his city-fed fat and reclaims the name by which he was known in days past: Tomahawk. By the time they reach Echo Valley, Moon Fawn is two months pregnant with their son, Hawk. Grey Elk welcomes Tomahawk into the family, much to the disappointment of Moon Fawn's suitor, Grey Wolf, and shows him a sacred grotto housing the quartz crystal. As per prophecy, Tomahawk produces the Claw of Aelkh�nd and frees Alec's spirit. Seventy-plus years later, Hawk will chronicle these events in his autobiography, Hawk, Son of Tomahawk.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #86: "Heroes of the Revolution"

NOTE: Grey Wolf first appeared in Tomahawk #129 (1970).

The Cambridge Club is established exclusively for alumni of Cambridge University. Its clientele are notoriously snobbish.

John Constantine, Hellblazer #43: "Dangerous Habits, Part Three—Friends in High Places"

A minor English nobleman, Conrad Constantine (an ancestor of future magician John Constantine), pursues an interest in the black arts, leading him to study the Necronomicon, join an occult brotherhood called the Brimstone Circle and hold ritualistic orgies at his estate. When a scandal strips him of his title, he turns to piracy and Satanism. Allying with a demonic race called the Old Ones, he is granted great power in return for supplying blood and souls. His goal: to help the Old Ones reclaim Earth now that mankind has weakened the Green's control.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #114: "Pirate's Alley"

"Dark Conrad," as Conrad Constantine becomes known, sacrifices his entire crew to honor the Old Ones, then raids a Caribbean village friendly to his sworn enemy, the pirate Jean LaFitte. Killing LaFitte's wife Marie, Conrad flees into the Black Bayou aboard his ship, the Cockatrice. The Old Ones help him escape LaFitte, who vows revenge.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #111: "Zydeco Ya-Ya"

NOTE: Historically, the real Lafitte is recorded as having died in 1826, though some contest that date, believing he may have faked his own death. The terms "Old Ones" and Necronomicon originated in the anti-mythology of H.P. Lovecraft, commonly known as the Cthulhu Mythos (so named by the efforts of August Derleth in publishing and promoting Lovecraft's work).

M'Nagalah the Eternal touches the mind of Edgar Allen Poe, inspiring him to write his first work.

Swamp Thing (Series 1) #8: "The Lurker in Tunnel 13"

June 21, 1827 A.D.

A servant named Brown awakens Lady Johanna Constantine at 4:00 a.m. when he finds one of the windows of her estate, Wych Manor in East Sussex, England, forced open. Investigating, she finds that someone has stolen a piece of jewelry. She decides to ride to the magistrate to report the theft, but he insists on accompanying her for safety. Two other servants, Simpson and Young John, ride with them as well, and she makes it clear this is a personal matter, requiring discretion.

The Dreaming #4: "The Lost Boy, Part One"

Future elemental Alicia Collins is born in South Yorkshire, England.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #120: "Lady Jane"

Numerous people are found dead, an unidentified fibrous substance spilling from their head and extremities, with no apparent cause. Years later, the deaths would be attributed to the Grey.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) Annual #4: "Threads"

White men push the Seminole Indians out of Florida, to the Western frontier, where many die. One elderly Seminole, Ho'tah Makanaw, remains behind to guard the Grotto of Eternal Youth.

Swamp Thing (Series 1) #19: "A Second Time to Die"

Robertaland, a plantation in Louisiana, becomes the site of murder when owner Wesley Jackson finds a slave named William consorting with his wife Charlotte and orders the man's skin flayed off.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #41: "An American Gothic-Southern Change"

That night, as the slaves celebrate a zombie festival called Myst�re L'orient, Jackson grows furious at the bonfires they've set. He shoots into the crowd, killing a slave woman. In retribution, the slaves rise up and beat him to death. For 143 years, the souls of those at Robertaland are unable to rest, awaiting a chance to return to the world of the living and right the wrongs of this night.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #42: "An American Gothic-Strange Fruit"

December 24, 1842 A.D.

Todd Weatherly shoots his wife, their two daughters and himself on Christmas Eve with a Cambridge repeater rifle. Their ghosts, like many others, haunt the home of Amy Cambridge thereafter.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #45: "An American Gothic-Ghost Dance"

August 26, 1845 to November 9, 1888 A.D.

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and grandson of Queen Victoria—Eddy to his friends—impregnates Annie Crook of Whitechapel, without the girl ever knowing his identity. Upon finding out about her grandson's indiscretion, the queen asks her friend and physician, a Freemason named Sir William Withey Gull, to cover it up. Gull lobotomizes Crook and confines her to an asylum. Five of Crook's friends—prostitutes Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride and Mary Jane Kelly—try to blackmail the government with what they know, so Gull decides to kill them. Uncomfortable with committing murder, however, he holds a s�ance with several Mason friends to summon and trap the demon Calibraxis, Lord of Blades and butcher to the Devil's Court, within Gull's body. Possessed by Calibraxis, he brutally slaughters the women, to be known historically as the serial killer Jack the Ripper. Accidentally, he also kills a prostitute named Catherine Eddowes, though she is unconnected to the blackmail plot. After the murders, the government locks him away in a mental hospital, and when he dies, Calibraxis takes him down to Hell.

John Constantine, Hellblazer #53: "Royal Blood, Part Two—Revelations"

NOTE: Gull's identity as a Jack the Ripper suspect is a matter of history, and has also been the subject of several other fictional accounts, including Alan Moore's From Hell. The specific dates and victims' names are a matter of public record.

The Crown Bar, a pub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is established.

John Constantine, Hellblazer #70: "Heartland"

In South Yorkshire, England, a woman named Alicia marries Aleistair Huston, a young banker with a promising future. The first year of marriage is blissful, culminating in the birth of a daughter, Ruth. However, after a scandal leaves him jobless, their happiness begins to crumble, the first in a string of tragedies to befall her. Falling in with a crowd of money-grubbing schemers, Aleistair mortgages her ancestral land and home, causing them to be evicted when the deal goes sour. Sadly, she prepares to leave the home in which she grew up, got married and delivered her first child. The couple move to Sheffield to find work. There, Pastor Lovejoy preaches that God looks after women who show faith in their husbands, but that means little to her as she endures rat-infested streets and a poor husband who works seven twelve-hour days a week, then spends his pay at a pub. Alicia befriends an elderly woman named Emma Wesley, who works at a textile mill. Aleistair is furious when the friendship takes her from tending to his needs, and as he descends further into drink, their problems worsen.

Swamp Thing (Series 2) #120: "Lady Jane"

Emma Wesley helps Alicia Huston through her second delivery. The child is a boy, whom she names Albert, after the Prince of England. Soon thereafter, tragedy strikes again when her husband Aleistair gets drunk to celebrate the birth and dies in an accident at work involving molten steel. Penniless and alone, with two kids to feed, she takes a job with Emma at the Louisiana Cotton Company. The work is hard, the hours long and the pay bad, and Alicia vows never to let her children work in such conditions. Emma's oldest daughter, Miriam, watches the children while the women are at work. The floor boss, Osgodd Proctor, notices her one day and offers her a higher-paying job as his secretary. The job includes satisfying his carnal attentions, but she endures it for her children's sake. When she becomes pregnant and cannot count on him for support, Emma takes her to see a local witch-woman, Granny Catgutt, who gives her an abortion potion. Some time later, Emma loses an arm in an accident and bleeds to death. A fire destroys Alicia's home the same day, and in trying to save her children, she catches fire and falls in the River Don, where she dies and transforms into the plant elemental known as Lady Jane. Her and Emma's children all die in the fire. After arranging an accident that kills Proctor and destroys the factory, she carries a young child to safety, accepting her new role as the mother of all children hurt by the Industrial age.