This is where we started it and this is where it'll finish. This is the killing ground where I take my revenge -- just as soon as I work out exactly how. 
Hellblazer #11 is an issue of the series Hellblazer (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1988.
Synopsis for "Newcastle: A Taste of Things to Come"
John Constantine goes to the town of Newcastle and strolls through the ruins of what used to be the old Casanova Club. There is very little left of the building, and what remains of it is part of a junk yard. John asks the owner if he can look around and the man asks him what he's looking for. John replies, "memories". Examining a ruined automobile, he finds a broken arm from a doll. Leaning over to look at it, his mind reflects back upon the single most harrowing experience of his life.
1978
John Constantine, Judith, Frank North, Anne-Marie, Ritchie Simpson, Gary Lester and Benjamin Cox go to the Casanova Club in Newcastle after hours. This was the nightclub where John and Gary's band, Mucous Membrane, first got started. The crew came to see the owner Alex Logue about getting further work. Benjamin Cox heard strange noises coming from the cellar, and when they went to investigate, they found a veritable abattoir of corpses. Running back upstairs, they found Alex's daughter Astra gyrating to loud music and acting strangely. They immediately detected that something was wrong, so John and Anne-Marie combined their talents to hypnotize Astra, forcing her to calm down. Astra revealed that a demonic entity known as a Norfulthing appeared in the cellar during one of her father's tantric sex parties and slaughtered everyone present. John theorized that the Norfulthing was a terror elemental and was created by Astra's subconscious mind. He further believed that the only way to defeat such an entity was by raising a more powerful demon. Benjamin Cox panicked at the prospect of raising a demon and fled from the room, right into the claws of the Norfulthing. Frank North drove the beast away with his shotgun before it could kill Cox, but the young boy was inconsolable after the experience. John retrieved his occult gear from his van including a copy of the Grimorium Verum. He sent Frank outside to prepare some gas cans in case they needed to torch the place, and he sent Gary Lester to retrieve a black cat for the ritual.
John conducted the elaborate ceremony and tried to summon a demon known as Sagatona. However, he mis-spoke the invocation and instead enabled a different demon altogether to enter the Earth realm. The demon took possession of Astra Logue and used her body to destroy the Norfulthing. When John realized what had happened, he attempted to bargain with the demon to spare Astra's soul, but to no avail. While John attempted to exorcise the demon, Frank North set the club on fire. John barely made it out in time, but Astra was forever lost.
The Present
John snaps out of his reverie as the ghosts of Annie-Marie, Benjamin, Frank and Gary gather around him. Even after all this time, he cannot forgive himself for letting the demon out. Now however, he knows which demon it was that he accidentally summoned - Nergal. Lighting a cigarette, John muses about how "we all make mistakes". He concludes his thought by citing that the demon's mistake was in telling him his name. Names are the source of power in the world of magic.
Appearing in "Newcastle: A Taste of Things to Come"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Newcastle Crew (Flashback and main story)
Villains:
- Nergal
- Norfulthing (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Alex Logue (Behind the scenes)
- Astra Logue (Single appearance)
- Beelzebub (Behind the scenes)
- Belial (Behind the scenes)
- Lucifer (Behind the scenes)
- Ray Monde (Behind the scenes)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- None
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in the Hellblazer: Rare Cuts trade paperback.
- The events from this issue take place in the year 1978.
Related Articles
- Hellblazer Supporting Cast
- Hellblazer Supporting Cast gallery
- John Constantine image gallery
- John Constantine appearances list
- John Constantine quotes page
- Newcastle Crew
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Hellblazer
- Hellblazer: Bad Blood
- Hellblazer: Lady Constantine
- Hellblazer: Papa Midnite
Links and References
- Hellblazer article at Wikipedia
- Hellblazer page at DC Comics
- Hellblazer series index at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- John Constantine article at Wikipedia
- John Constantine biography page at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- John Constantine chronology index at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Straight to Hell (a Hellblazer site)
Warning: Default sort key "Hellblazer 011" overrides earlier default sort key "Hellblazer Vol 1 0011".