From his first appearance in Swamp Thing, John Constantine has been all about the unlikely alliance. Over the years, the Hellblazer has joined forces with angels, demons, rival mages, and superheroes. However, Batman: The Brave and the Bold #17 may have yielded Constantine’s most unlikely partnership ever.
Written by Zipporah Smith, with art by Mike Norton, “Petsurrection, Part 1” finds the infamous supernatural detective playing dog catcher. John Constantine determines that some amateur magician is using their power to bring back people’s beloved pets. The end result is a horde of zombie dogs, threatening to devour their owners.
Playing Pet Sematary as a LARP is not the Hellblazer’s idea of a good time. On the other hand, putting undead animals to rest is not a great test of his power and proves quite profitable. However, when dark magic starts warping the zombies, it proves to be too much for John Constantine. Thankfully, he gets some unexpected and unwanted help from an unlikely source.
Streaky the Super Cat saves John Constantine
John Constantine is saved by the timely arrival of Supergirl‘s pet cat, Streaky. He is far from grateful, however, given he’s severely allergic to cats. The flying feline also keeps shadowing John, trying to show him a strange amulet, which he tries to ignore at first. Streaky also, unbeknownst to John, defends him from several other undead animals that are following him.
Ultimately, Streaky is forced to literally spell out the problem to John, using the push-pins on his murder board. Apparently, the Hellblazer himself is responsible for whatever darkness is raising the dead and warping them. Just how Streaky figured this out remains to be seen, but this is easily the most unlikely team-up to ever feature John Constantine
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #17 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
