A protracted relation around the contrary comic figure, John Constantine, Part IV

IV: The echoic infusion rung of familiar names invoked from folkloric refrains, rendered signs, and re-germinated leavings that are subsequently reseeded to be actively replied in creator Alan Moore's run on SWAMP THING; of which the consonant call of John Constantine is further conducted.


I got a black cat bone,
I got a mojo too

I got John the Conquer Root (Conqueroo)
I'm gonna mess with you

-“Hoochie Coochie Man”, Lyrics: Willie Dixon. Added lines as recorded by Muddy Waters, 1954.

I got the black cat bone
And I got a mojo, too
I got the John the Conqueror Root
Gonna mess with you

-Recorded by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, 1966. Lyrics: Willie Dixon, 1954.


“Well, time passed and Wicked John he snickered about that too.
But pretty soon he settled back into being…
Wicked, Wicked, Wicked.”

-‘Wicked John’, teller Mitch Barrett. Excerpt from Pamela Petro’s Sitting Up with the Dead: A Storied Journey through the American South (New York: Arcade Publishing, 2001), page 334.

Prior to the visible appearance of John Constantine as announced, there are the forwarding signs dropped, or rather tantalizingly produced in the earlier passages of SWAMP THING, that upon closer inspection- enhanced through retrospection of the series run – point, and or tap into, the syllabic and vegetal resonance recalled of the accentuated incantations or absorbent underlying material in folkloric measures.

Preceding the irresoluble depiction of Sting in the passage “The Sleep of Reason”, there are the nascent outgrowths that arise from the vegetative character in the earlier sections of “Swamped” described as tubers that are similar in structure to a yam, that are- as pronounced by the visitant figure Dr. Jason Woodrue- likely edible. This inceptive relation will have implicit effects into and upon the subsequent storyline involving the ingestion and transfer of this offshoot- which is also often commonly mistakenly exchanged as a sweet potato- that if orally partook produces heightened states of consciousness of variable intensity. The various effects of this interaction within revolve around the featured characters, with all coming into contact with these bulbous offerings bearing some choice part.

At the formative outset then Moore is cultivating interrelated issues that present ongoing aspects that though apparently becoming detached or split-off are adaptively spread in rotating surrounds.

Though there is no nominative distinction in SWAMP THING of the sprouted tuber, it would appear to be no arbitrary correlation that the close botanical cousin growing from a regional tropical rhizome in North America is the woody tuber classified as Ipomoea Jalapa, or as it is often resounded, “John the Conquer Root”. The body of this figural tuber though not known for any extrasensory perception if eaten, is nevertheless ill advised as being tasted or in any ways swallowed due to its extreme laxative properties, and is rather renowned in folk song to be carried on a person as a pocket piece or in a mojo bag from which to draw money, bring luck at games of chance, or enhance personal sexual power.

This foremost explanted relationship substantially informs the later arrival of the spurious traveler and unsettled conjuror marked as John Constantine returning in conjunction as an occult carrier, who in close conjunction appears to internally activate the latent transfigured abilities of the Swamp Thing to universally transport his consciousness into a seemingly infinite aspect of plant life.

The figure of John Constantine, though seemingly alien to the area and supposedly arriving unanticipated or uncalled for, can amidst the corresponding symbols- if attentively looked for- suggest a intimate connection despite the literal distance occurring between the supposed separate events. As with the exploration of the transmittable aspects of the Gothic into America, there is a considerate inclusion of folkloric elements in SWAMP THING that while seeming to have centrally originated in Europe are continually found to have a wider point of derivation that is diversely spread about the many ensuing and existent relations upon the expansive continent collectively-albeit contentiously- maintained as The United States.

How this reciprocal folkloric permeation continues is appropriately intermixed through Moore and the collective creators recourse in SWAMP THING, shown in visible signs as the redolent tubers figured, textual boards displayed, such as the Briar Wood Motor Inn, and rhythmic intonations that are sometimes spoke out as unintentional invocations or spelled out in roadside displays set apart to-not irrelevantly- recall a passing sequential jingle, “Burma-Shave” that nevertheless lastingly remains.

As an additional prospective vehicle adapted into American folklore, the automobile is a ranging carrier that not only practically bears the figure of John Constantine into the Southern surrounds of the Louisiana swamp in his debatable first manifestation, it is where the apparent character awaits to dramatically encounter the unsuspecting figure of Abigail Arcane/Cable; ominously emerging from the shadowy backseat of her car. Prior to this sudden appearance, as a reflective course of ‘overheard’ conversation between the regenerating Swamp Thing and Abigail, is the latter character’s prescient remark that the boggy figures former resonate voice- distorted through his newly formed vocal chords- currently sounds as a tinny ‘Jiminy Cricket’. That this is both an old-world exclamation and wry accordance to the instructive insect that animates a fabled wooden puppet is certainly no random act placed at a preceding point to the appointment of John Constantine as Swamp Thing’s pesky mentor.

This ongoing dialogue between Abigail and Swamp Thing as to the unknown whereabouts of the off the grid guide and recurring debate about whether he will turn up again has the sylph styled character Abagail remark in a subsequent chapter of being rid of the “supercilious English creep” that recalls the snaking affinity around an invasive weed, while the repeated surname of Constantine continually bantered about evokes the oft quoted line that to “speak of the devil” is to intentionally forward a spoken invitation as a certain invocation. As the practical joker Constantine summarily rings up the residence of Ms. Cable forwarding a directional message to her sylvan “boyfriend” concerning a critical meeting point it would seem the sent vibe was clearly picked up; or- if you would- conversely allow this long-distance call could be dismissed as some prankish perchance willfully dialed up. Moore’s jangling touch upon these everyday objects that are mostly outwardly benign or frequently set in the background of horror settings, does not neglect the adaptive turn that many urban legends incorporate in cars and telephones as instruments that hold many solid parts, absorbed at times of many generations. This lastingly speaks to their pervasive reach upon a crisscrossing network that is constantly exchanging that though being frequently craftily overlaid continues to house unremitting aspects that are deeply coursed in the inner workings.