The comic book medium's most enduring supernatural anti-hero gets a cinematic facelift in Constantine. The question Hellblazer fans are asking themselves: Is nothing sacred?

Ever wonder what Dirty Harry would be like if he practiced the teachings of Aleister Crowley? It's safe to say the only thing that could possibly make that character any cooler is black magic. If the wise-cracking, irreverent detective could kick some supernatural ass, we'd have one of the most intriguing and entertaining characters in history. Lucky for us, he already exists, and his name is John Constantine.

Born within the panels of Alan Moore's legendary Swamp Thing (#37) comic series, Constantine - whose image Moore based on musician Sting - began life as a supporting character to the titular beast from the bog before graduating to his very own title in 1987. DC/Vertigo's massively popular Hellblazer series now boasts over 200 issues and 15 graphic novels in print, and has featured work over the years by legendary comic scribes Garth Ennis (Preacher) and Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets), among others.

The hard-drinking, chain-smoking, self-serving, trenchcoat-wearing, sardonic , British prick of a private dick with a few magic tricks up his sleeve was born with the ability to recognize angel/demon half-breeds" that walk the earth, each trying to influence humanity to choose a designated path in life that will land them in one of two familiar places.

But he does it all for himself. Condemned to Hell after a botched exorcism, Constantine spends his time battling demons on a personal vendetta. The mysterious mage and reluctant hero, who has literally been to hell and back, can spot the supernatural simulacra and take them down, allowing humans to choose their own paths in life.

For these reasons and more, the character has fascinated mature comic readers for two decades. Now, in the wake of the success of other comic-books-turned-movies (think Hellboy, X-Men and Spiderman), Constantine, starring rigid megastar Keanu Reeves in the title role, will test the tolerance of a legion of comic devotees when it hits silver screens on February 18th from Warner Bro Pictures.

Constantine himself has a strong sense of morality yet his ethics are a little blurry," Reeves said in a recent press release, referring to his interest in the character. He's trying to right some wrongs but he doesn't always go about it in the nicest way. He's an anti-hero I've never seen before."

Constantine is indeed the most enigmatic, well-defined anti-hero ever created, and naturally, Hellblazer purists have been voicing their outrage with regards to a long list of offensive character and story changes since the adaptation was first announced four years ago.

After original director Tarsem (The Cell) and star Nicholas Cage abandoned the project in 2002, the script was turned over to music video director Francis Lawrence. This was the first major red flag for Hellblazer fans, as Lawrence's resume consists entirely of videos for artists like Avril Lavigne, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and Britney Spears.

It was the character of John Constantine, the anti-hero, and the tone of the story that attracted me immediately," the novice film director explains. The world he inhabits is unique and the story moves into places that were entirely unexpected."

But nothing was more unexpected than the decision to move the story's location from the shadowy streets of Liverpool (where the Hellblazer universe is set) to the seedy underworld of Los Angeles. Could the move have been the result of fear that the failed Jonathan Harker could never pull off a convincing Brit?

The additional inclusion of a love interest (The Mummy's Rachel Weisz) further added fuel to the fire in chatrooms and message boards worldwide. But the production's biggest creative crime involves a story arc in which Constantine commits suicide and becomes motivated to repay that debt in order to regain entry into Heaven - something that contradicts the fundamental underpinnings of the original comic character.

Comic dorks (myself included) are asking themselves: Since when would that smarmy bastard care about going to Heaven?" The fact is, Hellblazer's John Constantine always has the upper hand. He's such a clever con man - having tricked the Devil himself into curing Constantine of his terminal lung cancer in one infamous issue - that he simply would not be afraid of going to Hell (again). He walks the thin line between good and evil and, like many risky comic adaptations, so does Constantine.

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