Shoot (Hellblazer)

rdf:langString Shoot (Hellblazer)

rdf:langString '"Shoot"'

rdf:langString left

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rdf:langString Penny Carnes

rdf:langString DC Comics

rdf:langString They're only kids, for Christ's sake. This is the best response they can manage to the insane fucking world they're in. They stand there and wait for the bullet.

rdf:langString John Constantine, from "Shoot"

rdf:langString '"Shoot"'

rdf:langString "Shoot" is a controversial American comic book story that was scheduled to appear in the 141st issue of the horror series Hellblazer in 1999, published by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint. Written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning, "Shoot" follows a researcher who searches for the cause of school shootings; she eventually discovers that John Constantine, the magic-using protagonist of Hellblazer, was present at several massacres. Constantine explains to her that he has been looking into the phenomenon, and says it happens because the victims have lost the will to live. Ellis wrote the story after he finished the six-part storyline "Haunted", his first Hellblazer story arc. The story was acclaimed by Vertigo's staff, who began to prepare for its publication. However, the Columbine High School massacre occurred shortly before "Shoot" was planned to release. DC executive Paul Levitz refused to publish "Shoot" as written; Ellis refused to make the changes he called for, which led to the story's cancellation. Ellis was intended to become the ongoing writer for Hellblazer, but quit after the cancellation of "Shoot". The story was leaked online in 2000 but was not officially published until October 2010, as part of the special Vertigo Resurrected #1. "Shoot" has been reviewed mostly favourably; journalists praised its message and felt that DC made a mistake in cancelling it.