Legend of the Serpent's Temptation (John Constantine)

[another imagined John Constantine comic book cover for DC Comics for a one-shot storyline proposed to be written by Ray Fawkes with interior art by Juan Ferreyra.]

John Constantine's fevered mind conjured up a vision of the Garden of Eden, lush and vibrant, with trees heavy with forbidden fruit. He saw himself standing amidst the verdant paradise, the air thick with the scent of blooming flowers and the distant hum of a thousand whispers. The sun beat down upon his skin, but he felt no heat, only a creeping sense of unease.

As he wandered deeper into the garden, the trees grew taller and the shadows darker. John's eyes scanned the surroundings, his hand instinctively reaching for the cigarette pack in his pocket, only to remember he'd left it on the nightstand back in his dingy London flat. A faint rustling caught his attention, and he turned to face a massive, serpentine creature coiled at the base of a gnarled tree. Its scales glinted like polished obsidian, and its eyes burned with an otherworldly green fire.

The snake's gaze locked onto John, and he felt an inexplicable pull as if the creature was drawing him closer to the tree. A branch creaked, and a single, glowing apple fell from its bough into John's hand. The snake's forked tongue darted in and out, tasting the air, and John's mind whispered a single, chilling phrase: "Eat the fruit, and all your sins will be forgiven."

[Workflow: Inspired by Yasmine Putri's cover art from Hellblazer #17 (2018).  A series of Tengr image prompts to get many elements in the same dark-colored painting format, found a bunch of snake & vegetation images on the internet. Composed these pieces of John, tree, apple, and vegetation, along with special Fx overlays, and texturing work.]

final variant cover art

raw image without DC Comics branding

inspiration artwork