The Trenchcoat Brigade is a four-issue comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 limited series

Limited series

A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....

 that was published in 1999

1999 in comics

-February:* February 3: Pioneering editor Vin Sullivan dies at age 87.* February 26: John L. Goldwater, co-founder of Archie Comics, dies at age 82.-March:* Incredible Hulk is canceled by Marvel with issue #474.-May:...

 as a part of DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

' Vertigo imprint

Imprint

In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...

.

The title references an offhand joke used by John Constantine

John Constantine

John Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...

 in the earlier Books of Magic

The Books of Magic

The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...

series to label a loose affiliation of mystics including himself, Phantom Stranger

Phantom Stranger

The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...

, Doctor Occult

Doctor Occult

Doctor Occult is a fictional character, a magic user in the . Created by Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Doctor Occult is the earliest character created by DC Comics still currently in use in its shared universe fiction....

, and Mister E

Mister E

Mister E is a fictional character that appears mainly in the Vertigo Comics universe, though he sometimes appears in the DC Comics universe. Created by Bob Rozakis and Jack C. Harris, the character first appeared in Secrets of Haunted House and was a recurring character for ten issues...

 who share a preference for trenchcoats as their outdoor wear. (Constantine was knowingly paraphrasing the title of Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous "The Charge of the Light Brigade

The Charge of the Light Brigade (poem)

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" is an 1854 narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War...

", about a reckless military event.)

Publication history

They first appeared together in Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman

Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...

's The Books of Magic

The Books of Magic

The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...

series, in which they attempted to guide Tim Hunter

Timothy Hunter

Timothy Hunter, is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer published by DC Comics. He first appeared in The Books of Magic vol. 1 #1 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.-Publication history:...

 through various realms of Magic in the DC Universe

DC Universe

The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...

 in order to teach him all of Magic's abilities and consequences.

The group would later re-unite in the five-issue mini-series The Names of Magic, before finally getting their own mini-series.

Members

The names listed are those used while the character was associated with the "Trenchcoat Brigade".

First appearance is the place where the character first appeared as a member of the team. It is not necessarily the first appearance of the character in print, nor the story depicting how the character joined the team.

All information is listed in publication order first, then alphabetical.

Character	| Real name	| First appearance	| Notes
John Constantine John Constantine John Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...	John Constantine	The Books of Magic The Books of Magic The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo... #1 (December 1990)
Doctor Occult Doctor Occult Doctor Occult is a fictional character, a magic user in the . Created by Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Doctor Occult is the earliest character created by DC Comics still currently in use in its shared universe fiction....	Richard Occult	The Books of Magic #1 (December 1990)
Mister E Mister E Mister E is a fictional character that appears mainly in the Vertigo Comics universe, though he sometimes appears in the DC Comics universe. Created by Bob Rozakis and Jack C. Harris, the character first appeared in Secrets of Haunted House and was a recurring character for ten issues...	Erik	The Books of Magic #1 (December 1990)
Phantom Stranger Phantom Stranger The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...	N/A	The Books of Magic #1 (December 1990)
Rose Psychic Rose Psychic Rose Psychic is a DC Comics heroine affiliated with the company's first superhero, Doctor Occult. They were created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman. She first appeared in More Fun Comics #6 . She appeared in Dr. Occult's first story, and then disappears from the story...	Rose Spiritus	The Books of Magic #3 (February 1991)