Swamp Thing #1


By Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette

Swamp Thing is one of those weird creations of synchronicity. At almost the same time, both Swamp Thing and Man-Thing appeared on the scene and fans have disagreed on who came first ever since (actually, it was a confluence of both coincidence and living situations as both muck monster creators lived together at the time). Despite some really impressive early horror appearances, Swamp Thing is most commonly associated with Sir Alan Moore of V for Vendetta and Watchmen fame. It was under the watchful beard of Sir Moore that Swamp Thing became an existential adventurer and grabbed the comic book reading world by storm. There have been several creators following Moore's run, but no one was capable of capturing the success that Swamp Thing enjoyed during the gravelly Englishman's tenure (though I quite like the Rick Veitch material).

Young newcomer to the comics world Scott Snyder has already made a name for himself with Batman: Gates of Gotham and the new Batman comic released this month. He has a knack for the dramatic and Gothic that makes him an ideal writer for Swamp Thing and a sensitive touch that allows the story to flow quite well.

Joining Snyder on this series is another popular name in comics, Yanick Paquette whom I enjoyed on the underrated Young X-Men. The artwork is beautifully horrific. Dead birds fall from the sky in Metropolis, bats descend in bloody heaps in the Bat cave and gnarled fish carcasses float past Aquaman in the ocean depths. Yes, in the first issue alone three superheroes appear, this establishing that this Swamp Thing exists in the DC Universe proper, not some alternate Vertigo-verse as he has done in the past. It's an exciting touch for me as it legitimizes the comic book and hints at all sorts of possibilities down the road.

One of the only gripes with this issue is that it relies on foreknowledge from other sources... I assume. Alec Holland is living in solitude, a retreat that is broken when Superman seeks out his help in dealing with the dead wildlife. Alex Holland is kind enough to recap his origin story involving a chemical compound that he became infected with when he attempted to destroy it after realizing that it was far too dangerous. The resulting chemical reaction created the Swamp Thing... but then he got better apparently and the Swamp Thing is no more.

The dialog hints at not only Swamp Thing's return but Holland's denial of the swamp creature and desire to never again join with The Green, the all-encompassing realm of the plant world. I cannot understand what's going on there and as it's a first issue and Superman is an all-new creation, this confuses me even more. At the conclusion, Swamp Thing appears to stop Alec from hurling a secreted container of serum into pieces. Again... confusion, but an inquisitive kind.

Despite these issues, I do highly recommend this comic and hope that it will become easier to read as it progresses. The writing is sharp and the artwork is great and spooky. It's a good Swamp Thing comic and it's new. Who knew such a thing was possible?

Swamp Thing has sold out at comic shops (I found my copy at a Barnes and Noble), but can be purchased as a download at Comixology.