Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Swamp Thing

I totally agree, Dave, that the bar for Swamp Thing is set high by past versions of the character. The New 52 version may not meet that bar, but it is a darn good comic. I don't mind the easy pace that was taken to get to issue #7's transformation. We're now in new territory with a Swamp Thing that is more independent, hopefully more in control of his own destiny, and has a compelling motivation. There's also a fresh threat. This was all accomplished without any disrespect for the historical foundations of the character. It took Synder some time to get here, but it's a good place to be. Paquette's work is rich in horrifying detail. I'm in for the long haul.

Just sat down and read the entire 7 issues. Rereading the first few again to get the wwhole effect.

This is a great series, and it does read better taken in bigger chunks.

Personally I like the separation form the past that they are doing. Taking what has gone before and stripping layers away to take him in a new direction.

#7's art was simply beautiful. The title character's new form is a little hard to process, so far. The Parliament of Trees is such a cool concept.

Even if you have no interest in reading this title, you should take a minute at your comics store and look through this issue. The layout and use of borders and color is really worth checking out.

Swamp Thing #8 takes the prize for book of the week. Okay, I only bought four books this week. They were all really good, though.
I've come to expect wonderful work from Paquette. Marco Rudy matched his detail, and their styles blended beautifully -- or more accurately horrifically. Oh my God, Abby!?! This book is going places Swamp Thing has never been before.

I just read Swamp Thing #1-7....in about 20 minutes. That's about one dollar per minute, for a story that essentially undoes everything Alan Moore did to convert a second-rate horror title into a true classic. Does DC really hate Moore that much?

And turning Abby, a truly unique character in many ways, into a gun-toting action hero on a motorcyle? Unforgivable.

Dropped. In fact, I'm going to pretend I never read it.

Yippee! It's the first Wednesday of the month again. My favorite day for new comics. Swamp Thing #9 takes the prize again this month. The art on this book absolutely rocks and just keeps getting better. Another transformation for Abby! We like this one. The slow pace of the first few issues has been replaced by one of non stop action and developments. The final page? Yeah! We knew we were going to get here eventually. That was one hell of a set up. Let the war begin.

(Edit) I got so excited I double posted. At least I didn't pee myself.

Swamp Thing and Animal Man both got off to excellent starts, but feel like they are drifting off course. The zero issues for the two were almost interchangeable. The classic origin stories for the characters are presented with the twist that the events were false covers manipulated to fit in the current Rot/Archane story line. In order for that to work, the story better be classic level - and right now it seems to be meandering. Fingers crossed that these books get back on track.

Disliked the zero issue. Completely changing the context of Swamp Thing's origin was one of the first things Moore did, so you can't fault Snyder for doing so, but it's also begs comparison and as good as Snyder is, he's not at the same level as Moore. This just came off as flat and in service to the ongoing story rather than exploring a larger context or dealing with characters. 13 issues in and I have no attachment to Abby or Alec like I have in prior runs.

I just discovered that DC/Vertigo has recently released a trade collecting the first 11 issues of that Mark Millar/Phil Hester run on Swamp Thing that I've recommended every so often on other threads. The first few issues within are co-written by Grant Morrison and feature an intriguing plot that makes Swampy doubt his origins as established by Alan Moore. (Don't worry--they don't really crap on Moore, imo.)

I thought I'd mention this as I've often lamented it not having been collected, so others could enjoy it. I hope they collect the entirety of the run if the trade does well!

It's called Swamp Thing: The Root of All Evil, and here's a link to it on In-Stock Trades for the pic and description.

The new Wein Swamp Thing was surprisingly good. I hadn't been enamored of Wein's last few outings as a writer, but I liked this. The prose was purple, but not too purple, and the tone felt right. Back to basics (Swamp Thing vs. a super-Zombie) was something that was needed. Unfortunately, I still really hate Kelly Jones artwork. I know he's one of the selling points, but I have never dug his style.

I didn't make it to the comic book store this week, but hopefully they'll still have copies of Swamp Thing this coming week. Thanks for the recommendation, Dave.

I'm afraid I found it very disappointing. The Swamp Thing I knew and loved didn't speak colloquially, like Wein has him doing here. I liked Jones in the 90s, but his art has really deteriorated here.

Sigh. The old saying, "You can't go home again," really rings true to me at this moment.

Well, Swamp Thing might not have an ongoing series, but he's been used really great in DC Rebirth so far. He's been a mainstay supporting character in Hellblazer and he had an excellent team-up with Superman in the Superman Annual. These appearances, IMO, are far better than all his DCnU appearances (including his own series) and gives me hope that writers and artists still know how to utilize him the right way.

Despite all that Rebirth has done that I like, I somehow still can't wrap my head around a strictly DCU Hellblazer, so I've not picked it up. I did get the Superman Annual and thought they did a good job with Swampy there (as they did with Frankenstein in the following issues).

So far--and this could easily be subject to change--you'd never know it was a DCU Hellblazer. And that has been very nice.

There's no North American (as opposed to British) swear words being used, but that was never a big part of John Constantine's world IMO. Other than than that, it's done purposely in the mold of the old Hellblazer series.

I just finished volume 1 of my Swamp Thing by Brian K Vaughn trades. I had stumbled across a set on eBay and decided to get them because of BKV's good name being on them. But like many of the trades I've amassed, I wasn't in any hurry to read them. I also knew the series didn't last long, plus the idea of a Swamp Thing series focused on his daughter Tefe always seemed like a bad idea. It certainly made the series a hard pass for me when it originally debuted. Also, this was pre-Y: The Last Man, so he hadn't made his name as yet.

I really enjoyed the first volume! I'm not going to sit here and proclaim it an instant classic, but this was some solid comics that fit in really well with what many of us consider to be Vertigo's identity. It's hip, has a counter-culture vibe, strong edgy characters and some certified horror elements. It kind of feels like a sister piece to Peter Milligan's Shade series, especially with its travelogue/quest vibe.

It starts out with a number of done-in-one stories that are pretty satisfying on their own. Later several characters from these stories return and make up Tefe's supporting cast. (I like that one member of her cast is a potted plant named Daphne!)

Anyhow, it's been entertaining. I like seeing a great writer cutting his teeth before his talent really takes off. It's not his best work, but it's still really good.

I enjoy the art as well by an artist I was unfamiliar with named Roger Peterson. His work is not highly stylized, but it is solid and works well for the story. The inks are originally by Joe Rubenstein and then by Rick Magyar. The overall effect is like a proto-Richard Case.

I guess the biggest praise I can give this is that I've decided to go ahead and read the concluding volume 2 instead of waiting to see how it ends on a later read. Overall, a pleasant surprise!