Who is Swamp Thing? Where did he come from? What does he do?
Ah Swamp Thing. The latest in my series of obsessions and reading focuses. Going forward on this little review/analysis run, you’ll need to have the basic ground work set up for the character known as Swamp Thing. Created by Len Wein and artist Berni Wrightson, Swamp Thing made his first appearance in House of Secrets #92 in July 1971. I’m sure most of the important details for the character’s can be found easily on the Wikipedia page, so let me give you the short version. When Swamp Thing first appeared, he was under the name of Alex Olson. In 1972, the first Swamp Thing series ran for 24 issues, however, this Swamp Thing was under the name of Alec Holland. In this first run, many key characters that would be in the Swamp Thing Mythos were introduced. Abigail Arcane, her mad uncle Anton Arcane, and friend Matt Cable, and of course Linda and Alec Holland.
Swamp Thing’s origin seems rather simple, and for now i’ll keep it brief, but know along the way, we will be revisiting and exploring this, in deeper detail. Trust me, it will all make sense when the time comes. For now, Alec Holland was an incredible scientist, among other things. After an accident in his lab, Alec was set ablaze, while his wife Linda passed away. Alec fled into the swamp, and dove into the waters to free himself from the fire. What emerged much later, was Swamp Thing, a muck swampy, mossy, green creature. Swamp Thing’s adventure’s were in a horror-esque feature, a key staple for the runs and arcs to follow. He appeared later in the Challengers of the Unknown series, along with Deadman, marking one of a series of times the two characters meet, (although they don’t actually “meet” officially here.) The story is collected in Deadman Vol.4 (If I’m not mistaken.)
It’s difficult from here to discuss the direction of Swamp Thing, without touching into the story points and authors, which I will be doing later. And if it seems I’m being vague or barely touching upon certain points, this is only because, as mentioned earlier, I will be discussing them more in depth in future posts.
As far as the question “What is Swamp Thing, and what does he do?”, it’s a bit hard to explain. See, Swamp Thing’s main “roll” or “Job” is to tend to the garden of the world. In other words, protecting all the plant life of Earth, starting with his home, the swamp in Louisiana. What makes Swamp Thing so great, is the core concept of man versus monster, or in this case, man versus himself. Swamp Thing wants to be left alone, he wants to do his work, and be done with it. He has no interest in human affairs and their matters. However, his power makes a difference. He can make a difference. Many stories involve someone running into Swamp Thing, or seeking him out to help. And Swamp Thing does so. Of course this changes from story arc to writer, but it’s basically the same. Swamp Thing is constantly battling with his humanity. This is a big roll in Moore’s run, but explored so much deeper in Millar’s run. In the more recent New 52 series, Swamp Thing explores his concept and roll as being the champion of plant life on Earth.
Swamp Thing is incredibly interesting, and is different from most comics, especially superhero comics. His runs feature strange creatures, demons, magicians, aliens, gods, angels, and so much more. Again, horror is a big part of Swamp Thing, and unlike other comicbooks, sometimes there’s little to no action to be featured. No big punches, no big battles. A lot of it is talking or having moral debates. It doesn’t make the series boring, although it is wordy. It makes it highly enjoyable, and in most cases, the art blends with the words so nicely, you almost forget you’re reading a comicbook, and it feels like you’re actually reading a novel. Which isn’t a bad thing. Swamp Thing can still be fun, and at times has it’s moments of humor, strange and satirical as it can be.
Reading this first 24 issues of Swamp Thing, is a bit of a challenge. Last I understood, they’re not being fully published. DC originally published the first 10 issues and House of Secrets #92, in a collected edition called “Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis”. However, these days, it’s incredibly difficult to find, if there are any “new” copies around, and it is out of print. Thankfully, there’s been a reprinting for it, under the name “Roots of the Swamp Thing”, which now collects up to issue 13 of the original series. These were also the only issues written by Len Wein. Recently, there was rumor’s around the web about a Volume 2 for Roots of the Swamp Thing, potentially completing the remainder of the series (13-24) written by David Michelinie and Gerry Conway. Sadly, as of right now, those rumors have vanished, and it does not look like DC has any interest in making it a reality. Along with many of Swamp Thing collected editions that are now out of print, or simply never collected or reprinted. However, they did recently release Mark Millar’s Swamp Thing run, that was about 30 some issues, over three trades, in the time frame of about 1 year, so there is some hope.
Swamp Thing was later given a new series, under the name “Saga of the Swamp Thing” in 1982, about a decade after his first series launched. This new series was to coincide with the Wes Craven film (yes, the famed Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven). The master of horror films making a Swamp Thing film, it seemed perfect, but it wasn’t. In fact, don’t even bother looking into it, stick to the comics instead. Martin Pasko would write this new Swamp Thing. While the first Swamp Thing series focused more on mad men and monsters in an anthology style story (creature of the week, if you will) Pasko tried to do something a little more…creative, by having more of an overarching plot. They also contained back up issues featuring the Phantom Stranger (ah…a character to explore for another time!), and resulted in them not only teaming up within this series, but having many encounters down the road. Pasko only wrote the first 19 issues of this new series before leaving. Taking his place would be a writer who was fairly unknown; Alan Moore. But more on that next time (along with a full view of Pasko’s run).
Swamp Thing written by Len is genius. He had a way of making everything you read sound like poetry, which I believe inspired future writers, namely Moore and Millar. Take a look at this excerpt from issue #2 of Swamp Thing:
“The Night is made of fog: a musky gray blanket that lies upon the landscape like a shroud, oppressing all it embraces…treetops, hillocks, everything covered by the same pervading mist…”
If somehow you’re able to find the 24 issues of the first volume (that is the first series) of Swamp Thing, I recommend you get them. At the very least, pick up Roots of the Swamp Thing, available in trade paperback and hardcover, and read the first 13 issues, and the issue that started it all. It’s well worth it. It does feel a little dated, but it’s a great read.
That was a mouthful. The reason I sort of glossed over these first 24 issues, is because of how much is changed or retconed later, that is to say, ignored. For example, Alec’s brother, or the fact he pretty much turned from Swamp Thing back to Alec. Other things remained a staple however, such as the characters I mentioned earlier, and the death of Anton Arcane. I’m sure everyone is much more interested in what I have to say about “the legendary” run of Swamp Thing, written by Alan Moore, starting on Saga of the Swamp Thing #20 all the way through #64. And yes, it’s quite good. We’ll jump right in, starting with Pasko’s run first, next time.
COMIC BOOK HERETIC 