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Swamp Thing
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
FormatOngoing series
Genre
Publication dateMay 1982 – October 1996
No. of issues178 (171 main, 7 annuals)
Main character(s)
Creative team
Created byLen Wein
Written by
List
Editor(s)

Swamp Thing, known as The Saga of the Swamp Thing for its first 30 issues, is an American comic book published by DC Comics. The second ongoing series to feature DC's Swamp Thing character following the original 1972–1976 series, Swamp Thing lasted 178 issues from May 1982 until its cancellation in October 1996. Beginning with issue #129 (March 1993), the series was published under DC's Vertigo imprint for mature readers. Since its initial publication, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions.

Upon learning of the 1982 Swamp Thing film directed by Wes Craven, Swamp Thing co-creator Len Wein suggested to then-publisher Jenette Kahn that DC should revive the Swamp Thing series. Wein recruited his friend Martin Pasko to write the series. After Pasko left, Wein hired then-unknown British writer Alan Moore, who drastically overhauled the series. Moore reimagined and deconstructed Swamp Thing while driving the series in a more adult-oriented direction. Various writers contributed to the series following Moore's departure, including Rick Veitch, Doug Wheeler, Nancy A. Collins, Grant Morrison, and Mark Millar.

The horror comic centers on Swamp Thing, a swamp monster who lives in Houma, Louisiana. Swamp Thing acts as the defender of the Parliament of Trees, an elemental community which rules a dimension, "the Green", that connects all plant life in the DC Universe. Swamp Thing battles various supernatural or terrorist threats, including his archenemy, Dr. Anton Arcane, and supervillains such as the Floronic Man and Lex Luthor. The series features a large cast of recurring characters—such as Swamp Thing's wife Abby Holland and mystic advisor John Constantine—and frequent guest appearances from other DC characters, including Batman, Etrigan, and Dream.

Publication history[edit]

Development[edit]

The DC Comics character Swamp Thing, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, first appeared in House of Secrets #92 (July 1971). Swamp Thing was an immediate hit—with his debut issue outselling that month's comics featuring DC juggernauts Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman—and received his own ongoing series the following year.[1]: 6  Swamp Thing was canceled in 1976 due to declining sales. In 1982, Wein, now working as both a writer and an editor at DC, learned that filmmaker Wes Craven was adapting Swamp Thing to film that year. He approached then-publisher Jenette Kahn and told her that, since Swamp Thing was soon to be a film, he felt there should be a comic to go along with it, to which Kahn agreed.[1]: 7 

Wein did not want to write the revived Swamp Thing, so he took it upon himself to appoint a new creative team. He recruited Martin Pasko, a close friend, to handle writing duties, and Tom Yeates, "one of the foremost graduates of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art", to be the artist. Pasko wrote the comic for 19 issues, although Dan Mishkin filled in for two issues;[1]: 7  Mike W. Barr provided back-up stories featuring the Phantom Stranger for the first 13 issues. While Wein spoke highly of Pasko's work,[1]: 7  Rick Veitch recalled that the general consensus was that Swamp Thing was "typical comic book fluff — there wasn't much going on. I was positive the whole thing was going to crash." Yeates left the series early on because he felt too pressured working on a monthly comic; according to Wein, John Totleben and Steve Bissette immediately came to him "pleading for the opportunity to replace [Yeates]."[1]: 8  According to editor Karen Berger, both Tolteben and Bissette wanted to move the series in a more horror-oriented direction when they joined.

After Pasko chose to leave the series, Wein struggled to find a replacement writer he deemed "of equal caliber". After failing to find any American writers, he decided to ask British writer Alan Moore. Wein was a fan of Moore, having followed his work in British weeklies like 2000 AD and Warrior, and got ahold of Moore's phone number and called him.[1]: 7  Moore promptly hung up, thinking Wein was a prank caller, and Wein spent several minutes frantically trying to call him back to convince him otherwise. After a few days of deliberation, Moore called Wein back to accept the offer and explain his intentions to change the Swamp Thing mythos, to which Wein "eagerly" agreed. Moore used his first Swamp Thing story, "Loose Ends", to wrap up the unresolved plot threads that Pasko left and set the groundwork for where he wanted to take the comic.[1]: 8 

Publication[edit]

Collected editions[edit]

The entire Swamp Thing series is available digitally on the DC Universe streaming service.[2] Since the Vertigo imprint's retirement in January 2020, reprints of Swamp Thing have been published under the DC Black Label imprint. An omnibus edition reprinting Collins' run for the first time since its initial publication was released in April 2020.[3]

Synopsis[edit]

NOTE: I'M GOING TO TRIM THESE. They will be extremely long at first, but I will narrow it down to the most important beats.

Pasko (issues #1–19)[edit]

Moore (issues #20–64)[edit]

The Sunderland Corporation hunts down and kills Swamp Thing, and brings him to Sunderland. In turn, Sunderland recruits Jason Woodrue, the supervillain Floronic Man, to perform an autopsy of Swamp Thing. Woodrue discovers that Swamp Thing is not Alec Holland; Holland had indeed died in the explosion, and the swamp vegetation had absorbed his consciousness and memories and created a new sentient being that only believed itself to be Alec Holland. Sunderland rejects Woodrue's findings, so Woodrue revives Swamp Thing in retaliation. Swamp Thing reads Woodrue's report and, in a fit of rage, kills Sunderland. He returns to the swamp, where, in shock, he goes into a catatonic state.

Woodrue follows Swamp Thing to Houma, and eats parts of him to contact the Green—the life force of all plants on Earth. The experience drives Woodrue insane, and he sets out to destroy all non-plant life on Earth by forcing the plants to produce an excess amount of oxygen. As a demonstration of his power, he attacks a Louisiana town and kills its entire population. Abby manages to revive Swamp Thing, who confronts Woodrue. Swamp Thing explains to the Green that plants cannot survive without humans and animals—as Woodrue's actions would deprive them of the carbon dioxide that they require to breathe—forcing Woodrue to acknowledge that his actions are of a man rather than a plant. The Green abandons Woodrue, who attempts to escape but is captured by the Justice League and incarcerated in Arkham Asylum. Swamp Thing returns to the swamp and embraces the fact he is not Alec Holland.

Abby begins working at Elysium Lawns as a teacher for autistic children. She is approached by Jason Blood, who warns her that the children are in danger. Abby learns that the children are being tormented by the "Monkey King", an entity that appears to each child as what they fear most. That night, Swamp Thing and Abby go to Elysium, where they encounter the creature as it torments the children. Blood's demonic alter ego, Etrigan, breaks in and attacks it. Etrigan warns Abby that the invocation that unleashed the Monkey King also spells trouble for her, before reverting back into Blood. Elsewhere, a drunken Matt crashes his car and is mortally wounded, but manages to avoid death after a fly appears and offers him an escape. Abby's relationship with Matt improves, and he buys a mansion for the two. When Abby visits Matt's new job, Blackriver Recorporations, she has a vision of his coworkers as decaying corpses.

While at the library, Abby discovers a book about one of Matt's coworkers; the book reveals that she was a serial killer who was killed by police in 1962. Abby realizes that Matt is possessed by the spirit of Arcane, and that his coworkers are resurrected serial killers. Arcane captures Abby and reveals it was he who incited the Monkey King's release to distract her and Swamp Thing so he could possess Matt. Arcane uses Matt's powers to cause disasters across Earth, kills Abby, and condemns her soul to Hell; he then lures Swamp Thing to the mansion to taunt him. Swamp Thing uses his elemental powers to weaken Arcane, allowing Matt to retake control and resend Arcane to Hell. Matt's injuries return, and he uses the remainder of his power to bring Abby back to life before falling into a coma. However, he is unable to save her soul. Swamp Thing uses his connection to the Green to enter the afterlife, where, with the help of Etrigan, the Phantom Stranger, Deadman, and the Spectre, he rescues her.

Swamp Thing and Abby spend more time together, and Abby develops feelings for him. After learning that Matt will never awaken from his coma, Abby confesses her love to Swamp Thing, who reveals he feels the same in return, and the two declare themselves husband and wife. Afterward, Abby is confronted by John Constantine, who threatens to expose the relationship if she does not lead him to Swamp Thing. Constantine offers to teach Swamp Thing about his powers if he performs various tasks across America, such as destroying a colony of vampires and fighting a werewolf. Swamp Thing and Abby grow increasingly agitated by Constantine's manipulative behavior. When the destruction of the Multiverse begins, Constantine finally explains that the evils Swamp Thing has been fighting are the work of the Brujería, a South American cult. The Brugería foresaw the destruction of the Multiverse, and is planning to use it as a distraction to summon an evil spirit.[a]

Veitch and Wheeler (issues #65–109)[edit]

The Parliament of Trees, believing Swamp Thing is dead, grows a Sprout to replace him. Unwilling to sacrifice an innocent life, Swamp Thing convinces the Parliament that he will take the Sprout as his own child. Swamp Thing possesses Constantine to impregnate Abby; as they have sex, the Phantom Stranger and Etrigan bemoan that Swamp Thing is unaware that Constantine had received a blood transfusion from the demon Nergal,[b] and that this will pass on to Abby's child. Shortly afterward, Batman arrives in Houma, suffering from a mysterious infection; healing him, Swamp Thing discovers that Batman's illness was caused by the Grey, a fungus-themed elemental realm in opposition to the Parliament of Trees.

The alien Dominators attack Earth, and when they begin their attack, they throw Swamp Thing into the timestream.[c] Swamp Thing travels backwards through time, fighting alongside Sgt. Rock and the Unknown Soldier during World War II and encountering Etrigan before the destruction of Camelot. As Swamp Thing travels through time, Matt dies; his soul wanders into the Dreaming, where Dream of the Endless offers him shelter.[d] Swamp Thing returns in time to witness the birth of the Sprout, a baby girl he and Abby name Tefé.

Collins (issues #110–138)[edit]

Morrison and Millar (issues #140–171)[edit]

Themes and analysis[edit]

Reception and legacy[edit]

Spin-off[edit]

Main article: Hellblazer

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This storyline ties into the company-wide Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985–1986) crossover event. Swamp Thing #46 (March 1986) is a labeled tie-in to the crossover.
  2. ^ As depicted in John Constantine, Hellblazer #8 (August 1988).
  3. ^ This storyline is part of the company-wide Invasion! (1988–1989) crossover event. Swamp Thing #80 (December 1988) acts as a prologue to the crossover, while Swamp Thing #81 (Holiday 1988) is a labeled tie-in.
  4. ^ Matt's death occurs in Swamp Thing #84 (March 1989). He becomes a recurring character in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (1989–1996) afterwards, beginning with The Sandman #11 (December 1989).

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wein, Len; Moore, Alan (2012). "Home Again, Home Again: An Introduction of Sorts". Saga of the Swamp Thing Book One. Burbank, California: DC Comics. pp. 6–8. ISBN 978-1-4012-2083-9.
  2. ^ "Swamp Thing (1982-1996)". DC Universe. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Collins, Nancy (April 7, 2020). "Swamp Thing by Nancy Collins Omnibus". DC Comics. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
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