Month: March 2023

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Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Vol. 1

This is a review of Swamp Thing: Bronze Age Vol. 1. I have a confession to make. This is the very first graphic novel I read, back in 2022. Right now I’m eight issues into the first Moon Knight Epic Anthology, with no end in sight, so it’s a good thing I never wrote a review!

Swamp Thing is a comic with an interesting history. Alan Moore remade the character in the 1980’s, but it had a storied history before then. Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson created Swamp Thing back in the early 70’s, which makes sense, because that was the age of the superhero/horror mashup. Think Werewolf by Night, Tomb of Dracula, Creature Commandos, etc., etc., etc.

My feelings about this graphic novel did a 180 as I read it. Swamp Thing’s origin story – let’s put it nicely, here – has as many holes as Swiss Cheese. The plot: Alec and Linda Holland are working on their wondrous Bio-Restorative Formula. Apparently the only place they can do their experiments is in the middle of the Louisiana swamps, despite the fact that unsavory characters have an unsavory interest in their formula.

You’d think the government – which is very interested in the formula, also – could build them a lab, but apparently not. Instead, they send Matt Cable, the most incompetent security guard on earth, to watchdog them. All the bad guys have to do is watch the lab and wait until Cable leaves to patrol the area, which is what they do.

They blow up Alec’s lab. Unfortunately, Alec is in the lab when it’s blown up. He falls into the swamp waters, which combine with his Bio-Restorative Formula to somehow rejuvenate him – into a MOSS ENCRUSTED MOCKERY OF A MAN. After the thugs kill Swamp Thing’s wife, using the SAME EXACT METHOD, Swamp Thing takes his vengeance. Cable blames Swamp Thing instead of his own incompetence, and we have a series.

So yeah, the writing of the first issue isn’t exactly stellar. But the series finds its legs in the very next issue with the arrival of Swamp Thing’s greatest enemy, Arcane and his Un-Men. Other monsters follow – werewolves, stitched-together monsters, Lovecraftian creatures, zombies, mechanical men. There’s also a trip to Gotham City, where we get to see Swamp Thing punch out Batman in a single panel. This was 1970’s Batman, not the invincible crimefighting demigod we’ve all come to know and love.

The writing doesn’t get a lot better. Random shit happens. In a few instances, I got the impression the writer had his tongue firmly planted in cheek. There’s an issue later in the run that can kindly be called politically incorrect. The thing that sets this graphic novel apart and makes it special is Bernie Wrightson’s art, which is truly awesome.

Worth it for horror lovers, Swamp Thing groupies, and freaky art enthusiasts.

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Sandman Deluxe Edition Book Two

This is a review of Sandman Deluxe Edition Book Two. I read the first volume back in January. I think they might have changed the order of a few of the issues here and there, but am unsure. It’s been a long time since I read the original run.

The A-storyline begins with a meeting between Dream and his family, Dream, Death, Destiny, Desire, Despair, Delirium (known as The Endless). Desire goads Dream about the lover he banished to Hell for defying him. Dream, apparently unaware that he acted badly, notifies Lucifer that he’s coming to Hell to get his ex-lover back.

Lucifer responds by…retiring. Yes, you heard that right. Lucifer resigns as the Lord of Hell, kicks everyone out, locks Hell up, and gives Dream the key. Morpheus is now the proud owner of his own Hell, which turns out to be prime real estate. Pretty soon gods and entities from other pantheons are lining up to try to persuade the Dream Lord to give them Hell.

There are also a number of single-issue stories, featuring cats once owning the universe, an imprisoned Muse, Element Girl, a very special performance of The Tempest, Augustus Caesar, and Johanna Constantine vs. the French Inquisition. Top caliber!

Highly recommended.

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Marvel Masterworks Ms. Marvel Volume One

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks Ms. Marvel Volume One. Ms. Marvel is a Kree warrior with super strength who can fly and has a seventh sense, which does the same thing as Spider-Man’s spider sense AND gives her visions of the future. Ms. Marvel is also Carol Danvers, a human woman. They have two bodies (I think) but occupy the same space. I am unsure where one goes when the other is present. Maybe Limbo? I don’t know! Author’s note: this is all explained in Issue #13.

Carol Danvers works for the Daily Bugle as the editor of “Woman” Magazine. I might not have a seventh sense like Ms. Marvel, but I don’t think she’s long for the Daily Bugle. By the by, the most unrealistic thing about this graphic novel is the fact that Carol is a writer and can afford a penthouse apartment in New York City. Carol has migraines, which trigger her transformation into Ms. Marvel. At first neither is aware of the other, but that soon changes, and the question becomes ‘what’s going on?’

The what’s-going-on plot is firmly B-story, because this title has plenty of action! Ms. Marvel fights The Scorpion, Grotesk, DeathBird, AIM, and M.O.D.O.K. Lots of POWS, BLAMS, and THWOCKS. That’s fine, but what makes this graphic novel interesting is Ms. Marvel’s character, which is in flux. Credit for that goes to writer Chris Claremont (of X-Men) fame, who takes on the writing reins starting with the third issue. The art, handled by Jim Mooney, Carmine Infantino, and Sal Buscema, is excellent.

Ultimately, Ms. Marvel is written by male creators for a male audience. How do I know this? Well, in one issue, Carol Danvers fights a super-villain in a red bikini. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Spider-Man fight crime in a Speedo, but maybe I’m wrong. Writer Gerry Conway said in the Introduction, ‘we meant well,’ and I’ll take his word for it!

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Batman Golden Age Volume One

This is a review of Batman Golden Age Volume One. I’m not going to explain Batman. Just watch one of the fifty or so Batman movies, many of which repeat his origin story ad infinitum. This graphic novel runs over thirty issues, which is much longer than I expected. True, the stories are only twelve or so pages apiece, but that’s a lot of Batman.

I will be honest and say that I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. However, aspects of this graphic novel have, in the words of a Goodreads reviewer, aged about as well as milk. Some of these stories are racist/contain racist stereotypes, so know that going in.

Batman is Bruce Wayne, sluggard millionaire. At night he dresses up like a bat and fights crime. It never does any good, because by the end of this graphic novel New York City is as crime-ridden as it’s ever been. The cast is bare-bones. Bruce has a fiancée, whom he never sees unless she’s being threatened by werewolves. Bruce’s sidekick is Dick Grayson, aka Robin, and their dialogue is cringeworthy. Commissioner Gordon is around, but he wants to arrest Batman!

The rogue’s gallery fares better. We see a lot of The Joker, who’s pretty scary. The pages of this graphic novel contain many cackling mad scientists and homicidal maniacs, but what sets the Joker apart is callousness coupled with randomness. The term ‘serial killer’ hadn’t been invented in 1940, but The Joker is a picture-perfect portrait of one. There’s also a thief called The Cat, aka Cat Woman, who bewitches Batman with her feminine wiles. Also present is Dr. Hugo Strange, a Batman villain we don’t see much of nowadays.

The stories move fast, with lots of action, and are totally unrealistic. There’s a fair number of whodunits, most of which are obvious, but still fun. One of the stories is a King Kong tribute, another is a Dracula riff. Bob Kane and Bill Finger produced a lot of material together!