Tag: alan moore

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Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Three

  

This is a review of Saga of the Swamp Thing Volume Three, which continues Alan Moore’s groundbreaking run on the title. One of the eye-openers of this volume is reading John Totleben’s (the artist’s) introduction and realizing how much of a collaborative process comic creation is. The idea for Nukeface, one of the series more memorable characters, came from Mr. Totleben.

Swamp Thing continues be a status quo breaker. Most superhero comic series love the status quo and hate change. True, things may seem to change, but they almost always revert back to the mean. The tried and true method is to have the title character quit/die/get his or her brain swapped/be transported back in time or to another dimension. While they are on the shelf (it’s always temporary), someone else takes up the mantle.

This has happened to Spider-Man (brain swap with Dr. Octopus), Thor (unworthy of Mjolnir), Iron Man (Tony goes back on the sauce), Captain America (assassinated), Superman (killed by Doomsday), Green Lantern (quit, died), and so on. The most notable instance that I’ve read this year is the first volume of Knightfall, when Batman’s back is broken by supervillain/steroid freak Bane, and he is replaced by a guy who turned out to be so unpopular DC killed him and didn’t bother resurrecting him.

Anyway, Alan Moore’s version of Swamp Thing thrives on real change. After his tryst with Abigail Arcane, the Swampster encounters an irradiated hobo named Nukeface who calls everyone Ed. Even though Nukeface’s touch means death, he really isn’t a bad fellow. Like everyone else, Nukeface needs to eat and drink – except he eats & drinks toxic sludge.

Swamp Thing is irradiated, dies, and manages to regrow his body. Shit gets even realer with the arrival of John Constantine, a nasty Englishman who looks like a young Sting (of the Police) and is partly based on Jerry Cornelius (created by Michael Moorcock). Constantine is an occultist, and he leads Swamp Thing on a merry chase across the country, where he encounters aquatic vampires, a werewolf story (that was quite controversial at the time), and finally zombies.

A great horror comic.

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Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book Two

This is a review of Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Two. This volume continues fabled writer Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing, aided and abetted by wondrous artwork by John Totleben and Stephen Bissette. You can read my review of the first volume, here.

This graphic novel features Abigail Arcane, who has patched up her marital disputes with husband Matthew. Matt has ditched the sauce for more important things – he buys a house, gets a job, all that good adult shit. True, there are flies all over that house, his co-workers resemble dead serial killers, and don’t look at him too close in a mirror – but besides that, Matt is doing great. He also has godlike powers, because reasons.

Turns out Abby’s wicked uncle Arcane is infesting Matt’s body. Arcane might be dead, but death can’t hold a good villain down. Before Arcane reveals himself, we see the beginning and aftermath of a sexual encounter between him and his unknowing niece, which qualifies as incest and wins an award for one of the grossest moments in mainstream comic book history.

It also qualifies as a problematic scene. Later in the book, Swamp Thing and Abigail enter into an honest-to-God consensual relationship that feels real, something exceedingly rare in comics. Comic book relationships usually feature a lot of the other half being ditched at dinner or being held hostage by Lex Luthor, and often culminate in a fridging when the new writer wants to get rid of the character. It’s interesting that the same author wrote both scenes.

Not to overstate things, but this is a groundbreaking series. Alan Moore casts a shadow over comics that spans decades. His Watchmen miniseries was instrumental in bringing about something called the Dark Age of Comics. One can argue whether this was a good thing, but there’s no denying his influence. And this is the series where he made his bones (amongst Americans, that is).

So yeah, if you like horror comics you should read this.

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Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book One

 This is a review of Saga of the Swamp Thing Book One. This volume marks the start of writer Alan Moore’s fabled run on Swamp Thing, and features great art by John Totleben and Stephen Bissette. The first issue starts with a bang, literally. Alec Holland, the man behind the moss-encrusted monstrosity of a man, is shot in the head by a kill squad sent by the Sunderland Corporation. Yes, Alec Holland is dead, but Swamp Thing is another matter.

Swamp Thing’s body is examined via autopsy by Jason Woodrue, aka the supervillain The Floronic Man. Woodrue realizes that the Swampster needs none of the internal organs that are in his body. He also discovers that the Swamp Thing doesn’t need to breathe oxygen because he’s a plant. Most importantly, you can’t kill a plant by shooting it in the head. Sure enough, Swamp Thing awakens, reads his own file, and wreaks vengeance on Sunderland. Woodrue himself goes crazy and declares war on the human race, as one does.

 Afterwards, we meet The Monkey King, a demon that feeds on fear. The Monkey King is hiding in a home for troubled children, where Swamp Thing supporting character Abigail Arcane works. This story guest stars Jason Blook, aka Etrigan The Demon (created by Jack Kirby).

A must read!