SWAMP THING
Introduction & Volume 1
The Swamp Thing character first appeared in House Of Secrets #92 (June–July 1971), under the name Alex Olsen. The comic is set in the early 20th century, when Olsen, a scientist, is caught in a lab explosion caused by his co-worker, Damian Ridge, who intended to kill him to gain the hand of Olsen's wife Linda. Olsen is physically altered by chemicals and the forces within the swamp. He is transformed into a monstrous creature who kills Ridge before the latter can murder Linda, who has started to suspect Ridge of murdering Alex. Unable to make Linda realize his true identity, he returns to the swamp.
After the success of the short story in the House Of Secrets, the original creators were asked to write an ongoing series, depicting a more heroic, more contemporary creature. In Swamp Thing #1 (October–November 1972) Wein and Wrightson updated the time frame to the 1970s and featured a new version character: Alec Holland, a scientist working in the Louisiana swamps on a secret bio-restorative formula "that can make forests out of deserts". Holland is killed by a bomb planted by agents of the mysterious Mr. E, who wants the formula. Splashed with burning chemicals in the massive fire, Holland runs from the lab and falls into the muck-filled swamp, after which a creature resembling a humanoid plant appears.
Swamp Thing (Vol. 1) ran for 24 issues (1972-1976).
After the success of the short story in the House Of Secrets, the original creators were asked to write an ongoing series, depicting a more heroic, more contemporary creature. In Swamp Thing #1 (October–November 1972) Wein and Wrightson updated the time frame to the 1970s and featured a new version character: Alec Holland, a scientist working in the Louisiana swamps on a secret bio-restorative formula "that can make forests out of deserts". Holland is killed by a bomb planted by agents of the mysterious Mr. E, who wants the formula. Splashed with burning chemicals in the massive fire, Holland runs from the lab and falls into the muck-filled swamp, after which a creature resembling a humanoid plant appears.
Swamp Thing (Vol. 1) ran for 24 issues (1972-1976).
Collected Editions
- DC Comics Classics Library: Roots of the Swamp Thing (#1-13, House Of Secrets #92);
- Roots of the Swamp Thing ( #1-13, House Of Secrets #92);
- Secret of the Swamp Thing (#1-10);
- Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis (#1-10, House Of Secrets #92).
Volume 2
In 1982, DC Comics revived the Swamp Thing series, attempting to capitalize on the summer 1982 release of the Wes Craven film of the same name. A revival had been planned for 1978, but was a victim of the DC Implosion. The new series, called Saga Of The Swamp Thing, featured an adaptation of the Craven movie in its first annual. Now written by Martin Pasko, the book loosely picked up after Swamp Thing's appearance in Challengers Of The Unknown #83-87 (1977-1978), with the character wandering around the swamps of Louisiana seen as an urban legend and feared by locals. Pasko's main arc depicted Swamp Thing roaming the globe, trying to stop a young girl (and possible Anti-Christ) named Karen Clancy from destroying the world.
When Pasko quit, editor Len Wein assigned the title to British writer Alan Moore. When Karen Berger took over as editor, she gave Moore free rein to revamp the title and the character as he saw fit. Moore reconfigured Swamp Thing's origin to make him a true monster as opposed to a human transformed into a monster. In his first issue, he swept aside most of the supporting cast Pasko had introduced in his year-and-a-half run as writer, and brought the Sunderland Corporation to the forefront, as they hunted Swamp Thing and "killed" him in a hail of bullets. The subsequent investigation revealed that Swamp Thing was not Alec Holland's consciousness transformed into a plant but actually a form of plant life that had absorbed Holland's consciousness after exposure to his work, with Swamp Thing's appearance being the plants' attempt to duplicate Holland's human form. This resulted in Swamp Thing suffering a temporary mental breakdown and identity crisis, but he eventually reasserted himself in time to stop the latest scheme of the Floronic Man.
Moore would later reveal, in an attempt to connect the original one-off Swamp Thing story from House Of Secrets to the main Swamp Thing canon, that there had been dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Swamp Things since the dawn of humanity, and that all versions of the creature were designated defenders of the Parliament of Trees, an elemental community also known as "the Green" that connects all plant life on Earth. Moore's Swamp Thing had a profound effect on mainstream comic books, being the first horror comic to approach the genre from a literary point of view since the EC horror comics of the 1950s, and he broadened the scope of the series to include ecological and spiritual concerns while retaining its horror-fantasy roots.
In issue #37, Moore formally introduced the character of John Constantine as a magician/con artist who would lead Swamp Thing on the American Gothic story line. Alan Moore also introduced the concept of the DC characters Cain and Abel being the Biblical Cain and Abel caught in a cycle of murder and resurrection.
Saga Of The Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code Authority.
With issue #65, regular penciler Rick Veitch took over from Alan Moore and began scripting the series, continuing the story in a roughly similar vein for 24 more issues. Veitch's term ended in 1989 in a widely publicized creative dispute, when DC refused to publish issue #88 because of the use of Jesus Christ as a character despite having previously approved the script in which Swamp Thing is a cupbearer who offers Jesus water when he calls for it from the cross. The series was handed over to Doug Wheeler, starting with #88.
After a period of high creative turnover, in 1991 DC sought to revive interest in Swamp Thing by bringing horror writer Nancy A. Collins on board to write the series. Starting with Swamp Thing Annual #6, Collins moved on to write Swamp Thing #110-138, dramatically overhauling the series by restoring the pre-Alan Moore tone and incorporating a new set of supporting cast members into the book. Collins' stories tended to be ecologically based and at one point featured giant killer flowers.
Shortly after Collins' departure, Black Orchid series writer Dick Foreman wrote a two-part crossover between the two titles: Black Orchid (Vol. 2) #5 and Swamp Thing #139.
With issue #140 (March 1994), the title was handed over to Grant Morrison for a four-issue arc, co-written by the then unknown Mark Millar. As Collins had destroyed the status quo of the series, Morrison sought to shake the book up with a four-part storyline which had Swamp Thing plunged into a nightmarish dream-world scenario where he was split into two separate beings: Alec Holland and Swamp Thing, which was now a mindless being of pure destruction. Millar then took over from Morrison with issue #144, and launched what was initially conceived as an ambitious 25-part storyline where Swamp Thing would be forced to go upon a series of trials against rival elemental forces. Millar brought the series to a close with issue #171 in a finale where Swamp Thing becomes the master of all elemental forces, including the planet.
Swamp Thing (Vol. 2) ran for 171 issues and 7 Annuals, from May 1982 to October 1996.
NOTE:
From #1-30 the title reads ''The Saga Of The Swamp Thing'', then simply ''Swamp Thing'' from #31-171.
When Pasko quit, editor Len Wein assigned the title to British writer Alan Moore. When Karen Berger took over as editor, she gave Moore free rein to revamp the title and the character as he saw fit. Moore reconfigured Swamp Thing's origin to make him a true monster as opposed to a human transformed into a monster. In his first issue, he swept aside most of the supporting cast Pasko had introduced in his year-and-a-half run as writer, and brought the Sunderland Corporation to the forefront, as they hunted Swamp Thing and "killed" him in a hail of bullets. The subsequent investigation revealed that Swamp Thing was not Alec Holland's consciousness transformed into a plant but actually a form of plant life that had absorbed Holland's consciousness after exposure to his work, with Swamp Thing's appearance being the plants' attempt to duplicate Holland's human form. This resulted in Swamp Thing suffering a temporary mental breakdown and identity crisis, but he eventually reasserted himself in time to stop the latest scheme of the Floronic Man.
Moore would later reveal, in an attempt to connect the original one-off Swamp Thing story from House Of Secrets to the main Swamp Thing canon, that there had been dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Swamp Things since the dawn of humanity, and that all versions of the creature were designated defenders of the Parliament of Trees, an elemental community also known as "the Green" that connects all plant life on Earth. Moore's Swamp Thing had a profound effect on mainstream comic books, being the first horror comic to approach the genre from a literary point of view since the EC horror comics of the 1950s, and he broadened the scope of the series to include ecological and spiritual concerns while retaining its horror-fantasy roots.
In issue #37, Moore formally introduced the character of John Constantine as a magician/con artist who would lead Swamp Thing on the American Gothic story line. Alan Moore also introduced the concept of the DC characters Cain and Abel being the Biblical Cain and Abel caught in a cycle of murder and resurrection.
Saga Of The Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code Authority.
With issue #65, regular penciler Rick Veitch took over from Alan Moore and began scripting the series, continuing the story in a roughly similar vein for 24 more issues. Veitch's term ended in 1989 in a widely publicized creative dispute, when DC refused to publish issue #88 because of the use of Jesus Christ as a character despite having previously approved the script in which Swamp Thing is a cupbearer who offers Jesus water when he calls for it from the cross. The series was handed over to Doug Wheeler, starting with #88.
After a period of high creative turnover, in 1991 DC sought to revive interest in Swamp Thing by bringing horror writer Nancy A. Collins on board to write the series. Starting with Swamp Thing Annual #6, Collins moved on to write Swamp Thing #110-138, dramatically overhauling the series by restoring the pre-Alan Moore tone and incorporating a new set of supporting cast members into the book. Collins' stories tended to be ecologically based and at one point featured giant killer flowers.
Shortly after Collins' departure, Black Orchid series writer Dick Foreman wrote a two-part crossover between the two titles: Black Orchid (Vol. 2) #5 and Swamp Thing #139.
With issue #140 (March 1994), the title was handed over to Grant Morrison for a four-issue arc, co-written by the then unknown Mark Millar. As Collins had destroyed the status quo of the series, Morrison sought to shake the book up with a four-part storyline which had Swamp Thing plunged into a nightmarish dream-world scenario where he was split into two separate beings: Alec Holland and Swamp Thing, which was now a mindless being of pure destruction. Millar then took over from Morrison with issue #144, and launched what was initially conceived as an ambitious 25-part storyline where Swamp Thing would be forced to go upon a series of trials against rival elemental forces. Millar brought the series to a close with issue #171 in a finale where Swamp Thing becomes the master of all elemental forces, including the planet.
Swamp Thing (Vol. 2) ran for 171 issues and 7 Annuals, from May 1982 to October 1996.
NOTE:
From #1-30 the title reads ''The Saga Of The Swamp Thing'', then simply ''Swamp Thing'' from #31-171.
Collected Editions
- Saga Of The Swamp Thing (#21-27);
- Love And Death (#28-34);
- The Curse (#35-42);
- A Murder Of Crows (#43-50).
Alan Moore's Run (Hardcover)
- Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 01, Collects Issues (#20-27);
- Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 02, Collects Issues (#28-34 and Swamp Thing Annual #2);
- Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 03, Collects Issues (#35-42);
- Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 04, Collects Issues (#43-50);
- Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 05, Collects Issues (#51-56);
- Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 06, Collects Issues (#57-64).
Trade Paperback
- Saga of the Swamp Thing (#21-27); -> Beginning of Alan Moore's run.
- Swamp Thing: Love and Death (#28-34);
- Swamp Thing: The Curse (#35-42);
- Swamp Thing: A Murder of Crows (#43-50);
- Swamp Thing: Earth to Earth (#51-56);
- Swamp Thing: Reunion (#57-64); -> Ending of Alan Moore's run.
- Swamp Thing: Regenesis (#65-70); -> Rick Veitch begins his run after Alan Moore's conclusion.
- Swamp Thing: Spontaneous Generation (#71-76);
- Swamp Thing: Infernal Triangles (#77-81, Annual #3) -> Ending of Rick Veitch's run.
- Swamp Thing: The Root of All Evil (#140-150).
- Swamp Thing: Darker Genesis (#151-160).
Volume 3
The third series focuses on the daughter of the Swamp Thing, Tefé Holland.
This volume ran for 20 issues, from May 2000 to December 2001.
This volume ran for 20 issues, from May 2000 to December 2001.
Collected Editions
- Swamp Thing by Brian K. Vaughan Volume One (#1-9, a story from Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #3 and pages from Vertigo: Secret Files & Origins: Swamp Thing #1)
- Swamp Thing by Brian K. Vaughan Volume Two (#10-20 and pages from Vertigo: Secret Files & Origins: Swamp Thing #1)
Volume 4
In Swamp Thing (Vol. 4), Swamp Thing is reverted to his plant-based Earth Elemental status after the first story line, and he attempts to live an "eventless" life in the Louisiana swamps. Tefé, likewise, is rendered powerless and mortal.
This volume ran for 29 issues (from May 2004 to September 2006). Issue #29, intended to be the final issue of this volume, was cancelled due to low sales numbers.
This volume ran for 29 issues (from May 2004 to September 2006). Issue #29, intended to be the final issue of this volume, was cancelled due to low sales numbers.
Collected Editions
- #01-06: Bad Seed;
- #09-14: Love In Vain;
- #15-20: Healing The Breach.
Volume 5 (The New 52)
DC Comics relaunched Swamp Thing with issue #1 in September 2011, as part of The New 52.
This volume ran for 40 issues and also included:
This volume ran for 40 issues and also included:
- #0;
- #23.1;
- Swamp Thing: Futures End #1;
- 3 Annuals.
Collected Editions
- Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder (#0-18);
- Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones (#1-7);
- Vol. 2: Family Tree (#8-11, 0 and Swamp Thing Annual #1);
- Animal Man: Rotworld - The Red Kingdom (#12,17,18 and Animal Man #12-17);
- Vol. 3: Rotworld - The Green Kingdom (#12-18);
- DC Comics The New 52 Villains Omnibus (#23.1);
- Vol. 4: Seeder (#19-23 & 23.1);
- Vol. 5: The Killing Field (#24-27);
- Vol. 6: The Sureen (#28-34).