collecting issues #21 to #27 of the monthly DC title ‘Saga of the Swamp Thing’ (1982-1986)
Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Steve Bissette(p), John Totleben(i), Tatjana Wood(c)
Publisher: DC/Vertigo (ISBN: 0-930289-22-6)
Plot:
There…gray, brittle, tattooed by frost, quite dead…This was my first glimpse of the Swamp Thing.
This volume’s two mini-arcs see the Swamp Thing reinvented from the ground up as we learn that you do not need to be human to be a hero. First he subdues the efforts of a mad scientist, played by previous second-stringer, but now deadly villain, Jason Woodrue aka the Floronic Man.
Next, we see the a well-known, yet horrific, DC character come to town on a mission to fight off a fear-eating monster as the Swamp Thing does what he can to save the lives of innocents.
Comments:
It seems where demons fail and monsters falter, angels may prevail.
To put it simply, Alan Moore’s work on Swamp Thing in the mid-eighties is one of the most important runs in all of comic book history. This was the first title to use comics as an adult medium and to tell very mature, dark, and intelligent stories. It was Moore’s groundbreaking work on Swamp Thing that would lead to the inception of the ‘Vertigo’ imprint, and inspire a previously unknown Neil Gaiman to write a book of his own. Also, since Moore’s legendary run twenty years ago, Swamp Thing has come to serve as a training ground for some of the best and brightest writers of today, namely Mark Millar, Brian K. Vaughan and most recently Andy Diggle. All of this was kicked off by some unknown, wordy British dude who took over a vegetating title that nobody cared about in the spring of ’84.
Thanks for bearing with me through that brief adult comic book ‘anatomy lesson’, but it would be criminal to comment on this title without also commenting on its historical significance within the industry. Alan Moore has made many amazing contributions to the comic book world, and this is one of his most important. It is also one of his best. When Moore took over the ailing title, sales had been driven into the ground and the book was on the verge of cancellation. And yet in a few short issues, he, along with his artistic genius collaborators, had managed to turn it into a title that had caught the eye of the entire industry.
When we are introduced to the Swamp Thing he is, by all appearances, dead. Over the course of the first issue we find that the old and evil General Sunderland has hired Jason Woodrue to study the corpse of the Swamp Thing. He labors over the scientific marvel for weeks in an attempt to unlock the secrets of the bio-restorative formula that created the mossy monstrosity. Woodrue comes to learn that “you can’t kill a vegetable by shooting it through the head” and from there the reader is ushered into a dark and wonderful tale full of evil men, kind and beautiful women, terrible horrors, and above all exploration of character and self discovery.
For those that are unfamiliar with the tale, I will leave the plot description at that. Believe me, it is far more wondrous to discover the story with little to no knowledge of what is to come then to know the surprises. However, that is not to say that there are plot twists or shocking revelations. Oh no, the story is riveting in a very natural and flowing manner, no twists necessary. Part of what makes the work so amazing is the narrative style Moore employs. It shifts perspectives very naturally and is one of the most beautifully constructed ways of telling a story that I have ever had the privilege of reading. It’s like watching a movie…but better. It is easy to see how Moore refined his craft on this title, as many techniques and devices he would later come to be known for are slowly integrated into his work. From the very cinematic idea of having a character’s dialogue follow-through to a different local, to a having a descriptive panel placed over an image that is related to the description, but in an ironic or twisted way; everything just sings of skill and a mastery of storytelling. Moore was writing some of the most realistic and truthful-sounding dialogue on this book twenty years before Bendis came along -- the characters are all very real and you feel as if they could truly exist in the real world.
Be warned, however, that this book is for mature readers. There is nothing too graphic or sexual, but there is some rather horrific imagery used in descriptions, and the overall mood of the book is quite scary. This is a horror story, but it is also a very different kind of horror story. Where most horror relies on shock-value, gore, and explicit violence, this title does away with all of that skill-less tripe and gets to the root of the genre: fear. It is a tribute to the writing that even though the book is rooted in such a negative genre, there are still very positive and uplifting messages throughout. Half-way through the volume there is a scene where the Swamp Thing raises his arms to the sky, basking in the brilliant, orange hues of a sun-rise set against the beautiful swamp -- it is very inspiring and uplifting and makes you feel something not commonly felt when reading a ‘horror’ title: hope.
Speaking of the artwork, it is perhaps just as amazing as the writing. And for artists to be compared to Moore in their craft is quite a compliment indeed. Bissette and Totleben deliver some of the most beautiful and artistic images ever drawn in any comic book -- and this isn’t just me gushing, ask any artist and they’ll tell you. These guys worked miracles on this book. From their genius panel layout to their hyper-detailed images, everything is a joy to look at. Where many artists use standard and boring panel designs (i.e. simply having images come out of panels or panels basically overtop of splash pages) these guys deliver, with each page, a picture that could tell the story even if you took away the words. That’s not to say that the writing is unnecessary, but that the page layout and design is so in-sync with the writing that it becomes a perfect complement to the text. Also, while being very fancy the art never detracts from the experience; it is difficult to convey the sense of simultaneous chaos and order that each page holds, but that is the best way to put it.
Being made up entirely of roots and moss and grass, it would have been simple for them to have just rendered ol’ Swampy as an outline with a couple distinct features, and then filled him in green. But no, they go all the way, literally. They fill in the Swamp Thing’s entire body with leaves, lichen, tubers, vines, roots, and a plethora of fauna and all the while still manage to keep a very distinct look to the creature. And this is not just for the title character, everything in the book is drawn with such detail, from the murky depths of the swamp to the interior of a magic store; a single issue in this book has more detail than many full runs. Tatjana Wood’s colors are excellent as well. The book is full of green and you would think that it would all look the same after a couple of pages, but she manages to use so many different shades and varieties of color that each page feels new. The team of Moore/Bissette/Totleben has gone down in history as perhaps one of the most perfect matches of writer to artists and after reading this volume it is easy to see why. These guys make the book fly.
In terms of presentation, the volume is quite good. The only negative point against it is that the paper they used is rather low-quality and will not hold up as well as the thicker white stock that other trades are printed on. However on the plus side, atheistically the book is great. The overall design (both inside and outside) is pretty and fits the title nicely. We get a good forward by esteemed horror writer Ramsey Campbell and a wonderfully written introduction from Moore himself. There is also a table of contents that lists each issue within, including the issue number and date published -- much better than most trades where you have to hunt through lots of tiny text to find out information about the issues in the volume. Everything is solid from the presentation side.
Final Words:
Let’s just be grateful that there’s something watching out for the places no one watches out for.
It changed the industry twenty years ago and set the tone for the world of comic books as we know it today. A landmark book and one of the most beautifully written comics of all time.
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