Swampmen: Muck Monsters of the Comics

by Jon B. Cooke, George Khoury, Bernie Wrightson (Illustrator)

Since the first appearance of The Heap in 1942, beasts from the bayou have captured reader imaginations and have been a staple of the horror genre, whether under the guise of such characters as Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, Bog Beast, It, The Glob, Solomon Grundy, The Swamp Lurker or ever Marvin, the Dead Thing! Some of these nightmarish hulks have also found their way beyond comics, into novels, live-action TV series, toy shelves, cartoon shows and ever major motion pictures. Now, authors Jon B. Cooke and George Khoury reveal the mysteries behind these fascinating beasts in Swampmen: Muck-Monsters of the Comics, exploring the origins of these creatures through dozens of fascinating interviews with the creative talents behind the comics, including Steve Bissette, Steve Gerber, Mike Ploog, Rick Veitch, John Totleben, Val Mayerik and many more! Also included is an in-depth conversation with the award-winning author of From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore, on his revitalization of the most famous muck monster of all, Swamp Thing! This book is packed with page after page of eye-popping art - much of it never-before seen and created especially for this book - plus descriptions of just about every such monster to grace the funny-book page, and the definitive history of this odd and captivating subject. So, if you're a fan of comics, horror stories or American pop culture, come join us down by the bayou for a little storytelling!

Genres: Comics, History, Horror, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 20, 2015

Reviews

[David Macpherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh what a geek am I. I really love Swamp Thing and Man Thing and the other muck monster comic books from the 70s. This book is about them and has interviews from the creators. Really interesting things, but Jon B Cooke is too thorough an editor, he would do better cutting the interviews shorter or by cutting out the repetitive information. I liked it but I would have loved a little less. i think it is great that they reprinted Theodore Sturgeon's story It, that was the first muck monster story.

[Jason Ragle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything you ever wanted to know about Muck Men and more.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great. Just the thing for muck-encrusted mockery fans. Great interviews. lotsa lost art and commissioned work. Not likely to see swampy vs. man-thing anywhere else!

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories and interviews with the people behind characters like the Heap, DC's Swamp Thing, and Marvel's Man-Thing.

[Williwaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow -- this is a beautiful book! But it's TMI to the max! I enjoyed reading some Swamp Thing comics and other much monster renditions, but in the final analysis, I don't need to know this much about about them.

Great to leaf through as a picture book, though.