Swamp Thing by Rick Veitch Book Two: Synchronicity

by Rick Veitch, John Ridgway (Illustrator), Brett Ewins (Illustrator)

With John Constantine struggling to prevent multiple apocalyptic events from converging, SwampThing and Abby must maneuver the synchronicity maelstrom and secure the planet’s future withoutsacrificing the unborn elemental’s life.Experience the landmark crossover as it was meant to be read, with the interweaving narrativebetween Swamp Thing and Hellblazer restored. The sequel to the Moore saga continues in Book Two (of three)! Collects Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #74-79, Swamp Thing Annual #4, and John Constantine, Hellblazer #6-12

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels

408 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2025

About the author

Richard "Rick" Veitch is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun fact: Of the fourteen issues collected in this "Swamp Thing by Rick Veitch' volume, Rick Veitch only wrote FOUR of them. There are a few Swamp Thing fill-in issues, an annual, and a LOT of Hellblazer.

That said....the books cross over seamlessly, in a way that I wasn't fully cognizant of back in 1988, when I originally read these stories. I hated Hellblazer back then, mainly due to Jamie Delano's writing, but it kind of grew on me now, decades later. Even the Swamp Thing fill-in issues were either important to the main story, or just plain old so good that I didn't care.

Basically a big old crossover collection, but it all holds together well, and was a joy to revisit.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title is misleading. Only half the stories are Swamp Thing, the other half are early issues of Hellblazer, written by Jamie Delano. The stories from the two series do interconnect, but only lightly and it could have easily been totally Swamp Thing material. Not that I am complaining. I love the early Hellblazer issues. Jamie Delano really defines John Constantine here. Who he is when not a secondary character.

As for the Swamp Thing issues. Veitch picks up Alan Moore's story and themes effortlessly. The art is immaculate, blending perfectly with the story and enhancing it. We see the binding the extra elemental by impregnating Abby with it, a story which continues onto this day. We see Swamp Thing attempt to take revenge on Lex Luthor. We see him go up against Batman. We see his daily life in the swamp and all its beauty. I've never quite read a series like this. It isn't beat 'em up superhero stories, but is still as gripping and tense as the standard comic fare. Highly recommended.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second of three volumes of Rick Veitch's Swamp Thing run collects the famous issues where Swamp Thing, Constantine, and Abby conceive a child together, as well as a load of other...random stuff around the edges.

Like the first volume, this one also includes a lot of Hellblazer issues, half of which aren't important to the Swamp Thing plot as far as I can see. The actual crossover issues are important, but there's a lot of resolution here for Hellblazer's first year of stories that doesn't impact Alec and Abby at all. They're great, but they're not necessary here at all - I may change my tune after the third volume is released, I suppose.

The actual Swamp Thing stuff is great. There are a couple of experimental issues, like the one where Alec heads inside Abby to see the baby, and the one where he grows his brain super-large so he can compute a problem, as well as the really solid Annual #4 which is a Gray/Rot precursor story, but it takes a lot of time to get to these since the first half of the book is almost all Hellblazer.

Still good, but not really what it's been billed as.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a very strong nostalgic attachment to this proto-Vertigo epic.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veitch’s run got off to a slightly rocky start, but this is where it really clicks. The decision to collect so many issues of Hellblazer in these trades makes more sense here, though I still don’t think all of them where necessary. It is worth noting that the best issue of this book is written by Stephen Bissette, whose name is strangely missing from the cover.

[Hisham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A continuation of the storyline where Swamp Thing seeks to locate a host for the new elemental. Since the resolution involves John Constantine, there are multiple issues of Hellblazer included with this collection. This volume also includes a nice cross-over story with Superman.

Overall, Rick Veitch continues to provide a faithful take on the Swamp Thing reinvented by Alan Moore with references back to the Moore run.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5/5 stars.

[J.L. Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó, pero lo que más me gustó fue reencontrarme con los viejos episodios de Hellblazer, que ya tenía.