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Swamp Thing (2011) #1-3
Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder
The legendary Swamp Thing has resurfaced for a new age-just as a new force threatens to rot away all life on Earth! Since the dawn of time, the planet's safety has depended on maintaining a balance of three great THE GREEN, the force that unites all plant life; THE RED, the force that unites all animal life; and THE ROT, the force of death. Each generation, the Green selects an avatar to serve as its protector-the Swamp Thing. But Doctor Alec Holland, the Green's newest champion, is no longer interested in the role. The Rot's own avatar is growing stronger, and servants of decay gain more territory every day. If Alec doesn't return to his duties soon, there might not be any Green left to protect. The superstar team of #1 New York Times best-selling writer Scott Snyder (BATMAN, AMERICAN VAMPIRE) and artist Yanick Paquette (BATMAN, INC.), reworks one of comics' greatest characters for a new age, with support from wonderful talents Jeff Lemire, Marco Rudy, Becky Cloonan, Francesco Francavilla, Steve Pugh and more. Collects SWAMP THING #0-18, ANIMAL MAN #12, 17 and SWAMP THING ANNUAL #1, as well as never-before-seen sketches and an introduction by SWAMP THING co-creator Len Wein.
485 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 22, 2015
9 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
Scott Snyder
1,778 books5,116 followersScott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 5, 2017
Like Swamp Thing meets Evil Dead, and I like it!
How it starts: Alec Holland has returned to his body with memories of before. Abby Arcane is now a leather-clad, shotgun-wielding badass. William Arcane is an evil bubble boy with a fatal chlorophyll allergy. Then The Green and The Red join in battle against The Rot who wants to destroy it all. Welcome to Scott Snyder's brilliant New 52 Swamp Thing.
A solid 4 stars, this is way different from Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, which is lighter in horror and multidimensionality. Surprisingly from DC and not Vertigo, this is slasher horror and much weirder fantasy. The violence is what I'd call gratuitous, unnecessary but awesome, and not at all child appropriate. There's some humor. And the sheer scale of the story is elevated to "crisis" levels, which is great.
For an improvement, much of this story takes place outside of the Louisiana swamp. Carpathian Mountains. Fantastical otherworldly dimensions. Deserts. Jungles. Forests. And the cast has grown thanks to D.C., briefly supported by Animal Man, Poison Ivy, Deadman, and Barbara Gordon, with brief undead cameos by the Teen Titans, Batman, Superman, and countless others. And the Arcane family, as seen in other volumes, has taken a very dark and monstrous turn!
Yanick Paquette's artwork is incredible. I cannot see any room for complaint. I can't. The artwork in Moore's run is great for the time and occasionally beautiful, but is rough and often dated. Paquette and even the backup illustrators are amazing. The redesign and various forms that Swamp Thing takes, as well as the myriad of diverse monsters and creatures, are just brilliant. The panel layouts especially make for interesting reading, because they have that organic asymmetry rarely seen in mainstream comics. And the illustrations would be fruitless without eye-popping colors by Nathan Fairbairn, Lee Loughridge, and Francesco Francavilla, to name a few. This is just a beautiful book to look at, and with its horror content, all the blood, guts and spinal cords are incredibly vivid.
Snyder and Paquette, supported by Jeff Lemire and countless others, have created a fun, dark, and exciting run on Swamp Thing. While it's the opposite of former and more subdued stories, I think this run will stand the test of time. It's hyperbolic, hellacious, and downright wacky. And the illustrations are perfectly complementary. I bought this blind, and I would recommend doing the same if you're a fan of Swamp Thing.
Notes on the Deluxe Edition...
Like most D.C./Vertigo deluxe hardcovers the quality is mixed. The dust jacket is boldly designed and thick. The cover and spine are sturdy. The book stands out on the shelf, no question, and it will last. But the paper, while high gloss, is very thin and what you find in standard hardcovers. And the binding is tight and glued, which makes for moderate gutter loss with ample splash pages and double page panel progression. No deal breakers, a solid edition worth owning, but D.C. must step up and reasonably provide sewn binding and thick paper for $50 retail. You shouldn't have to spend $100 on an Absolute to get quality.
December 16, 2017
Scott Snyder's entire run is really one long story about the Green's battle with an avatar of the Rot gone crazy. It's got a few parts, such as the introduction of the Rot, Alec coming to terms with his destiny as the Swamp Thing, the battle with William, and a trip to a dystopic future, but nonetheless it's a single, coherent story. It's thus very nice to get it in a single, coherent volume.
The style should perhaps not be too surprising, because that was DC's house style in the new52. And, for the most part it sucked. New52 stories tended to be shallow slugfests. Snyder, fortunately, gives the style depth. There's still the reliance on a single action-oriented story thread that cliffhangers on every issue as it breathlessly pushes forward, but Snyder manages to give that potentially tepid style depth with real characterization and new mythology. (The only exception is the Rotworld story at the end, which is drawn out too long, especially when you know there must be some sort of RESET button at the end, due to the carnage waged on Earth.)
This volume is full of retcons, about Alec's relationship to the green and about the secret history of Abby and Anton. It's generally an OK enough reinvention, and the new status quo for Alec may even have been necessary after the evens of Brightest Day. However, the Anton retcons ring false, because they depict him as a monstrous inhuman even in his earliest appearances, and it's hard to believe that the Arcane of Swamp Thing v1 is the Arcane revealed here.
Still, overall, this is a good volume of Swamp Thing and one with fun additions to the Green (and Red) mythology. However, it does seem to have sorta forgotten the Gray, which was pretty similar to the new Rot.
The style should perhaps not be too surprising, because that was DC's house style in the new52. And, for the most part it sucked. New52 stories tended to be shallow slugfests. Snyder, fortunately, gives the style depth. There's still the reliance on a single action-oriented story thread that cliffhangers on every issue as it breathlessly pushes forward, but Snyder manages to give that potentially tepid style depth with real characterization and new mythology. (The only exception is the Rotworld story at the end, which is drawn out too long, especially when you know there must be some sort of RESET button at the end, due to the carnage waged on Earth.)
This volume is full of retcons, about Alec's relationship to the green and about the secret history of Abby and Anton. It's generally an OK enough reinvention, and the new status quo for Alec may even have been necessary after the evens of Brightest Day. However, the Anton retcons ring false, because they depict him as a monstrous inhuman even in his earliest appearances, and it's hard to believe that the Arcane of Swamp Thing v1 is the Arcane revealed here.
Still, overall, this is a good volume of Swamp Thing and one with fun additions to the Green (and Red) mythology. However, it does seem to have sorta forgotten the Gray, which was pretty similar to the new Rot.
March 20, 2021
Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder collects issues Swamp Thing 0-18, Swamp Thing Annual 1, and Animal Man 12 & 17. The issues are written by Scott Snyder with Yanick Paquette contributing most of the art. The Animal Man tie in issues are written by Jeff Lemire.
This volume is set during New 52 in which many characters were reimagined or updated. We start off with Swamp Thing back in human form as Alec Holland with some memories of his life as Swamp Thing. Over the series his nemesis Arcane and The Rot return.
I had been excited to read this series for a while but ultimately feel disappointed. The first arc starts off great but becomes just large battles of Swamp Thing and various allies against huge armies of deformed creatures. The beginning of the book is extremely creepy but then become the previous mentioned large battles that don't provide much substance. Paquette's art is fantastic throughout and captures the creepy and haunting atmosphere perfectly. The book goes from arc to arc which is all one large story. I would have really enjoyed it more if there were some smaller arcs or one-off issues scattered throughout that didn't connect to the main storyline. Overall this is just an "okay" story to me but greatly improved by the art. I would only recommend this book if you find a good deal.
This volume is set during New 52 in which many characters were reimagined or updated. We start off with Swamp Thing back in human form as Alec Holland with some memories of his life as Swamp Thing. Over the series his nemesis Arcane and The Rot return.
I had been excited to read this series for a while but ultimately feel disappointed. The first arc starts off great but becomes just large battles of Swamp Thing and various allies against huge armies of deformed creatures. The beginning of the book is extremely creepy but then become the previous mentioned large battles that don't provide much substance. Paquette's art is fantastic throughout and captures the creepy and haunting atmosphere perfectly. The book goes from arc to arc which is all one large story. I would have really enjoyed it more if there were some smaller arcs or one-off issues scattered throughout that didn't connect to the main storyline. Overall this is just an "okay" story to me but greatly improved by the art. I would only recommend this book if you find a good deal.
November 28, 2015
Well that was pretty amazing. This book is a decent into a nightmare that doesn't hold back any punches for the characters. at times this book turned downright sadistic, but it was one helluva ride. Alec Holland is Swamp Thing no more, he turned human and he wants to stay that way. The problem is comes when The Green (All plant life) tells him of a new enemy known as The Rot (Death and decay) is amassing an army to kill the whole world, throw in his soulmate Abigail Arcane and you got a literal tale of life vs. death. This is a big epic story and it had me from the beginning. It might be too dark and morbid for some people, I mean after all this is a horror story, but it is well worth a read if you can stomach some of the gorier bits.
December 30, 2016
Scott Snyder (who is becoming one of my favorite comic book writer) did a really good treatment of the Swamp Thing, but even more brilliant is his version of Abby Arcane. She's not the romantic damsel in distress of the Alan Moore run. She kicks ass, she fights for her right, and I love that! Oh, the art is good, and there's gore and horror, there's action. I can hear people who loves the Moore more poetic stories say Synder's treatment is shallow and blockbustery. Well, boohoo on them because they're missing out on a good read.
October 6, 2015
Actual rating: 4.5/5.
What bumped this up to five stars for me was how unexpected it was. Granted, Scott Snyder's one of my all time favorite authors (period--including prose-only authors), but Paquette isn't my favorite artist and I've never read any Swamp Thing. I knew people loved his character, and I knew there were good stories out there (Alan Moore's run, for example), but it was never all that high on my to-read list.
That is, until DC created this lovely Deluxe Edition of Snyder's run. And it was great--it kept my interest the whole way, and I'm really invested in the Swamp Thing character. I really hope they collect Soule's run in a nice Deluxe edition as well.
What bumped this up to five stars for me was how unexpected it was. Granted, Scott Snyder's one of my all time favorite authors (period--including prose-only authors), but Paquette isn't my favorite artist and I've never read any Swamp Thing. I knew people loved his character, and I knew there were good stories out there (Alan Moore's run, for example), but it was never all that high on my to-read list.
That is, until DC created this lovely Deluxe Edition of Snyder's run. And it was great--it kept my interest the whole way, and I'm really invested in the Swamp Thing character. I really hope they collect Soule's run in a nice Deluxe edition as well.
October 5, 2015
I've read nothing with Swamp Thing that I can recall (at best he may have been a minor supporting character is something else). This is an easy jumping on point for someone who doesn't know the character. His back story is referred to so you can tell he has a history. That history is built on here with some flashbacks but they advance the story pretty well. Overall I really enjoyed the book and it's a full story so you get the whole run in one volume. The art is well done though perhaps not spectacular (art appreciation is subjective though so check Google out for examples if you are curious). An interesting love story and we get to see a world where evil triumphs with some DC heroes taken over by The Rot acting out as villains for part of the story.
August 29, 2016
The art is full of macabre and frenzy sights. Snyder overall creates a fun pace , with rising stakes each issue. The story is fairly ordinary and predictable with fairly one dimensional characters but I had a lot of fun reading it, especially with the griping illustration (unorthodox use of comic panels )provided by Paquette. This is my first step into the world of the Swamp Thing and I definitely would recommend this to others for a fun and fast pace journey full of grotesque sights .
December 14, 2015
Three and a half stars.
March 5, 2016
Great stuff here. Snyder paints a wickedly gory world with some breathtaking action sequences and body horror at its core. Doesn't touch Moore's work though.
4.5/5
4.5/5
August 23, 2018
Swamp Thing, at its core, is a beautiful, violent, gory, love story for the ages. It is the tale of Alec Holland, the man who would be Swamp Thing, Abigail Arcane, a child of the rot, and their desperate struggle to be together despite the fearsome, eons long, struggle between their two houses, the green and the rot. At its center, Swamp Thing: The Deluxe Edition, is essentially an ivy coated retelling of Romeo and Juliet. When it focuses on its two leads, it is amazing. Unfortunately, the book strays half way through.
The scale of the tale Scott Snyder writes is ambitious, to say the least, but I'm sorry to say his attempt collapses beneath the weight of said ambition. Half way through, what until that point was peerless story telling, the focus shifts from Alec and Abigail's visceral fight for survival against a seemingly unending foe and becomes a DC wide event, dubbed "Rot World" and here is where the problems begin. The device used to spark this war is a year long time skip, that is very poorly implemented. After said skip, the focus is more on the Rot War and less about our two protagonists, and the series suffers for it. Characters from other books, not seen in Swamp Thing are given focus, taking the urgency away from the main story line. Ineffective fights against an overblown, hammy, cartoonish villain fall flat, especially when compared to the savage, visceral struggles in the first half of the book. Thankfully, the book ends well but by that time the story has long run out of steam and you, as many of the people who read the book as it was released, may have already lost interest. Adding to the lack of focus on the stories part, the original artist, Yanick Paquette, who draws the hell out of the front half of the book, is absent in much of the back half, hurting the feel of the book.
At the end of the day, for a song, you are getting a great series that starts strong, stumbles a bit towards the end, but finishes strong. Much of it is a joy to read, the majority of it is breathtaking to behold, and as a whole, it is unquestionably worth the paltry sum being asked. A great read and a must buy.
The scale of the tale Scott Snyder writes is ambitious, to say the least, but I'm sorry to say his attempt collapses beneath the weight of said ambition. Half way through, what until that point was peerless story telling, the focus shifts from Alec and Abigail's visceral fight for survival against a seemingly unending foe and becomes a DC wide event, dubbed "Rot World" and here is where the problems begin. The device used to spark this war is a year long time skip, that is very poorly implemented. After said skip, the focus is more on the Rot War and less about our two protagonists, and the series suffers for it. Characters from other books, not seen in Swamp Thing are given focus, taking the urgency away from the main story line. Ineffective fights against an overblown, hammy, cartoonish villain fall flat, especially when compared to the savage, visceral struggles in the first half of the book. Thankfully, the book ends well but by that time the story has long run out of steam and you, as many of the people who read the book as it was released, may have already lost interest. Adding to the lack of focus on the stories part, the original artist, Yanick Paquette, who draws the hell out of the front half of the book, is absent in much of the back half, hurting the feel of the book.
At the end of the day, for a song, you are getting a great series that starts strong, stumbles a bit towards the end, but finishes strong. Much of it is a joy to read, the majority of it is breathtaking to behold, and as a whole, it is unquestionably worth the paltry sum being asked. A great read and a must buy.
March 3, 2019
Beautiful artwork and a serviceable storyline. It was predictable via another version of a tale that most comic readers have read before. I really liked the first handful of issues / chapters, but it was a grind to finish the last handful. I kept finding something I’d rather read instead.
I’d still recommend it to anyone, it was enjoyable to almost the level of 4 stars... But the OHC edition was disappointing. The tight glued binding created a lot of gutter loss especially with the non traditional panel layout. Also, I hate collected editions that do not have a table of contents, page numbers, or issue / chapter numbers.
It also seemed like some Animal Man issues were left out that would have helped with some references to “the red” that were a little fuzzy.
I’d still recommend it to anyone, it was enjoyable to almost the level of 4 stars... But the OHC edition was disappointing. The tight glued binding created a lot of gutter loss especially with the non traditional panel layout. Also, I hate collected editions that do not have a table of contents, page numbers, or issue / chapter numbers.
It also seemed like some Animal Man issues were left out that would have helped with some references to “the red” that were a little fuzzy.
February 22, 2021
The story arc is good with the exception of the all too common and mundane sections where super hero fights super hero.
July 11, 2018
I would've given this 5 stars if it could have only stuck the landing. Snyder and Paquette have built a beautiful and terrifying work of comics horror that, for the first 2/3 of the book anyway, sucked me in and had me flying through the pages. I found the characters easy to root for (pun retroactively intended), and was constantly surprised by the twists and new directions Snyder took the story.
No small part of this is Paquette's near-perfect artwork. The weird, dark, upsetting elements of the book and the visually stunning pieces are both intricately drawn in gorgeous layouts a la J.H. Williams III, highlighting the running theme of the simultaneous beauty and hideousness of nature in ways that greatly amplify Snyder's writing. If not for Paquette, this book would be mediocre at best, but he elevates the hell out of it.
It's this theme, and its various offshoots, that really make the majority of this story work. The rupture of the balance between The Green, The Red and The Rot, all necessary parts of nature, is explored in detail via thrilling action scenes and psychedelic imagery. The threat posed by The Rot seems borderline insurmountable, and we trust that our heroes could actually lose this one. It's tense and thoughtful at the same time, and that seems very hard to pull off.
It's a shame that the book takes a pretty sharp downturn towards the end, though. Rather than continue exploring this battle in a concrete, immediate way, Snyder (with his co-writer Jeff Lemire), does the most hacky comic-book thing this side of resurrecting dead people: they jump into the future. The wonderful, tense narrative all but melts away in the final issues, since anyone who's ever heard of a comic book knows that future stories by major publishers always just end with that future being avoided. So, for the last 5 issues or so, I was just like "OK, wrap it up."
I genuinely don't think this damages what comes before, though. It's kind of a left turn, and as such allows the previous (much better) stuff to still exist as its own thing. I still recommend this as a great example of modern horror comics, with its foot firmly planted in the mythology of Swamp Thing that's come before.
No small part of this is Paquette's near-perfect artwork. The weird, dark, upsetting elements of the book and the visually stunning pieces are both intricately drawn in gorgeous layouts a la J.H. Williams III, highlighting the running theme of the simultaneous beauty and hideousness of nature in ways that greatly amplify Snyder's writing. If not for Paquette, this book would be mediocre at best, but he elevates the hell out of it.
It's this theme, and its various offshoots, that really make the majority of this story work. The rupture of the balance between The Green, The Red and The Rot, all necessary parts of nature, is explored in detail via thrilling action scenes and psychedelic imagery. The threat posed by The Rot seems borderline insurmountable, and we trust that our heroes could actually lose this one. It's tense and thoughtful at the same time, and that seems very hard to pull off.
It's a shame that the book takes a pretty sharp downturn towards the end, though. Rather than continue exploring this battle in a concrete, immediate way, Snyder (with his co-writer Jeff Lemire), does the most hacky comic-book thing this side of resurrecting dead people: they jump into the future. The wonderful, tense narrative all but melts away in the final issues, since anyone who's ever heard of a comic book knows that future stories by major publishers always just end with that future being avoided. So, for the last 5 issues or so, I was just like "OK, wrap it up."
I genuinely don't think this damages what comes before, though. It's kind of a left turn, and as such allows the previous (much better) stuff to still exist as its own thing. I still recommend this as a great example of modern horror comics, with its foot firmly planted in the mythology of Swamp Thing that's come before.
June 13, 2016
Swamp Thing!!! One of the characters I’ve always been fascinated about, but his books are kinda hard to find nowadays. I’d like to complete Alan Moore’s Saga of the Swamp Thing someday, though. Back when DC released the New 52, one of these titles was Swamp Thing, and it’s written by Scott Snyder. I think back then, the only thing I’ve read from Snyder was Severed, so I know his Swamp Thing would be good and a bit scary (turns out I was right, and his Batman run was also glorious). So, Alec Holland here was somehow resurrected by the parliament of the Green, and he actually tries to live his life as a normal human being. But, with everything else in comics, things get fucked up. This time, apart from the occasional disagreement with the Red and the Green, a third party comes in in the form of the Rot. The Rot’s and ancient force within the planet, but unlike the Green and Red (which handles different forms of life) the Rot handles the decay and termination of life. The avatars of the forces are now sent to fight each other, with Animal Man for the Red and Swamp Thing for the Green, against Arcane of the Rot. It’s a fight for balance, until Arcane does some shit leading to Rot World! Superheroes are now dead and decaying, fighting for the Rot. The few survivors are crouching in the corner, waiting for the last shit to hit the fan, and kill them all. Alec Holland must then get back to his roots (see what I did there?), and take the mantle of Swamp Thing to save the world, and his girlfriend, Abby of the Rot.
By the way, this is another example of a book that shows that even if he’s not the main character or doesn’t even show up for more than 10 pages, Batman still manages to be the coolest guy there is.
By the way, this is another example of a book that shows that even if he’s not the main character or doesn’t even show up for more than 10 pages, Batman still manages to be the coolest guy there is.
April 1, 2016
This is a hard book to review. It's definitely not Scott Snyder's best work, or Jeff Lemire's, for that matter (though I think the latter's run on Animal Man during this time is the better comic.) The story was rushed, with several emotionally poignant moments that weren't properly built up to, and other plot devices introduced just as they were needed to resolve the story's dilemmas. But the art is gorgeous, and I just love the character of Swamp Thing, so three stars. This collection certainly has the gothic horror pastiche thing going on in spades. Some of the creatures from The Rot are as horrifying as anything I've ever seen drawn. If only Arcane himself didn't have such goofy cliche villain dialogue that I half expected him to say at one point, "No, Dr. Holland, I expect you to die!" Ah well. Paquette's art is the highlight of the book here, though when he needs artists to fill in for him it's jarring and disruptive to the entire story. Can't say I'd recommend this one unless somebody is a Swampy completionist *or* they just love love Scott Snyder (which, I can't say I blame them.)
January 19, 2016
This was pretty good and interesting but I couldn't help but feel as though it was trying too hard to be a continuation of some of the over-arcing stuff from Alan Moore. Like the backwards heads guys are like the backwards joint guys.
And the Parliament of Rot is like the Parliament of Stones in the Grant Morrison book.
And Arcane as the bad guy seems to be something that Moore really liked about the Len Wein run.
The mixing of Swamp Thing into the general DC universe is always fun. I don't know how they keep it fresh.
I also felt like a lot of this really seemed to slip and slide. Arcane and the Parliament of Rot had an awful lot of duplicate and redundant groups of hench-thugs. And why didn't they just put flies in everyone's ears?
And the Parliament of Rot is like the Parliament of Stones in the Grant Morrison book.
And Arcane as the bad guy seems to be something that Moore really liked about the Len Wein run.
The mixing of Swamp Thing into the general DC universe is always fun. I don't know how they keep it fresh.
I also felt like a lot of this really seemed to slip and slide. Arcane and the Parliament of Rot had an awful lot of duplicate and redundant groups of hench-thugs. And why didn't they just put flies in everyone's ears?
October 14, 2023
Scott Snyder's Swamp Thing is "a new take to a well-known character." Scott Snyder, through his run on "American Vampire", and "Batman," is one of the best writers in the comic medium today.
His take on Alec Holland/Swamp Thing is deeply personal, and it encapsulates the journey "there and back again." The protagonist is coming to terms with his own identity, both the human and the monster, to realize that anomalies are not defined by their looks or roles.
Is someone a beast is a question answered by what's hidden inside, within one's heart, not by the functions, definitions, or looks.
That realization, to be honest, is the best part of this run, which is different from the legendary one of Alan Moore, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
His take on Alec Holland/Swamp Thing is deeply personal, and it encapsulates the journey "there and back again." The protagonist is coming to terms with his own identity, both the human and the monster, to realize that anomalies are not defined by their looks or roles.
Is someone a beast is a question answered by what's hidden inside, within one's heart, not by the functions, definitions, or looks.
That realization, to be honest, is the best part of this run, which is different from the legendary one of Alan Moore, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
May 25, 2017
This is my first time reading a Swamp Thing run and I really enjoyed it. Scott Snyder is at home writing horror comics and he did a great job explaining the backstory of Swamp Thing for new readers like myself. The story pulled me in and in many way reminding me of the Evil Dead. Snyder sticks the ending to this run which is been one of my top criticisms of his writing. The art fits the tone of the style with intricate panel layouts and gritty coloring. The panels can be a bit confusing to follow at times.
Worth a read for anyone interested in Swamp Thing.
Worth a read for anyone interested in Swamp Thing.
May 23, 2016
Start off as a superior horror comic which chills with ideas and images but once the main antagonist of the first run is defeated it devolves into DC Zombies, which is only slightly less banal than its Marvel equivalent. Worth looking at for some inventive layouts (though these can occasionally confuse) and fine art from Yannick Paquette.
April 2, 2016
An excellent throwback to the horror comics of the 1970s that I loved so much as a kid. Echoes of Man-Bat, Dracula, Swamp Thing, and Ghost Rider ran through my mind as I read this compendium of Scott Snyder's vision of the Swamp Thing and his expanded mythology and power set. Great fun to read.
December 19, 2015
This Book is fu***** awesome, get this or die. #nodiscussion
February 11, 2017
Not as good as Alan Moore's classic take, but quite a entertaining and epic effort from Snyder.
October 1, 2017
Really great and unusual story. My first exposure to Swamp Thing. Guess I should track down the Moore books next.
August 12, 2021
This book is a travesty.
I can’t honestly believe that anyone thinks this is a good Swamp Thing run. Snyder never ceases to impress me with how shallow his writing and stories are. This time he’s done it again.
This is one of those books where it’s so horrible that I can’t find one good thing to say about it. Snyder has turned one of the most interesting, thoughtful, and introspective comic book series ever and turned it into a Saturday morning cartoon.
Remember when Swamp Thing struggled with his humanity, mused about his place in the world since becoming essentially a god, and explored his connection to people with a realistic female character? Yeah... well, in this book Snyder decides that the metaphysical aspects of swamp thing are tired tropes and instead focuses on mainly on the green, something called the red, and then finally the rot. I don’t know what those things are, I don’t know why I should care outside of what the Green is which I already know. Scott doesn’t really do a good job of explaining why they’re important or if he did I didn’t care much because it’s fucking boring.
Again, I don’t know what I ever saw in Scott Snyder’s writing. In this run we have a lame retelling of swamp things origin which sucks; it features some kid brother of Abby that is evil for some reason. Then we have that leading into some sort of dumb war with Arcane. Which also sucks. There’s absolutely nothing of note happening in those stories. It doesn’t introduce any new ideas, it tries to rehash old stories and put a new spin on them but the new spin sucks. Every time I read Snyder it just reeks of hack writing. I think I’ve said it before, he’s very much like the JJ Abrams of the comic world. He doesn’t add anything new to the projects he features on, he just tries to access something nostalgic in the reader and référence something they liked about it in the past while trying to pass off it’s his work. I just don’t get the appeal of his writing.
I don’t recommend this run. The only thing I liked about this book was the last line of the last page because I knew I didn’t have to read any more of it. It’s a very shallow story that completely flies in the face of what I felt swamp thing should be. And the fact that this book brings Animal Man into this is really unforgivable.
Snyder took what was almost a philosophy book and somehow turned it into Godzilla... but still managed to make it boring.
I can’t honestly believe that anyone thinks this is a good Swamp Thing run. Snyder never ceases to impress me with how shallow his writing and stories are. This time he’s done it again.
This is one of those books where it’s so horrible that I can’t find one good thing to say about it. Snyder has turned one of the most interesting, thoughtful, and introspective comic book series ever and turned it into a Saturday morning cartoon.
Remember when Swamp Thing struggled with his humanity, mused about his place in the world since becoming essentially a god, and explored his connection to people with a realistic female character? Yeah... well, in this book Snyder decides that the metaphysical aspects of swamp thing are tired tropes and instead focuses on mainly on the green, something called the red, and then finally the rot. I don’t know what those things are, I don’t know why I should care outside of what the Green is which I already know. Scott doesn’t really do a good job of explaining why they’re important or if he did I didn’t care much because it’s fucking boring.
Again, I don’t know what I ever saw in Scott Snyder’s writing. In this run we have a lame retelling of swamp things origin which sucks; it features some kid brother of Abby that is evil for some reason. Then we have that leading into some sort of dumb war with Arcane. Which also sucks. There’s absolutely nothing of note happening in those stories. It doesn’t introduce any new ideas, it tries to rehash old stories and put a new spin on them but the new spin sucks. Every time I read Snyder it just reeks of hack writing. I think I’ve said it before, he’s very much like the JJ Abrams of the comic world. He doesn’t add anything new to the projects he features on, he just tries to access something nostalgic in the reader and référence something they liked about it in the past while trying to pass off it’s his work. I just don’t get the appeal of his writing.
I don’t recommend this run. The only thing I liked about this book was the last line of the last page because I knew I didn’t have to read any more of it. It’s a very shallow story that completely flies in the face of what I felt swamp thing should be. And the fact that this book brings Animal Man into this is really unforgivable.
Snyder took what was almost a philosophy book and somehow turned it into Godzilla... but still managed to make it boring.
December 20, 2018
Disclaimer: I love Scott Snyder as an author. Swamp Thing was a pretty solid read. Snyder definitely played in a sandbox familiar to him: horror and Batman. The story basically boils down to Alec Holland is called to serve the green again as Swamp Thing, and he must fight against the the growing forces of the rot. But, at the core, this is a star-crossed lovers love story, albeit, a bittersweet one.
While Alec begrudgingly resumes his title as the avatar of the green, his love Abigail Arcane is trying to escape the thrall of serving as the Rot’s avatar. As two opposing forces, Alec and Abby cannot continue together as these avatars, and they fight to avoid that ending for as long as they can. However, when the world needs saving, as it usually does in these stories, they both step up to the plate and sacrifice what means most to them: each other.
Having no prior strong knowledge of Swamp Thing, I did have some spots during the narrative that I needed more clarification. For example: what does the red represent? I think Snyder does a good job of not overwhelming the reader with too many specific details found in the canon for the reader. I did enjoy some of the recurring themes throughout, but ultimately, I don’t think this is Snyder’s work. For example, I think Snyder’s previous work on American Vampire is a stronger project for him.
While Alec begrudgingly resumes his title as the avatar of the green, his love Abigail Arcane is trying to escape the thrall of serving as the Rot’s avatar. As two opposing forces, Alec and Abby cannot continue together as these avatars, and they fight to avoid that ending for as long as they can. However, when the world needs saving, as it usually does in these stories, they both step up to the plate and sacrifice what means most to them: each other.
Having no prior strong knowledge of Swamp Thing, I did have some spots during the narrative that I needed more clarification. For example: what does the red represent? I think Snyder does a good job of not overwhelming the reader with too many specific details found in the canon for the reader. I did enjoy some of the recurring themes throughout, but ultimately, I don’t think this is Snyder’s work. For example, I think Snyder’s previous work on American Vampire is a stronger project for him.
May 15, 2025
First time reading a Swamp Thing comic and New 52 issues. I know a little about the character and wanted to learn more. Of course it doesn’t help that there is little to no exposition because you should already know the character. I learned enough from the dialogue between him and the parliament.
I thought the first seven issues were great. Solid story with interesting characters and a good arc. After that, Swamp Thing wants to go over the top with its story. He always seemed like a very low grade or almost ‘hidden hero.’ Horrific things happen by his villains but nobody really knows about it. To have people being mutated and multiple states being overtaken by ‘the rot,’ seemed like a little too much. It’s weird having his character be important as he is for the planet as a whole. I feel like if the story was toned down I would have enjoyed it more. Otherwise it was an interesting read.
I thought the first seven issues were great. Solid story with interesting characters and a good arc. After that, Swamp Thing wants to go over the top with its story. He always seemed like a very low grade or almost ‘hidden hero.’ Horrific things happen by his villains but nobody really knows about it. To have people being mutated and multiple states being overtaken by ‘the rot,’ seemed like a little too much. It’s weird having his character be important as he is for the planet as a whole. I feel like if the story was toned down I would have enjoyed it more. Otherwise it was an interesting read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2019
This was my first Swamp Thing read ever, so please be gentle with me. My knowledge of Swamp Thing stems from the OG tv show, memes, all your opinions on other posts, and the new DC show. Also, my Snyder exposure is limited to Wytches, Superman Unchained, and something else I can't remember.
So, I had a great time with this book: entertaining, interesting universe, organic paneling, bio-horror, good art, appearances from some Justice League members and Animal Man, a philosophy of balance between the Green, the Red, and the Rot which I'm into in real life, a bit of Blackest Night-esque elements, and even time travel. Clearly, there is a huge backstory to the characters involved but Snyder did a good Many aspects of the story and universe reminded me of Green Lantern due to color spectrums, mantle's being passed on, a ruling council, balance, and unwilling beings who need embark on a journey to be "the one."
The story was nothing short of typical but that isn't a bad thing at all; I like solidly execute, mainstream stories. The ending though suffers from a bit of convenience that you end up seeing coming, but it does serve the story.
If anything, I'm looking forward to starting Moore's run and hoping for more philosophical musings about the Green, nature, and what it all means in context of the DC universe.
So, I had a great time with this book: entertaining, interesting universe, organic paneling, bio-horror, good art, appearances from some Justice League members and Animal Man, a philosophy of balance between the Green, the Red, and the Rot which I'm into in real life, a bit of Blackest Night-esque elements, and even time travel. Clearly, there is a huge backstory to the characters involved but Snyder did a good Many aspects of the story and universe reminded me of Green Lantern due to color spectrums, mantle's being passed on, a ruling council, balance, and unwilling beings who need embark on a journey to be "the one."
The story was nothing short of typical but that isn't a bad thing at all; I like solidly execute, mainstream stories. The ending though suffers from a bit of convenience that you end up seeing coming, but it does serve the story.
If anything, I'm looking forward to starting Moore's run and hoping for more philosophical musings about the Green, nature, and what it all means in context of the DC universe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2020
3,5
Esta colección es una locura. Pasan tantas cosas que cabe hasta un apocalipsis podrido (no zombi, pero casi) y viajes en el tiempo. La cosa del pantano no es un héroe corriente, así que está bien. De hecho, es mejor cuanto más raro, como pasaba en la etapa de Alan Moore. Lo malo del caso es que la resolución hace que lo que ocurre en los últimos números se quede en un mundo alternativo que nunca ocurrió.
El dibujo de Paquette me ha gustado mucho. Por eso, también, ha sido un poco decepción ver que casi la mitad del volumen lo dibujaban otras personas, a menudo menos propensas a los zombis descompuestos y las cosas con muchos dientes.
Muy destacable para mí que el cierre sea un final adecuado y no haya que comprar otro tocho igual para cerrar la trama.
Esta colección es una locura. Pasan tantas cosas que cabe hasta un apocalipsis podrido (no zombi, pero casi) y viajes en el tiempo. La cosa del pantano no es un héroe corriente, así que está bien. De hecho, es mejor cuanto más raro, como pasaba en la etapa de Alan Moore. Lo malo del caso es que la resolución hace que lo que ocurre en los últimos números se quede en un mundo alternativo que nunca ocurrió.
El dibujo de Paquette me ha gustado mucho. Por eso, también, ha sido un poco decepción ver que casi la mitad del volumen lo dibujaban otras personas, a menudo menos propensas a los zombis descompuestos y las cosas con muchos dientes.
Muy destacable para mí que el cierre sea un final adecuado y no haya que comprar otro tocho igual para cerrar la trama.
November 5, 2019
The artwork is gorgeous and the story starts off strong, however it goes downhill near the end. I dislike some of what happens near the end and anyone who likes Alan Moore's run wouldnt like some of the choices made here either.
This run plays out as a gruesome action horror blockbuster..it skips a lot of the learning curve, explanations etc. And keeps everything fast paced and large in scale. If that's your speed you may like this more.
If you prefer more poetic, more subtle, smaller scale, reflective, a more intimate and personal approach. Then I'd recommend Alan Moore's take on the character.
Personally I prefer Alan Moores run much more, but this take isn't bad at all.
This run plays out as a gruesome action horror blockbuster..it skips a lot of the learning curve, explanations etc. And keeps everything fast paced and large in scale. If that's your speed you may like this more.
If you prefer more poetic, more subtle, smaller scale, reflective, a more intimate and personal approach. Then I'd recommend Alan Moore's take on the character.
Personally I prefer Alan Moores run much more, but this take isn't bad at all.
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