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Swamp Thing (1982) (Collected Editions) #10
Swamp Thing by Nancy A. Collins Omnibus
The two-year run on Swamp Thing by critically acclaimed Southern Gothic horror novelist Nancy A. Collins is collected for the first time ever.
In these Swamp Thing tales written by critically acclaimed Southern Gothic horror novelist Nancy Collins, a mad priest called Father Tocsin has come to Houma to test his followers with a fatal poison. But when Tocsin indoctrinates one of his friends, Swamp Thing must stop the killings before they spread too far. Then, it's a grassroots political campaign as Swamp Thing finds himself a surprise candidate for governor of Louisiana. And Swamp Thing must get help to save Abigail Arcane and their young daughter, Tef�, from the murderous dream-pirates of Dark Conrad. Who's he gonna call? John Constantine! And Anton Arcane returns from the darkest pits of hell to seek revenge on Swamp Thing and all those he holds dear!
This title collects Swamp Thing #110-139 and Swamp Thing Annual #6 and #7, not reprinted since their original publication in the early 1990s.
In these Swamp Thing tales written by critically acclaimed Southern Gothic horror novelist Nancy Collins, a mad priest called Father Tocsin has come to Houma to test his followers with a fatal poison. But when Tocsin indoctrinates one of his friends, Swamp Thing must stop the killings before they spread too far. Then, it's a grassroots political campaign as Swamp Thing finds himself a surprise candidate for governor of Louisiana. And Swamp Thing must get help to save Abigail Arcane and their young daughter, Tef�, from the murderous dream-pirates of Dark Conrad. Who's he gonna call? John Constantine! And Anton Arcane returns from the darkest pits of hell to seek revenge on Swamp Thing and all those he holds dear!
This title collects Swamp Thing #110-139 and Swamp Thing Annual #6 and #7, not reprinted since their original publication in the early 1990s.
984 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2020
12 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Nancy A. Collins
337 books671 followersNancy A. Collins (born 10 September 1959) is a United States horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has also written for comic books, including the Swamp Thing series, Jason Vs. Leatherface, Predator: Hell Come A Walkin and her own one-shot Dhampire: Stillborn.
Collins was born in McGehee, Arkansas, United States. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia she settled in Wilmington, North Carolina in the late 2000s.
Collins has written twenty novels since 1989, many of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey.
Collins has also written a number of highly acclaimed Southern Gothic short stories and novellas, most of which are set in Seven Devils, Arkansas, a highly fictionalized version of her hometown.
Most recently, she has focused her attention onto the Golgotham urban fantasy series,published by Penguin. Golgotham is the 'supernatural' ghetto of New York City, where creatures from myth and folklore--including witches,shapeshifters,leprechauns and centaurs--live and work in uneasy alliance with mankind.
Collins was born in McGehee, Arkansas, United States. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia she settled in Wilmington, North Carolina in the late 2000s.
Collins has written twenty novels since 1989, many of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey.
Collins has also written a number of highly acclaimed Southern Gothic short stories and novellas, most of which are set in Seven Devils, Arkansas, a highly fictionalized version of her hometown.
Most recently, she has focused her attention onto the Golgotham urban fantasy series,published by Penguin. Golgotham is the 'supernatural' ghetto of New York City, where creatures from myth and folklore--including witches,shapeshifters,leprechauns and centaurs--live and work in uneasy alliance with mankind.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
April 15, 2020
Read these great comic books one by one when they first came out and was thrilled when the complete collection was compiled! Of course, want to plug my sister, Nancy A Collins, the writer!
July 3, 2020
Before this omnibus was announced, I had no idea Nancy Collins had ever written Swamp Thing. I'm sure her run had its supporters, but it kind of feels like one of those runs that kind of got lost to history, especially when you consider that it has never been collected in any form until now. As a big fan of Swampy, and of Southern Gothic horror, I was excited to see what a genuine Southern horror writer would do with the title, particularly compared to the trippy, lore-obsessed stuff that followed Alan Moore's famous run.
Ultimately, Collins' run on the character is very good. She uses her familiarity with Louisiana to really flesh out the local color, writing Cajuns and Southerners with a reality that I've never seen anyone else do anywhere near as well. And as a person who grew up 45 minutes outside New Orleans, I can attest to its accuracy.
Also, her horror chops in the early issues of this run are very much on display. In particular, a swamp monster she creates to rival Swamp Thing really shines, as it's simultaneously a horrifying killer and a flawed, emotional beast born of trauma.
Unfortunately, as the story wears on, plotlines just never quite feel like they pay off, and her approaches to the central characters (Swampy, his wife Abby, and his daughter Tefe) start to fray. At a certain point, what was initially portrayed as a loving family facing hurdles together, devolves into a bunch of unreasonable infighting and finger wagging, with Abby getting mad at Swamp Thing for simply doing his job, and Swamp Thing lying to Abby to keep her happy. They both feel like big, unearned character choices intended to drive conflict rather than feel real, and the book really suffers from that point forward. I found myself furious at both Abby and Swamp Thing for just straight up refusing to listen or change, rather than feeling drawn in by any semblance of real marital trouble. Also, each of them end up fully abandoning their daughter at a certain point, and that just feels completely unforgivable. At that point I basically threw up my hands like "forget these assholes." With no redemption arc for either of them (at least not in this book), this really left a bad taste in my mouth.
Also, this book's contents are... weird. DC has a tendency to toss stuff into omnibuses that makes utterly zero sense, and they've done it once again here. There are 2-3 stories throughout this book (titled the "Nancy A. Collins Omnibus") that are not written by Nancy A. Collins. They don't tie into the story almost at all, and are basically filler stories. I'm not sure why they were collected here, except to be completist. Additionally, there's a final two-issue arc at the end of this book that follows Collins' run and has utterly nothing to do with her storyline. It's an insanely boring two-parter starring Black Orchid written by a guy named Dick Foreman, and really has no business being in this book.
In any case, Collins' writing is very solid throughout. Her dialogue is breezy and realistic, her storylines flow nicely. There's just never a real sense of payoff to her larger arcs, and thus it always ends up feeling a little like something's missing. This is by no means a bad run, but I do think it's probably better for die-hard Swampheads than anyone else.
Ultimately, Collins' run on the character is very good. She uses her familiarity with Louisiana to really flesh out the local color, writing Cajuns and Southerners with a reality that I've never seen anyone else do anywhere near as well. And as a person who grew up 45 minutes outside New Orleans, I can attest to its accuracy.
Also, her horror chops in the early issues of this run are very much on display. In particular, a swamp monster she creates to rival Swamp Thing really shines, as it's simultaneously a horrifying killer and a flawed, emotional beast born of trauma.
Unfortunately, as the story wears on, plotlines just never quite feel like they pay off, and her approaches to the central characters (Swampy, his wife Abby, and his daughter Tefe) start to fray. At a certain point, what was initially portrayed as a loving family facing hurdles together, devolves into a bunch of unreasonable infighting and finger wagging, with Abby getting mad at Swamp Thing for simply doing his job, and Swamp Thing lying to Abby to keep her happy. They both feel like big, unearned character choices intended to drive conflict rather than feel real, and the book really suffers from that point forward. I found myself furious at both Abby and Swamp Thing for just straight up refusing to listen or change, rather than feeling drawn in by any semblance of real marital trouble. Also, each of them end up fully abandoning their daughter at a certain point, and that just feels completely unforgivable. At that point I basically threw up my hands like "forget these assholes." With no redemption arc for either of them (at least not in this book), this really left a bad taste in my mouth.
Also, this book's contents are... weird. DC has a tendency to toss stuff into omnibuses that makes utterly zero sense, and they've done it once again here. There are 2-3 stories throughout this book (titled the "Nancy A. Collins Omnibus") that are not written by Nancy A. Collins. They don't tie into the story almost at all, and are basically filler stories. I'm not sure why they were collected here, except to be completist. Additionally, there's a final two-issue arc at the end of this book that follows Collins' run and has utterly nothing to do with her storyline. It's an insanely boring two-parter starring Black Orchid written by a guy named Dick Foreman, and really has no business being in this book.
In any case, Collins' writing is very solid throughout. Her dialogue is breezy and realistic, her storylines flow nicely. There's just never a real sense of payoff to her larger arcs, and thus it always ends up feeling a little like something's missing. This is by no means a bad run, but I do think it's probably better for die-hard Swampheads than anyone else.
January 9, 2021
Though I'm thrilled to have this era of Swamp Thing v2 is an attractive omnibus, I must admit that I've always considered it the nadir of v2, and that has not changed on a reread.
The biggest problem is that Collins didn't want to write about Moore's Swamp Thing. Certainly, the Veitch and Wheeler eras that bridged between Moore and Collins might not have been as technically strong (though I can't entirely say for sure, as I haven't read them in many years), but they at least followed on from Moore's ideas and continued to expand his story. Veitch reused Constantine to good effect and oversaw the birth of Tefé, then homaged Moore's journey through space with a journey through time, then Wheeler introduced the Grey to the mythology (if I remember correctly who did what).
Collins, instead returned to stories that might have been appropriate in Swamp Thing v1. Oh, she admits the existence of Tefé and the Green and the Parliament of Trees, but she's more interesting in writing about a ghost pirate and a ghost jazz player and no less than three different purple monsters that Swampy must fight.
I also am not entirely convinced that Collins' technical skills are great, especially at the start of the run. A lot of her stories are somehow glacially slow, despite the fact that they're mostly single issue one and dones. There's also some really heavy-handed characterization of the ST-Abby relationship near the end, where Swamp Thing makes a promise that he'd never make, and then Abby reacts in a way that she never would to it being broken, just so that Collins can move the storyline in the direction she wants.
The last half-year or so is a big improvement, as Arcane and Sunderland are both used to good effect and offer some nice continuity. Collins finally accepts that she needs to tell longer stories too. But the first three quarters of this volume were and are a drag.
PS: great art, especially the covers, handsome collection, apparently good binding (which would be a first for DC), and I'd agree with other reviewers that the Louisiana setting is strong, but this wasn't the right story for the Swamp Thing at the time it was written.
The biggest problem is that Collins didn't want to write about Moore's Swamp Thing. Certainly, the Veitch and Wheeler eras that bridged between Moore and Collins might not have been as technically strong (though I can't entirely say for sure, as I haven't read them in many years), but they at least followed on from Moore's ideas and continued to expand his story. Veitch reused Constantine to good effect and oversaw the birth of Tefé, then homaged Moore's journey through space with a journey through time, then Wheeler introduced the Grey to the mythology (if I remember correctly who did what).
Collins, instead returned to stories that might have been appropriate in Swamp Thing v1. Oh, she admits the existence of Tefé and the Green and the Parliament of Trees, but she's more interesting in writing about a ghost pirate and a ghost jazz player and no less than three different purple monsters that Swampy must fight.
I also am not entirely convinced that Collins' technical skills are great, especially at the start of the run. A lot of her stories are somehow glacially slow, despite the fact that they're mostly single issue one and dones. There's also some really heavy-handed characterization of the ST-Abby relationship near the end, where Swamp Thing makes a promise that he'd never make, and then Abby reacts in a way that she never would to it being broken, just so that Collins can move the storyline in the direction she wants.
The last half-year or so is a big improvement, as Arcane and Sunderland are both used to good effect and offer some nice continuity. Collins finally accepts that she needs to tell longer stories too. But the first three quarters of this volume were and are a drag.
PS: great art, especially the covers, handsome collection, apparently good binding (which would be a first for DC), and I'd agree with other reviewers that the Louisiana setting is strong, but this wasn't the right story for the Swamp Thing at the time it was written.
September 18, 2024
The entirety of Nancy Collins' Swamp Thing run is collected here, including both annuals and the closing two-parter crossover with Black Orchid.
This is a chunky book, at around 30 issues, give or take, and it feels exactly like I've come to expect Swamp Thing stuff from this era to feel. There's a nice return to the horror angle, which was one of the reasons Collins was brought on in the first place, and not just the gross-out kind but also the 'actually humans are terrible' kind too.
And of course, all the things you hope to see in a Swamp Thing story show up too - Anton Arcane is here, the Parliament Of Trees show up, Constantine's around more often than he's not, and the dynamic between Abby, Alec, and little baby Tefé causes some fun (and not so fun) story beats too.
This is a complete run, and it's a complete story, but the ending is a little depressing, without going into too much detail. I get why, because it's a horror story and even when you win, you lose, but still, be prepared to be sad when you get to the end.
The art's solid Swamp Thing fare, with that 80s-90s Vertigo house style so that even when the artists swap between issues, everything looks fairly similar, though that could just be because the inker and colourist stay the same almost throughout.
I'm glad DC are collecting some of the as-yet-uncollected Swamp Thing tales from this era. I like filling in the gaps, and I especially like it when the stories are as compelling as this.
This is a chunky book, at around 30 issues, give or take, and it feels exactly like I've come to expect Swamp Thing stuff from this era to feel. There's a nice return to the horror angle, which was one of the reasons Collins was brought on in the first place, and not just the gross-out kind but also the 'actually humans are terrible' kind too.
And of course, all the things you hope to see in a Swamp Thing story show up too - Anton Arcane is here, the Parliament Of Trees show up, Constantine's around more often than he's not, and the dynamic between Abby, Alec, and little baby Tefé causes some fun (and not so fun) story beats too.
This is a complete run, and it's a complete story, but the ending is a little depressing, without going into too much detail. I get why, because it's a horror story and even when you win, you lose, but still, be prepared to be sad when you get to the end.
The art's solid Swamp Thing fare, with that 80s-90s Vertigo house style so that even when the artists swap between issues, everything looks fairly similar, though that could just be because the inker and colourist stay the same almost throughout.
I'm glad DC are collecting some of the as-yet-uncollected Swamp Thing tales from this era. I like filling in the gaps, and I especially like it when the stories are as compelling as this.
November 20, 2021
Underrated. Nancy A. Collins' run on Swamp Thing refocuses the story's sense of place and bayou locality, eschewing the unruly galactic spectacle comic book nonsense that overtook the Wheeler era in favour of something earthier and wyrder. An era defined by a focus on cajun culture, sharp characterisation and progressive politics.
Veitch tried respectably to imitate Moore and then Wheeler felt like a further imitation of an imitation. Those eras had their highlights (the final arc of Wheeler's run is the only period I'd consider awful), but Collins' run was when the comic finally settled into its own vision with Collins' intimate hyperlocalization of what had become an unruly mess of bombast.
Veitch tried respectably to imitate Moore and then Wheeler felt like a further imitation of an imitation. Those eras had their highlights (the final arc of Wheeler's run is the only period I'd consider awful), but Collins' run was when the comic finally settled into its own vision with Collins' intimate hyperlocalization of what had become an unruly mess of bombast.
September 28, 2020
I really loved her run on the title, and she was following Alan Moore, which is a tough act to follow, and she did a fantastic job
May 22, 2020
Such a good collection of stories! I wish Ms. Collins wrote this book longer, because I just wanted to read more!
January 31, 2021
After this, Swamp Thing is officially one of my favorite characters.
January 3, 2025
Some solid Swampy stories, and the art by Scot Eaton is particularly great.
February 1, 2020
Collins' run on the series was a step up from Wheeler only in the sense that she seemed to have a sense of humor where Wheeler's work felt like jokes were a foreign concept to him. Her attempts at doing John Constantine as a character were laughably bad Brit stock phrases lifted from Monty Python, Benny Hill, and other edifying examples of how people from the UK really talk.
There also seemed a weird arc of destruction running through Collins' tenor as she took all the characters and said "fuck your lives" and broke tons of things. Liz Tremayne's shattered personality after all her trauma at some point just up and fixed itself and she said, "Okay, bye, I'm out" (which you could make a case for the previous male authors making too much of her as "broken woman" but Collins' seemed to just go "all right, I'm tired of this character so she's better, she's leaving."
Then she ends the book on a wave of infidelities and takes the whole cast of characters and scatters them to the wind.
I get that comics tend to trap characters in these repetitive cycles of storylines. The hero is just trying to do his job/go to school but criminals keep making him put on the mask and save the city again, and again, and again.
Swamp Thing's plot lines have had a lot of that style action going on lately with "oh no, some new threat to the Swampy Family; will Tefe be taken by some evil force; will The Green once again make ST have to leave Abby; will Arcane come back again and again; will someone from Louisiana's small-minded community of religious bigots once again make things hot for our characters who just want some time alone to have some human on plant nookie?
Sure I get it.
One of the thing that happens with any of Alan Moore's titles is that he sets up his superpowered characters on a conflict with their essential godhood, leaving follow up writers nowhere to go, all their dramas seem so small in comparison, and so I get that it's hard to write your way out of that corner.
Wheeler tried really his hardest to rewrite the mythos in a way that one-upped the Moore Paradigm and here Collins is kind of pulling a Veitch, downshifting into the day to day stuff more often (not that Veitch didn't have his own god-plot-issues), but a kind of rehumanizing of the character with a return to some nuts and bolts mundanity of having to work at your marriage, not lie to your spouse, the basics.
It's part of the growing pains of comics that we take these superhero deities and we say, "but they're still like us; they still gotta eat and sleep and shit and their breath stinks" and you get caught on this tightrope between the ape and the divine. It's a tough balancing act and in some stories, Collins really did a good job, but overall, the breadth of her run tries to have the cake and eat it too and you just can't.
There also seemed a weird arc of destruction running through Collins' tenor as she took all the characters and said "fuck your lives" and broke tons of things. Liz Tremayne's shattered personality after all her trauma at some point just up and fixed itself and she said, "Okay, bye, I'm out" (which you could make a case for the previous male authors making too much of her as "broken woman" but Collins' seemed to just go "all right, I'm tired of this character so she's better, she's leaving."
Then she ends the book on a wave of infidelities and takes the whole cast of characters and scatters them to the wind.
I get that comics tend to trap characters in these repetitive cycles of storylines. The hero is just trying to do his job/go to school but criminals keep making him put on the mask and save the city again, and again, and again.
Swamp Thing's plot lines have had a lot of that style action going on lately with "oh no, some new threat to the Swampy Family; will Tefe be taken by some evil force; will The Green once again make ST have to leave Abby; will Arcane come back again and again; will someone from Louisiana's small-minded community of religious bigots once again make things hot for our characters who just want some time alone to have some human on plant nookie?
Sure I get it.
One of the thing that happens with any of Alan Moore's titles is that he sets up his superpowered characters on a conflict with their essential godhood, leaving follow up writers nowhere to go, all their dramas seem so small in comparison, and so I get that it's hard to write your way out of that corner.
Wheeler tried really his hardest to rewrite the mythos in a way that one-upped the Moore Paradigm and here Collins is kind of pulling a Veitch, downshifting into the day to day stuff more often (not that Veitch didn't have his own god-plot-issues), but a kind of rehumanizing of the character with a return to some nuts and bolts mundanity of having to work at your marriage, not lie to your spouse, the basics.
It's part of the growing pains of comics that we take these superhero deities and we say, "but they're still like us; they still gotta eat and sleep and shit and their breath stinks" and you get caught on this tightrope between the ape and the divine. It's a tough balancing act and in some stories, Collins really did a good job, but overall, the breadth of her run tries to have the cake and eat it too and you just can't.
March 12, 2022
Swamp Thing by Nancy A. Collins omnibus 🌳
This collects the entire two year run of gothic horror novelist Nancy A. Collins, and was originally a Vertigo series but is now branded Black Label (go figure) it has never been reprinted before, and i was quite eager to start this one, i was hoping for some classic early 90s horror vibes, and that is what i got. Collins herself hails from Louisiana and that southern vibe lingers through the entire book, the artwork is very decent, and the covers done by Charles Vess stunning and moody, one thing that Collins excels at is its humor, this is a pretty funny book ! It has some quirky stories aswell, but they read pretty easily, John Constantine comes to visit ofcourse and that always a plus in my book, i am really happy with what i see here, and it is really much better then i expected.
This collects the entire two year run of gothic horror novelist Nancy A. Collins, and was originally a Vertigo series but is now branded Black Label (go figure) it has never been reprinted before, and i was quite eager to start this one, i was hoping for some classic early 90s horror vibes, and that is what i got. Collins herself hails from Louisiana and that southern vibe lingers through the entire book, the artwork is very decent, and the covers done by Charles Vess stunning and moody, one thing that Collins excels at is its humor, this is a pretty funny book ! It has some quirky stories aswell, but they read pretty easily, John Constantine comes to visit ofcourse and that always a plus in my book, i am really happy with what i see here, and it is really much better then i expected.
May 11, 2024
(Zero spoiler review) 4.75/5
I thought it was going to be something special, but wow. Just wow. When you have to follow the likes of Len Wein and Alan Moore, you know you have your work more than cut out for yourself, so how Nancy Collin's went and topped two of the absolute G.O.A.Ts of comics, delivering what is now my favourite Swamp Thing run of all time, I will never know. I'm just glad that she did.
Injecting a more focused narrative than Wein and Wrightson, and more grounding and more heart than Moore, Collins has given us something more akin to a southern gothic horror meets days of our lives, but with monsters and demons and shit. If that doesn't give you a serious case of fizzy knickers, I don't know what will.
Pulling from her southern roots, the world Swamp Thing inhabits has never been more realised and authentic. And again, she was going up against Wein and Moore. Hell, even saddling Alec and Abby, two of my all time favourites with a kind (usually the death knell for any series or story) couldn't hold this story back.
The art from Scott Eaton and Kim DeMulder was breathtaking. again, Wrightson, Totleben and the numerous other collaborators on the Moore run were no slouches. But that 90's Vertigo style, with some exquisite pre digital (see sterile) colours gave Collin's run an identity, an life of its own. And to have them on the majority of issues... Every time I finished an issue, I was both aching and anxious to turn the page, in case a new, lesser art team took over the book. I was glad that but for a handful of issues, I was never disappointed so. Credit also needs to be given to Charles Vess for some of the most beautiful covers to ever grace a run of comics, EVER!
With about 200 pages to go, I came to an issue called 'And in the end', and my heart sank. That sounds awfully final for a book with hundreds of pages to go. But alas, it was the end. One of the most shocking and heartbreaking of endings, I might add. Can't say I saw it coming either. I'm still reeling from it a little bit, to be honest.
The final pages were taken up with a story that, perhaps continues on to a certain extent. Perhaps gives us some answers, some closure to what came before. but I just can't bring myself to read it right now. Eaton and DeMulder aren't on art, and the idea of a lesser story, unconnected to what came before with different art just isn't what I need right now. I'm sure I will return to it in time, but for now, this review is for the 26 issues of the series proper. A magnum opus and a testament to the power of comics as a storytelling medium. Of course, read the Wein and Moore issues, but be bloody well sure you read these as well. I fucking loved it! 4.75/5
OmniBen.
I thought it was going to be something special, but wow. Just wow. When you have to follow the likes of Len Wein and Alan Moore, you know you have your work more than cut out for yourself, so how Nancy Collin's went and topped two of the absolute G.O.A.Ts of comics, delivering what is now my favourite Swamp Thing run of all time, I will never know. I'm just glad that she did.
Injecting a more focused narrative than Wein and Wrightson, and more grounding and more heart than Moore, Collins has given us something more akin to a southern gothic horror meets days of our lives, but with monsters and demons and shit. If that doesn't give you a serious case of fizzy knickers, I don't know what will.
Pulling from her southern roots, the world Swamp Thing inhabits has never been more realised and authentic. And again, she was going up against Wein and Moore. Hell, even saddling Alec and Abby, two of my all time favourites with a kind (usually the death knell for any series or story) couldn't hold this story back.
The art from Scott Eaton and Kim DeMulder was breathtaking. again, Wrightson, Totleben and the numerous other collaborators on the Moore run were no slouches. But that 90's Vertigo style, with some exquisite pre digital (see sterile) colours gave Collin's run an identity, an life of its own. And to have them on the majority of issues... Every time I finished an issue, I was both aching and anxious to turn the page, in case a new, lesser art team took over the book. I was glad that but for a handful of issues, I was never disappointed so. Credit also needs to be given to Charles Vess for some of the most beautiful covers to ever grace a run of comics, EVER!
With about 200 pages to go, I came to an issue called 'And in the end', and my heart sank. That sounds awfully final for a book with hundreds of pages to go. But alas, it was the end. One of the most shocking and heartbreaking of endings, I might add. Can't say I saw it coming either. I'm still reeling from it a little bit, to be honest.
The final pages were taken up with a story that, perhaps continues on to a certain extent. Perhaps gives us some answers, some closure to what came before. but I just can't bring myself to read it right now. Eaton and DeMulder aren't on art, and the idea of a lesser story, unconnected to what came before with different art just isn't what I need right now. I'm sure I will return to it in time, but for now, this review is for the 26 issues of the series proper. A magnum opus and a testament to the power of comics as a storytelling medium. Of course, read the Wein and Moore issues, but be bloody well sure you read these as well. I fucking loved it! 4.75/5
OmniBen.
June 26, 2023
DC Black Label has seemed to pick up much of the mission of Vertigo, DC’s previous mature-reader imprint, at least in creating quite a number of prestige reissues of older Vertigo fare, particularly those titles that are not amongst the top sellers and that need some type of high-quality, permanent treatment in their catalog. That completely describes Nancy A. Collins’ 1980s-1990s run on Swamp Thing. She picked up the title after Alan Moore’s groundbreaking re-approach to the character and, for well over thirty issues, placed him into the Cajun swamps of Louisiana and told stories in the rich Southern Gothic style. Her run on Swamp Thing had not appeared in its own collection yet, it simply went from Moore to Mark Millar and Grant Morrison’s runs, respectively, so DC decided to publish this largely forgotten, yet historic, contribution into its nicest, and most expensive, format. This is probably only for the die-hards given its price point, a staggering $150, but it is a great opportunity to not just see how Swamp Thing developed, but to see how Vertigo and modern horror comics came to be, as the storytelling evolves through classic Southern horror tropes into the near psychedelic weirdness that defined Vertigo in the 1990s.
May 5, 2022
Collins is the first person who attempts to make Swamp Thing their own, outside the shadow of Alan Moore.
Collin's Swamp Thing is much more grounded and less cosmic. It's more practical horror. Politics and Serial Killers. More tales of the crypt than Parliament of the Trees. It's a nice change of pace, but it's definitely MUCH more subdued.
It's initially the Tefe and Abbie show; but becomes the competing attention Family vs. Duty.
The art is serviceable, and for some like Scott Eaton, even great--but it's not as loud, which is hard when it's out the same year as Death of Superman. But the culmination of the revenge narrative is pretty solid!
Collin's Swamp Thing is much more grounded and less cosmic. It's more practical horror. Politics and Serial Killers. More tales of the crypt than Parliament of the Trees. It's a nice change of pace, but it's definitely MUCH more subdued.
It's initially the Tefe and Abbie show; but becomes the competing attention Family vs. Duty.
The art is serviceable, and for some like Scott Eaton, even great--but it's not as loud, which is hard when it's out the same year as Death of Superman. But the culmination of the revenge narrative is pretty solid!
December 21, 2020
The Southern part of Swamp Thing is often either done badly or ignored but Nancy Collins puts Louisianna front an center in this huge selection. There are cross burnings, Southern politics including a David Duke stand in and even an entire issue set during Mardi Gras. The Duke stuff was particularly topical as they were written in 1991 when Duke, a dispicable former klansman and American bottomfeeder, was running for Govoner of Louisianna.
Overall, I liked the art and all the left turns the series took in Collins' hands though after 25 issues or so I was ready for a new voice.
Overall, I liked the art and all the left turns the series took in Collins' hands though after 25 issues or so I was ready for a new voice.
February 18, 2021
There’s something so satisfying about a comic run that only gets better the further in you go.
Nancy A. Collins starts strong, and continues growing more and more engaging with each new stride.
It was a good time going between some very classic Swamp Thing styled romps, and also expanding on his strenuous connection to the Parliament of trees, and developing relationships with his supporting cast.
Southern. Gothic. Horror. Nothing more needs to be said.
P.S. the art is phenomenal (especially the breathtaking covers)
Nancy A. Collins starts strong, and continues growing more and more engaging with each new stride.
It was a good time going between some very classic Swamp Thing styled romps, and also expanding on his strenuous connection to the Parliament of trees, and developing relationships with his supporting cast.
Southern. Gothic. Horror. Nothing more needs to be said.
P.S. the art is phenomenal (especially the breathtaking covers)
December 20, 2016
Excelente cómic con una historia de trasfondo profundamente reflexionando sobre el bien y el mal, pude entender como pensaría un "Dios" acerca de sus poderes, de su deber para con la humanidad y todo esto sin perder la esencia de un hombre que creyó alguna vez ser y que esta enamorado de una mujer.
March 19, 2023
There's more Swamp Thing besides Alan Moore. This 2.5 year run is still very relevant in it's topics such as forced pregnancy, lhbtq rights, racism, environmental disaster, fake news and extreme right politicians.
A good run with less of the cosmic and more homegrown horror. Beautifull cover art.
A good run with less of the cosmic and more homegrown horror. Beautifull cover art.
August 18, 2019
Nancy Collins doesn't get enough respect for her Swamp Thing run.
January 31, 2021
A really good read that builds on the world of Swamp Thing in a nice way. I'd actually love to read what happens next if DC has collected the issues after this.
March 26, 2021
Consistent and interesting. I like what she did with the daughter
November 14, 2024
It's very mediocre.
I've read this immediately after finishing the Alan Moore run on Swamp Thing (thanks DC for not collecting the issues in between). This book is just inferior in every single way, so much so, that I'm baffled by the decision to print this run in Omnibus format (it was even reprinted once!).
Swamp Thing and Abby have a child now and that is everything that seems to have happened in the 50+ issues, I've missed. And this book seems to follow this approach of not developing the story in any meaningful way. While I'm really happy to have a comicbook run from the 90s written by a female writer, DC decided to put a novelist on the job and it shows.
The book starts out with typical 'monster of the week' stories. They are slow and borderline boring. After Alan Moore's run, the Swamp Thing is a powerful elemental who should not be bothered by any adversaries he might face.
At some point the stories tend to run longer and start to have a theme, but it's very on the nose (politics, environment, toxic waste, etc.). There's the return of old enemies, but I'm not seeing any unique approach in handling them. There is a new character here, Lady Jane, but apart from her origin story, there's barely anything interesting for her to do here. Instead, the book treats on familiar grounds and doesn't have it's own identity.
At some point in the book, Abby decides to leave the Swamp and get into a fight with her husband. She abandons her child and falls into the arms of two different men almost immediately. Meanwhile, Swamp Thing ignores his child as well and falls into the arms of another female companion himself. This whole storyline feels so wrong (even though a little love drama is fun) and the protagonists act completely out of character and this situation is not even resolved in this book.
Then there's the artwork. It's the early 90's and the book looks hideous in a lot of the stories. Books at this time used to look much better. Not a fan of the lettering either.
Now I know that I'm being harsh and I did (in part) enjoy this book, which is why I'm sticking to 3 stars, but I had hoped for so much more.
I've read this immediately after finishing the Alan Moore run on Swamp Thing (thanks DC for not collecting the issues in between). This book is just inferior in every single way, so much so, that I'm baffled by the decision to print this run in Omnibus format (it was even reprinted once!).
Swamp Thing and Abby have a child now and that is everything that seems to have happened in the 50+ issues, I've missed. And this book seems to follow this approach of not developing the story in any meaningful way. While I'm really happy to have a comicbook run from the 90s written by a female writer, DC decided to put a novelist on the job and it shows.
The book starts out with typical 'monster of the week' stories. They are slow and borderline boring. After Alan Moore's run, the Swamp Thing is a powerful elemental who should not be bothered by any adversaries he might face.
At some point the stories tend to run longer and start to have a theme, but it's very on the nose (politics, environment, toxic waste, etc.). There's the return of old enemies, but I'm not seeing any unique approach in handling them. There is a new character here, Lady Jane, but apart from her origin story, there's barely anything interesting for her to do here. Instead, the book treats on familiar grounds and doesn't have it's own identity.
At some point in the book, Abby decides to leave the Swamp and get into a fight with her husband. She abandons her child and falls into the arms of two different men almost immediately. Meanwhile, Swamp Thing ignores his child as well and falls into the arms of another female companion himself. This whole storyline feels so wrong (even though a little love drama is fun) and the protagonists act completely out of character and this situation is not even resolved in this book.
Then there's the artwork. It's the early 90's and the book looks hideous in a lot of the stories. Books at this time used to look much better. Not a fan of the lettering either.
Now I know that I'm being harsh and I did (in part) enjoy this book, which is why I'm sticking to 3 stars, but I had hoped for so much more.
June 8, 2025
Being a massive fan of Alan Moore's much loved Saga of the Swamp Thing run, I probably heaped unfair expectations upon the Nancy Collins run. I expected similar trippy visuals and equally trippy crises of identity and faith. This run was not that. Nancy doesn't attempt to play the same hits but instead builds upon them in a way comic writers don't really do anymore. When a new team comes on in the modern industry, they tend to rip up the playbook so they can tell their own tale unimpeded.
Swamp Thing (Alec Holland) has come to terms with his life or unlife as an avatar of the Green. Now looking to settle down and build a cosy family life with Abbie Arcane. But the course of true love never did run smooth through the Bayous of Louisiana. Torn between his role as protector of earth and parent to Tefe, Collins weaves a complex web of character relations between the monster of the week plotlines. Characters grow, grow apart, and come back together. With all that complex character growth and shared history coming to a head in the final chapters. You don't just wave goodbye to the damsel in distress at the end of an issue. They're all part of the colourful Cajan background.
The art is the wonderful kind of retro that holds up not because it was ahead of the game but because it represents the absolute best of the industry at the time. It manages to be colourful with the comparatively smaller colour palette. But praise must he paid to the use of shadows and shading to achieve so much depth. Especially in humanising the inhuman monsters and plant life that decorates the series.
Special mention also to the cameo appearances of other DC series like Hellblazer and Sandman, the latter of which really anchors the series in the 90s era of DC comics.
Very enjoyable, very disappointed in myself for procrastinating on this series for almost 4 years.
Swamp Thing (Alec Holland) has come to terms with his life or unlife as an avatar of the Green. Now looking to settle down and build a cosy family life with Abbie Arcane. But the course of true love never did run smooth through the Bayous of Louisiana. Torn between his role as protector of earth and parent to Tefe, Collins weaves a complex web of character relations between the monster of the week plotlines. Characters grow, grow apart, and come back together. With all that complex character growth and shared history coming to a head in the final chapters. You don't just wave goodbye to the damsel in distress at the end of an issue. They're all part of the colourful Cajan background.
The art is the wonderful kind of retro that holds up not because it was ahead of the game but because it represents the absolute best of the industry at the time. It manages to be colourful with the comparatively smaller colour palette. But praise must he paid to the use of shadows and shading to achieve so much depth. Especially in humanising the inhuman monsters and plant life that decorates the series.
Special mention also to the cameo appearances of other DC series like Hellblazer and Sandman, the latter of which really anchors the series in the 90s era of DC comics.
Very enjoyable, very disappointed in myself for procrastinating on this series for almost 4 years.
September 1, 2025
I enjoyed this run a lot. I think Collins’ experience growing up in Louisiana gave the setting of the book a very genuine feel. I particularly enjoyed her issue of Mardi Gras. I think the relationship of Swamp Thing and Abigail is written with complexity and depth which is not often explored in super hero comics. I do not like how things ended up, but not because I think it was unrealistic or badly written but because it’s a tough spot for the characters to be in. Relationships are messy and a person can only be strained for so long. I would have liked to see how Abby eventually dealt with everything, because I feel like it ended in the middle of their journey.
December 22, 2024
Nancy A Collins takes the character back to his roots (no pun intended), with some excellent domestic and body horror stories, while balancing the introspective soap opera that is expected of everyone’s favorite Swamp elemental. Introducing some new characters and updating some old ones, Collins centers the family drama of Swampy and infuses some comedic moments as well—Swamp thing for governor? A wordless rise of living flowers from prehistory to the space age (including their own Superman)? It’s got a little for everyone, and with consistently great artwork in a beautiful omnibus.
February 4, 2024
Absolutely a must read for fans of Swampy. Could barely put it down. Seeing the growth of the family how they live through the constant threats going on around them was phenomenal. Very mature through all interactions and more progressive than i thought it would be when i first started it
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November 17, 2021Dragged a bit at parts. Not my favorite swamp thing but still a nice addition to the series.
September 24, 2023
Arguably the last strong Swamp Thing following Alan Moore and Rick Veitch's respective runs on the book, it gets a lot choppier after this run.
January 1, 2025
4.5 really
December 11, 2025
This is one of my favorite omnibuses I’ve read to date. Fun storylines, leaving me to want to know what’s next for swampy. Fantastic art, flowing story, a great read.
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