Absolute Swamp Thing by Alan Moore Vol. 2

Swamp Thing (1982) (Collected Editions) #3-4

by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette (Artist), John Totleben (Artist)

Before the groundbreaking graphic novel Watchmen, Alan Moore made his debut in the U.S. comic book industry with the revitalization of the horror comic book Swamp Thing. His deconstruction of the classic monster stretched the creative boundaries of the medium and became one of the most spectacular series in comic book history.

With modern-day issues explored against a backdrop of horror, Swamp Thing's stories became commentaries on environmental, political and social issues, unflinching in their relevance. Includes the story The Anatomy Lesson, a haunting origin story that reshapes Swamp Thing mythology with terrifying revelations that begin a journey of discovery and adventure that will take him across the stars and beyond. Author Alan Moore and illustrators Stephen Bissette, John Totleben, Rick Veitch, Shawn McManus, Ron Randall and Dan Day join together to rise from the swamps in slipcased hardcover edition, Absolute Swamp Thing by Alan Moore Vol. 2. This collects Saga of the Swamp Thing #35-50 with brand-new coloring.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Comic Book, Fantasy, Fiction

464 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1986

About the author

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.

Reviews

[Lukas Sumper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This set the bar so high I very rarely see other comic series even come close in terms of writing and just sheer originality. I mean… who comes up with that s***! It’s luckily one of the titles that are overhyped and in this case deservedly so.

That's really all I wanted to say. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shallow buddy read with the great and powerful Chad.

4.5 stars. Another great volume. Alan Moore definitely changed the game with this run. I know this originally came out in the 80s but it doesn’t read like it. This could have come out today and feel right. Swamp thing learns how to do more with his powers and meets the Parliament of Trees. A group of older entities like himself. That was really cool. This has the first appearance of John Constantine. He recruits Swamp thing to help deal with some evil that has been popping up. Everything from underwater vampires to werewolves to ancient voodoo spirits in Louisiana to haunted houses and other cool stuff in between. This was to tenderize civilization for the coming of an ancient evil conjured up by a group of male witches called the Brujeria from well before the time of man. This build up was expertly crafted by Moore and I was loving every minute of it. Constantine gathered all kinds of cool characters to help. Like Spectre, Zatanna and her pops, Deadman, Stranger, Etrigan and others preparing to try and stop the Brujeria. Things get crazy and I was there for it. Can’t wait to start the final volume.

[Henry Blackwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to make this brief.

This collection mostly contains a drawn out whacky team up with an ‘end of the world’ narrative scheme running through it. Which I can only speculate what it’s truly about. There was a crisis event happening at the same time as this trade so Alan Moore could have been making a big critique on the whole ‘mass meta disaster event’. (One that DC would go on to turn into a yearly thing in the future). It surely seems that is the case since the symbol of Cain killing his brother Abel is overtly used over and over again. It’s used as a story that keeps on returning time after time. And every time the events end up being the same. Cain ends up killing his brother. But they both come back to life the next day to relieve It all over again. It’s quite like the Myth of Sisyphus. It seems like that’s the message, that these superhero stories are just reoccurring and cyclical to the point of madness. I could say all of those things and they would probably be true. But at the same time I don’t really like stories about heaven and hell and I surely don’t care about it being the focal point or the stakes of the story. It doesn’t interest me. So even though I love the themes and message Alan Moore is trying to say throughout these stories, I find them to be a little boring at times. And I’ve come to realise that I don’t always love his prose. I would even say that I prefer grant Morrison’s. Which would make him so angry.

The last thing I should mention is that this is the first appearance of John Constantine and it makes a lot of sense why Jamie Delano’s first run of the character is so terrible. Because John Constantine is an Alan Moore creation. And just like I was saying on my last Swamp Thing review, it’s mighty hard to put a new spin onto something that you didn’t create. Hellblazer was not a very focused book until Garth Ennis took over the run. These issues where Constantine has become a supporting character to swamp thing has reminded me why John is so beloved. Moore writes him perfectly in this, and that’s obviously because he made him.

All in all, this isn’t a bad trade. In fact it’s quite good. I just have no interest for some of the content of the book. Or the angle Moore decided to go with in terms of who the enemy was or what was at stake (heaven). It’s not to say I don’t like religion or religious stories. I just don’t care about fiction hell and fictional heaven. It seems like a very British thing to write about it the way Alan Moore does.

But like I said in my last review. Every single issue of Swamp Thing is must read if you enjoy comics. Case in point; the Crisis tie-in issue was fantastic on this trade. One of my favourite issues. Usually tie-ins to big events suck and are worth skipping. Not this one, it’s relevant to the story you’re reading and also mentions what’s going on in the mainline story that’s interesting but not invasive. Alan Moore is at the peak here.

Damn, I tried to make it brief.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time reading the absolutes. I wanted to study the new coloring in particular. I read this side by side with the trades and some of the issues. I have come to the conclusion that I prefer the recoloring. There are more than a few instances where too much rendering is added or the style doesn’t match, but for 4 out of 5 of the pages, I do think the recoloring added clarity and visual interest.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lets start with the bad, DC fucked up the spine of this book like many other DC books, the first Absolute was a DC/Vertigo logo and now all of a sudden there is just a  DC logo, sounds not like a big deal when i type it, but it annoys me to have these incredible good looking books with small details differently, also there are issues with the binding, yet another great issue that happens alot of DC, but almost never with the absolute line, so with the bitterness out of the way, we have yet another great Absolute Swamp Thing,  by the weirdest/greatest writer there is. I found this second one a bit less enjoyable story wise, but this is still miles ahead of its competition. Moore goes full Supernatural with Swampy, we have werewolves, Vampires and zombies, the classic stuff in a way ! Also water monsters and a story about slavery. We get to know more of Swamp Thing with Parliament of Threes, and we finally see the first appearance of John Constantine,  who has a pretty big role in this collection. There are a couple more appearances in this book mostly because of the tie in to Crisis on Infinite Earth, we see Batman,  Cain, Abel, Doctor Fate, Zattana and a couple of Moore's favorites like Deadman, The Phantom Stranger and Etrigan. The recoloring by Steve Olif is much debated, but i think it looks great,  and the artwork by Bissette, Totleben and Veitch among the best i have ever seen, there are a couple fill in artists but they are all great. The mossy look and feel of the cover is just like the first one, and still great and in the end a couple cool extra's make this yet another great edition with some minor faults, but still a great piece of work. Very worth it.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Iva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Цей том - одна із кращих речей, що коли-небудь виходили у ДіСі! Він просто зірве вам дах!
Ясна річ, що очікувати переклад я буду не для знайомства із сюжетом. Тож: другий том Абсолютної "Болотяної Істоти" від Алана Мура.

Тут вам і знову Незнайомець, і Етріган, і Затанна, і Привид, і Спектр... і КОСТЯНТИН! От кому тєжко самотужки збирати до купи увесь ДіСішний магічний всесвіт! Щоправда, характер його тут значно відрізняється від того, що можна побачити навіть і в першому томі "Сендмена", не кажучи вже про Джонову класичну сольну серію (яку я просто мрію мати на полиці, як одну із перших, що була прочитана та загалом улюблених). Таки Мур кроїть світ під власні потреби, трохи нехтуючи його цілісністю... Але біс із ним, доки виходить аж настільки круто.

І без дого величезний обсяг здібностей Істоти тут наблизиться до божественних масштабів, а Мур потроху почне замітати сліди попередних сценаристів серії 82-го. Та й одвічне для Мура питання відсутності абсолютів навіть за проголошеної дихотомії знову підійматиметься, і класична Болотяна Істота з'явиться в кадрі, і Каїн із Авелем тизернуть серію про "Дім Таємниць" (таку-собі, але ж).

Та головне, що ще крутіше за решту - це сюжетний твіст із коханням Істоти, з Еббі. Просто читайте, бо такого вивертання перспективи ви навряд де знайдете.

[OmniBen · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 4.5/5
There isn't much point comparing Alan Moore to the rest of the comics industry. At this stage, Alan Moore essentially only competes with himself. The only real question I need to ask is, where does this sit amidst the rest of his collected works. Is it a work of sheer unbridled genius, or is it simply really, really, really, really good. Which is towards the lower end of Alan Moore's works, if I'm being honest. At least the ones written last century.
Absolute Swamp Thing volume 2 is really, really, really, really good. Even saying that about one of the greatest comics runs of all time makes me feel like a nitpicky old asshole, yet as I said, Moore competes with himself, and this perhaps does fall short of volume one, as well as many of his other works. It really only salvaged five stars in the final arc, which was just too well told to be anything less than full marks.
The art is far more consistent here, without Shawn Macmanus' unfortunate stylistic difference being a little too jarring to meld with the other artistic luminaries. And yes, I'm still pissed at DC for not giving us the original colours, although me being pissed at DC is like a bit like asking whether water is still wet. The answer is always going to be yes.
A wonderful collection of stories, although not as impactful or re-readable as volume one. 4.5/5


OmniBen.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as strong overall as volume 1 this still contains some amazing stories.

I really loved the werewolf story this time, as well as the creature made from waste and pollution. It all fits the heavy themes of Swamp Thing so far. On top of that we get the end of the world coming with the Infinite Crisis run which really gets the magic people buzzing and Swamp Thing teaming up with some of the most god-like superheroes in the entire universe.

Overall some good stuff, even if some feels a bit too overstuffed, it's still a great run. A 4 out of 5.

[Rene Delić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drugi svezak nadograđuje sve pozitivne aspekte iz prvog, ali se glavna tematika mijenja. Moore odlazi iz propitkivanja što čini čovjeka u domenu metafizike, a tako kroz avanture Čudovišta iz močvare raspravlja o tome što razlikuje dobro i zlo - i zašto jedno ne može postojat bez drugog.

Roster likova je također proširen i glavna sporedna uloga pada u ruke (danas) ikonskom Johnu Constantineu, koji Čudovište vodi kroz razne događaje koji na kraju kulminiraju u spektakularnom sukobu svjetlosti i tame.

[Neil Mehta · Rating 4 out of 5]

B+. The art, and the phenomenal presentation of the Absolute edition, are what tipped this up. The stories aren't so impressive to me. The giant event at the end doesn't feel very satisfying to me, because I don't understand the rules of the combat at all, so it feels arbitrary when the heroes eventually win. (Plus not a single important hero dies, which is utterly ridiculous in an apocalyptic war like this.)

[Matthew WK · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the art alone, but the long story arc and climax were outstanding!!

[Carlo Gnutti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nel numero 36 ho apprezzato molto i diversi punti di vista attraverso i quali si racconta la vicenda di Nukeface.
Gran parte del volume presenta storie in cui Swamp Thing si ritrova a scontrarsi/interagire con tutte le maggiori creature/sottogeneri della letteratura e cinematografia horror: i vampiri - in questo caso acquatici quindi molto peculiari-, un licantropo, gli zombie, il boogeyman -in questo numero, di cui ho apprezzato moltissimo le numerose vignette in soggettiva dal punto di vista dell’uomo nero, fa anche una piccolissima comparsa batman- ed una casa infestata. Elemento comune a tutti questi numeri e’ la presenza di John Costantine, che guida Swamp Thing e lo avverte che presto dovrà affrontare qualcosa di molto più temibile.
Gli ultimi numeri, dedicati allo scontro col male primordiale -per cui Constantine recluta, tra gli altri, anche Zatanna, Deadman e Demon/Etrigan - mi hanno lasciato l’amaro in bocca soprattutto a causa del finale un po’ sottotono, per quanto il messaggio trasmesso, ovvero che il male e la morte possono essere l’humus, inteso come punto di partenza da cui far nascere qualcosa di bello e positivo, sia più che giusto.
Come nel primo volume, trovo i disegni di Stephen Bissette assolutamente non all’altezza delle grandiose storie di Alan Moore. In particolare il numero 40, quello sulla donna licantropo, e’ un capolavoro assoluto.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.5]
It's pretentious and filled with emotion. And Cozy. Something I would'nt recommend to a friend because my guess is they would judge it to be confusing and silly. They would be right. Yet I enjoy it. I'm not entirely sure why. It has a weird mix of innocence and brutality, typical of Alan Moore. Heart warming and ever surprising.

It is an improvement over the first volume, in part because it's more cohesive, consistent and there are no random stories that don't help the main plot. I dislike Stephen Bisette's way of portraiting shadows, using straight lines, and the faces and some panels are inconsistent. Other than that, the art is really engaging and often very beautiful. The large format of the Absolute really works well here. The art follows the psychedelic nature of the stories very well, and it is a bit better than the first volume overall.

For any other comic, I would'nt approve of the larger than life storyline with heaven and hell, good and evil. Something about Swamp Thing's stoic nature helps it work though, and it is interesting throughout.

[Kris Michaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slight step downward in quality, even as Alec begins, with the help of John Constantine, to explore the implications of his newfound status as a Plant Elemental. Following a “monster of the week” tour of Dark America, we get bogged down with a pointless Crisis crossover. Then a fascinating setup involving a truly horrifying Amazonian Cthulhu cult leads to a disappointing showdown between (in this corner) the same bunch of supernatural DC heroes that helped Swampy brave Hell in a much more interesting story from Volume 1 and (in that corner) an Entity of Pure Evil that the artists struggle to depict in terms equal to Moore’s poetic narration. We are told the stakes are impossibly high, but we never really feel it, and Moore struggles to stick the landing and explain how the world has changed following a Blake-ian handshake between Good and Evil. This middle child of the saga is way more “comic-booky” than you might remember, but still worthwhile, and necessary for the full enjoyment of Volume 3.

[Hugh Pfabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing the quality from volume 1, I very much enjoyed this one.

The stories, initially, are more one-offs, with Moore exploring a mix of his own ideas and rough concepts suggested by the rest of the team, but all entertaining and well written. It feels like a genuine comics horror anthology.

In the second half (roughly), we get more into a bigger ongoing storyline. It starts with some minor Crisis on Infinite Earths tie-ins, but goes into its own sort of magical-DC Crisis. I think it started a bit abruptly, and I think I would have enjoyed seeing more of it build for a while, rather than just being told that it was building in the previous episodic issues, but it still does a nice job of bringing in other magical characters. This is where I was some of the significant events that have been alluded to in comics years later (and Morrison, unjustly, tried to "improve" on).

Overall, still enjoying it very much, both historically, as a trial ground for Moore, and for its own quality of writing and art.

Looking forward to Vol. 3.

[Jake Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The issues collected in the first Absolute Edition are so wildly ambitious, outstripping even Frank Miller's work on Daredevil around the same time for envelope-pushing scripting and paneling, that it's wild that the work here surpasses it. Apart from a two-parter that opens this set with a minor, tragic villain whose irradiated poison sets Swamp Thing back to zero, 14 of the 16 issues here form an interlinked epic known as "American Gothic," the thrust of which might be said to be elevating Swamp Thing from a horror-comic new icon right past the level of superhero and instead to the realm of god. The creative team top themselves at every turn, from Moore's deft balance of standalone a-plots with the ongoing arc of Alec's missions for Constantine and his increasing awareness of his full potential to the artists' increasingly warped creature designs and wildly innovative layouts. There are so many classics here, with many putting America's omnipresent ghosts and sins on display: the werewolf story-as-feminist-howl; the ghosts of a garish plantation melodrama infecting the minds of those making a movie about the long-dead people. But the best is saved for last in an apocalyptic resolution that, in a bravura feat, is a Crisis on Infinite Earths tie-in that manages to be absolutely disconnected from that event while ultimately suggesting that Swamp Thing may be the DC hero who truly saved the day for the whole thing.

[Sebastian Lauterbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this volume a little bit less than Vol. 1, mainly due to the storyline in here.

Early on Swamp Thing dies only to learn he can teleport anywhere, where soil can grow and rebuild a new body. Alan Moore then quickly introduces John Constantine and uses him as a crooked guide/teacher for Swamp Thing, sending him to various spots of evil on earth, all culminating in a finale.

Here's my issue: The evil hotspots felt very random and not always interesting to me. Most often they are just an excuse for a one and done spooky story. Swamp Thing itself is just a background character throughout this volume for the most part.

Still, this stuff is really good, leaps and bounds beyond what other comics did in the mid 80's. The final showdown itself was also quite interesting to me.

Most importantly: The book is still gorgeous to look at, both on the outside and the interiors.

Depending on how I like Vol. 3, I could imagine keeping Vol. 1 only, but we'll see.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moore goes for a longer form story here. John Constantine makes his first appearance, showing up all mysteriously, feeding Swamp Thing little clues to meet him on certain dates around the country as this ominous threats looms in the background. We get cool stories about underwater vampires and ghosts at the Winchester Mystery House. Even a tie in to Crisis can't derail the momentum. It all culminates in issue #50 as it all comes to a head with all of DC's supernatural characters at the fore. It's just great stuff.

This absolute edition looks gorgeous. The book is oversized, expanding the art. Steve Oliff recolored the entire run and it looks amazing. The extras in this one aren't as cool as volume 1. It's the typical script to page stuff for the most part along with a few character designs.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still very much a five-star series, but the erasure of Tatjana Wood’s original colors (and name from the issue credits!) in favor of Steve Oliff’s X-treme Baja Blast orgy of gradients is nearly as distracting in this volume as it is in the first. He does at least seem to have toned it down a bit and followed Wood’s original color guides more faithfully, which is an improvement.

Oh and also? A 16-page chunk from earlier in the book is reprinted in the climactic chapter, instead of the 16 pages that should have been there. So yeah, production quality control could have been better all around.

[Zachary Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing my first reading of Alan Moore's acclaimed Swamp Thing run. The art is gorgeous and looks epic in the absolute format. As this is my first reading, I do not have nostalgia for the original coloring and do not have any problems with the re-coloring. This volume also features the first appearance of John Constantine. This volume ends with crossover with Crisis on infinite earths. I am looking forward to picking up volume 3 this fall. A must read for anyone interested in Swamp Thing.

[Graeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swamp Thing by Alan Moore is still one of the best. This volume is somehow a step up but in a different way. The first volume was a look at what Swamp Thing was to himself but here we find out more about his place in the DC universe and adding a character like John Constantine to the mix was a stoke of genius. Packed with some of the best issues of the run so far I’m looking forward to how this epic saga is going to wrap up.

[Adam Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how the issues dive deep into the DC multiverse. Moore's run on the title is considered the definitive Swamp Thing. Still, parts of it have become non-canon, particularly Swamp Thing's extremely public invasion of Gotham City when he became an internationally famous figure. Commissioner Gordon, for example, no longer remembers a 50-foot-tall Swamp Thing marching up Broadway.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75/5 Stars

This is so very much my jam. The horror elements swirl and mix with the occult, environmentalism, and various social commentaries, all to make one helluva comic book run. Alan Moore's writing is superb and the art from Bissette and Totleben is absolutely exquisite. Swamp Thing continues to exceed my expectations.

[Bryson Grenfell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without spoiling anything. This volume is even better than the first. Alan Moore is a master craftsman (duh). The art is gorgeous. Swamp Thing is a top-tier title that never gets enough love.
This is brilliant

[Anthony Wendel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The unsettling yet beautiful artwork mixed with the suspense and keep story offered in the pages of the tome are truly a sight to behold. It truly is a series anyone who calls themselves a fan of comics needs to experience. This is a fantastic book and I am so glad I took the time to read it.

[Alexander Pyles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one moved a bit slower for my taste and while it was cool for Swamp Thing to start getting more powers and used to his new state - there was a lot that was still left somewhat unsatisfying to me. I do appreciate Moore's subversion of expectations.

[Christophe Rodo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une superbe succession d’épisodes qui ancre vraiment la créature du marais dans la mythologie occulte de l’univers DC. Les thématiques sont profondes et tellement bien écrites. Un recueil à lire fortement pour l’introduction et la belle exposition de John Constantine !

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic, builds on the great work of the first volume and brings Constantine in as a lead character. So many great ideas and stories.

[Sotofunkdamental · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obra maestra de Alan Moore. Toda su etapa en La Cosa del Pantano es imprescindible.