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Swamp Thing (2011) #1-7
Swamp Thing: The New 52 Omnibus
One of DC’s most compelling characters is reborn for a new era in this collection of game-changing Swamp Thing stories, headlined by comic book superstars Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette!
Swamp Thing has long been one of DC’s most compelling characters, a stoic and tragic defender of the natural world, who starred in the revolutionary Saga of the Swamp Thing series written by Alan Moore.
In 2011, as part of DC’s “New 52” initiative that gave fresh starts to the company’s biggest characters, writer Scott Snyder and artist Yanick Paquette brought new creative energy to Swamp Thing, reinventing the character for the current age.
Since the dawn of time, the planet’s safety has depended on maintaining a balance of three great powers: 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 Dr. 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.
This volume collects Swamp Thing #1-40, #0, Swamp Thing Annual #1-3, Swamp Thing: Futures End #1, Swamp Thing featuring Arcane #231, Animal Man #12, #17, and Aquaman #31.
Swamp Thing has long been one of DC’s most compelling characters, a stoic and tragic defender of the natural world, who starred in the revolutionary Saga of the Swamp Thing series written by Alan Moore.
In 2011, as part of DC’s “New 52” initiative that gave fresh starts to the company’s biggest characters, writer Scott Snyder and artist Yanick Paquette brought new creative energy to Swamp Thing, reinventing the character for the current age.
Since the dawn of time, the planet’s safety has depended on maintaining a balance of three great powers: 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 Dr. 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.
This volume collects Swamp Thing #1-40, #0, Swamp Thing Annual #1-3, Swamp Thing: Futures End #1, Swamp Thing featuring Arcane #231, Animal Man #12, #17, and Aquaman #31.
1160 pages, Hardcover
First published March 4, 2015
6 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Scott Snyder
1,779 books5,122 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 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 9, 2022
A massive collection of all the Nu52 Swamp Thing stories, which is one of the few places that the Nu52 went right. The collection brings together the stories of Scott Snyder and Charles Soule (with the latter being one of his stronger works).
Snyder offers an interesting, even daring reinvention of the Swamp Thing as what he was originally said to be: Alec Holland. He then goes on to reinvent Arcane and Abby, bringing in another kingdom called the Rot. Most of the reinventions offer interesting new takes on this mythos, and the writing is generally strong, other than the future story that ends it, which drags due to its length.
Soule then ups the stakes with with the stories of the Seeder, dissension in the Green, and ultimately the birth of a new Machine kingdom. To a certain extent _everything_ in this nu52 volume feels like reiterations of previous ideas, but Soule's offer the most originality, and are strong particularly for their supporting cast. The only major issue is the rush with which the final issue ends.
Overall, a worthy volume of the Swamp Thing. Sure, it's no Moore, Millar/Morrison, or Vaughan run, but it's still better than most comics out there.
Snyder offers an interesting, even daring reinvention of the Swamp Thing as what he was originally said to be: Alec Holland. He then goes on to reinvent Arcane and Abby, bringing in another kingdom called the Rot. Most of the reinventions offer interesting new takes on this mythos, and the writing is generally strong, other than the future story that ends it, which drags due to its length.
Soule then ups the stakes with with the stories of the Seeder, dissension in the Green, and ultimately the birth of a new Machine kingdom. To a certain extent _everything_ in this nu52 volume feels like reiterations of previous ideas, but Soule's offer the most originality, and are strong particularly for their supporting cast. The only major issue is the rush with which the final issue ends.
Overall, a worthy volume of the Swamp Thing. Sure, it's no Moore, Millar/Morrison, or Vaughan run, but it's still better than most comics out there.
April 30, 2021
I should preface this by saying whoever is running DC’s collected editions should be fired. But sadly, they already fired that team recently, which probably explains the painfully obtuse omission of Charles Soule’s name from the front page credits. Because this book is easily as much his as anyone else’s.
There’s basically two chunks of this, Snyder’s and Soule’s. And honestly, I think Soule’s section shines the most. I’m pretty outspoken in my belief that Snyder is way too overblown, but I realized I was really enjoying it in spite of myself. Rotworld is typical crazy Snyder horror, and true to the green, he does a good job planting seeds that really bloom during the rest of the book.
One of my biggest issues with this is Yanick Paquette’s layouts. It’s not his fault the book was bound so tightly with this much gutter loss but honestly, it felt like half the time I was trying to decipher whether I was looking at full page spreads single pages, the border art was so distracting. This took me out of it more than I like, and got to be pretty annoying once Rotworld hit full force.
Still, this is an extremely well told story from start to finish. Develops the characters nicely, adds some great new lore, and finishes on an absolute high note, a rarity in lots of omnis I’ve read recently.
There’s basically two chunks of this, Snyder’s and Soule’s. And honestly, I think Soule’s section shines the most. I’m pretty outspoken in my belief that Snyder is way too overblown, but I realized I was really enjoying it in spite of myself. Rotworld is typical crazy Snyder horror, and true to the green, he does a good job planting seeds that really bloom during the rest of the book.
One of my biggest issues with this is Yanick Paquette’s layouts. It’s not his fault the book was bound so tightly with this much gutter loss but honestly, it felt like half the time I was trying to decipher whether I was looking at full page spreads single pages, the border art was so distracting. This took me out of it more than I like, and got to be pretty annoying once Rotworld hit full force.
Still, this is an extremely well told story from start to finish. Develops the characters nicely, adds some great new lore, and finishes on an absolute high note, a rarity in lots of omnis I’ve read recently.
September 24, 2020
Swamp Thing is a very underappreciated DC character and though his New 52 run is nothing special, it is still an enjoyable journey. The first half, written by Scott Snyder, is a nice three part tale culminating in "Rot World". It follows Alec Holland as he reluctantly becomes the Swamp Thing, "for real this time", and journeys into a world of horror. Snyder's run definitely embraces the horror genre of the characters origins. Its only sour note is that the final climactic ending is taken over by a different artist and the change in art style really hinders the ending.
After Snyder the character is taken over by Charles Soule, who definitely had long term plans for the Swamp Thing. Soule explores the character of Alec Holland, The Parliament of Trees, and even other Avatars. After becoming a god over night, Holland fears losing his humanity. The stories of "The Seeder" of "The Sureen" and "The Lady and the Wolf" all center on Holland deciding and fighting for how an Avatar should be. On how the power should never justify injustice.
The final story that introduces the new domain of Metal was really cool, but unfortunately and a very flat ending. The final issue changed in perspective and narration to cover a lot of plot. But like everything in the end of the New 52 it tried to finish in a hurry and cover everything in one big stroke. Leaving a very weak ending that was not as satisfying as it could have been.
After Snyder the character is taken over by Charles Soule, who definitely had long term plans for the Swamp Thing. Soule explores the character of Alec Holland, The Parliament of Trees, and even other Avatars. After becoming a god over night, Holland fears losing his humanity. The stories of "The Seeder" of "The Sureen" and "The Lady and the Wolf" all center on Holland deciding and fighting for how an Avatar should be. On how the power should never justify injustice.
The final story that introduces the new domain of Metal was really cool, but unfortunately and a very flat ending. The final issue changed in perspective and narration to cover a lot of plot. But like everything in the end of the New 52 it tried to finish in a hurry and cover everything in one big stroke. Leaving a very weak ending that was not as satisfying as it could have been.
May 24, 2021
Swamp Thing the new 52 Omnibus is rad.
May 25, 2023
(I'm writing this review after reading Scott Snyder's run for a second time, due to reading this omnibus)
In my personal opinion, this is one of the worst Swamp Thing runs I've read, writing-wise. The art on the other hand was phenomenal. Its character development and story progression are messy and all over the place. Scott Snyder (who I find to typically be a good writer) delivers the first half of the storyline. Charles Seoule's run completes the rest of the omnibus.
Scott's run on the character felt rushed and didn't allow for good character development because of it. Crazy world-changing events were happening but they didn't feel all that impactful. The use of the villains was interesting but unfortunately doesn't last too long. The romance was cute, Abby is written well and feels kind of layered compared to some of her counterparts in the past comics. She's a good foil Alec throughout the series. My only problem was their romance, when they met, the dialogue felt cheesy, and the love felt shoved out of the way in order to advance the plot. Overall, Snyder's run was better than Seoule's but it felt rushed and unfulfilling.
Charles' run starts off interesting, introduces a new villain, and Swamp Thing feels like he got hit with a slight reset button. His character struggles with getting used to his powers, as well as where he fits in the world. There's a lot of back and forth with Swamp Thing learning his powers and facing different threats. They even try to introduce a new villain but it winds up leading back to someone that's already known and not new to the DC Universe. The last half of the book introduces new ideas but doesn't explore them enough either. So it feels like a major letdown in introducing new characters and lore to Swamp Thing/DC's world. Overall, the ending of Charles' run became very disappointing and not worth reading considering how interesting it starts off.
Overall, the writing is the main concern I have with this omnibus. The art is amazing, but the writing feels really rushed in a lot of ways. Due to the nature of the storytelling, it really lets down the quality of the character and storytelling as a whole. Especially considering that I read almost every previous Swamp Thing run beforehand. I can't tell if that's DC's fault, because they were losing readership, or because they wanted to end the New 52 era.
In my personal opinion, this is one of the worst Swamp Thing runs I've read, writing-wise. The art on the other hand was phenomenal. Its character development and story progression are messy and all over the place. Scott Snyder (who I find to typically be a good writer) delivers the first half of the storyline. Charles Seoule's run completes the rest of the omnibus.
Scott's run on the character felt rushed and didn't allow for good character development because of it. Crazy world-changing events were happening but they didn't feel all that impactful. The use of the villains was interesting but unfortunately doesn't last too long. The romance was cute, Abby is written well and feels kind of layered compared to some of her counterparts in the past comics. She's a good foil Alec throughout the series. My only problem was their romance, when they met, the dialogue felt cheesy, and the love felt shoved out of the way in order to advance the plot. Overall, Snyder's run was better than Seoule's but it felt rushed and unfulfilling.
Charles' run starts off interesting, introduces a new villain, and Swamp Thing feels like he got hit with a slight reset button. His character struggles with getting used to his powers, as well as where he fits in the world. There's a lot of back and forth with Swamp Thing learning his powers and facing different threats. They even try to introduce a new villain but it winds up leading back to someone that's already known and not new to the DC Universe. The last half of the book introduces new ideas but doesn't explore them enough either. So it feels like a major letdown in introducing new characters and lore to Swamp Thing/DC's world. Overall, the ending of Charles' run became very disappointing and not worth reading considering how interesting it starts off.
Overall, the writing is the main concern I have with this omnibus. The art is amazing, but the writing feels really rushed in a lot of ways. Due to the nature of the storytelling, it really lets down the quality of the character and storytelling as a whole. Especially considering that I read almost every previous Swamp Thing run beforehand. I can't tell if that's DC's fault, because they were losing readership, or because they wanted to end the New 52 era.
February 23, 2025
One of the better stories to come out of the New 52 period.
The first half of the book is by Scott Snyder, and includes cross-overs with Jeff Lemire's Animal Man (also a great New 52 story). This arc re-introduces classic Swamp Thing nemesis Anton Arcane, and his niece Abby Arcane. Swamp Thing lore is expanded upon by the addition of the "Black" also known as the "Rot" a primal force of nature in opposition to the Green and the Red.
The character of Swamp Thing is re-invented with the classic plant hero who believes he's a man, no longer around. Instead the actual man (Alec Holland) has been given a new lease on life, but when the Rot seeks to destroy the Green, he may have to surrender his humanity to save the world.
Snyder's run on Swamp Thing was exciting and vibrant, with sweet moments between Abby and Alec. A glimpse at a dark future was dark and exciting and the story wrapped up satisfactorily.
Charles Soule took up the reigns when Snyder left. He ups the ante by introducing a rival to Alec, and showing dissent among the Parliament of Trees. This leaves Alec backed into a corner and having to fight to remain as Avatar of the Green. This further expands on Swamp Thing mythos, with a number of previous Avatars of the Green playing a central role in the story.
Finally in Soule's run, Alec has to face "The Machine" kingdom. Soule offers many new and exciting ideas to Swamp Thing and creates a lot of new characters to flesh out the cast. He also further develops the character of Alec Holland and explores what it means to be Swamp Thing.
My only issue is the Soule's run felt rushed towards the end, and it seemed he had more ideas he wanted to explore. I did enjoy the issues of Future's End that was included as a sort of "What-if: Finale" it seemed to fit the ideas of Soule's run.
The first half of the book is by Scott Snyder, and includes cross-overs with Jeff Lemire's Animal Man (also a great New 52 story). This arc re-introduces classic Swamp Thing nemesis Anton Arcane, and his niece Abby Arcane. Swamp Thing lore is expanded upon by the addition of the "Black" also known as the "Rot" a primal force of nature in opposition to the Green and the Red.
The character of Swamp Thing is re-invented with the classic plant hero who believes he's a man, no longer around. Instead the actual man (Alec Holland) has been given a new lease on life, but when the Rot seeks to destroy the Green, he may have to surrender his humanity to save the world.
Snyder's run on Swamp Thing was exciting and vibrant, with sweet moments between Abby and Alec. A glimpse at a dark future was dark and exciting and the story wrapped up satisfactorily.
Charles Soule took up the reigns when Snyder left. He ups the ante by introducing a rival to Alec, and showing dissent among the Parliament of Trees. This leaves Alec backed into a corner and having to fight to remain as Avatar of the Green. This further expands on Swamp Thing mythos, with a number of previous Avatars of the Green playing a central role in the story.
Finally in Soule's run, Alec has to face "The Machine" kingdom. Soule offers many new and exciting ideas to Swamp Thing and creates a lot of new characters to flesh out the cast. He also further develops the character of Alec Holland and explores what it means to be Swamp Thing.
My only issue is the Soule's run felt rushed towards the end, and it seemed he had more ideas he wanted to explore. I did enjoy the issues of Future's End that was included as a sort of "What-if: Finale" it seemed to fit the ideas of Soule's run.
December 30, 2023
[2.9]
Snyder's run [2.7], Soule's run [3.1].
Snyders run in this one was OK. It was always on it's way. Some fight going on at some location and
we must hurry to it. What I usually like about Snyder's writing is that he mixes meaningful dialogue and story telling with great pace. I didnt feel that the dialogue was very meaningful and the story of the characters not very interesting. It did have pace though, and the action was pretty good. The collection is "modern", so Abigail has to be juvenile, no-nonsense, unsympathetic, short haired, motorcycle-riding girlboss. It just so happen that all female characters are like that these days.
The Abigail we learned to love in Alan Moore's version doesn't cut it in a story today.
She is too likeable and she isn't independent in the right ways. She is just too feminine and believable, and her hair is way too long and wavy.
I feel like Soule understands Swamp Thing better. His run felt like a combination of Snyder's and Moore's. Besides some strange portions of the story, the focus is properly around the Swamp Thing himself.
The stories are sufficiently interesting and if you are a fan of the character I think it is a worthwhile read. It is likely not something I will keep and reread though
Snyder's run [2.7], Soule's run [3.1].
Snyders run in this one was OK. It was always on it's way. Some fight going on at some location and
we must hurry to it. What I usually like about Snyder's writing is that he mixes meaningful dialogue and story telling with great pace. I didnt feel that the dialogue was very meaningful and the story of the characters not very interesting. It did have pace though, and the action was pretty good. The collection is "modern", so Abigail has to be juvenile, no-nonsense, unsympathetic, short haired, motorcycle-riding girlboss. It just so happen that all female characters are like that these days.
The Abigail we learned to love in Alan Moore's version doesn't cut it in a story today.
She is too likeable and she isn't independent in the right ways. She is just too feminine and believable, and her hair is way too long and wavy.
I feel like Soule understands Swamp Thing better. His run felt like a combination of Snyder's and Moore's. Besides some strange portions of the story, the focus is properly around the Swamp Thing himself.
The stories are sufficiently interesting and if you are a fan of the character I think it is a worthwhile read. It is likely not something I will keep and reread though
May 20, 2023
This is a fantastic omnibus collecting two very solid runs of one of my favourite characters. The writing and artwork are consistently fantastic, with a solid reinvention that still pays respect to this iconic character’s roots.
The Scott Snyder run is a horror epic, with great art from Yannick Paquette, while the Charles Soule run that follows does a wonderful job of building upon the lore established by Snyder. I actually found myself preferring Soule’s run during my read through, though this could be because I have read Snyder’s run previously.
The only downside is that I found the final issue of Soule’s run (not counting the Future’s End conclusion) to be rather rushed, which I understand was due to the series’ cancellation. Just one more issue would have fleshed it out nicely. I also found the conclusion to one of Swamp Thing’s classic characters to be quite disappointing. But other than that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It’s a solid read if you’re a Swamp Thing fan and a good intro if you’re unfamiliar with him.
The Scott Snyder run is a horror epic, with great art from Yannick Paquette, while the Charles Soule run that follows does a wonderful job of building upon the lore established by Snyder. I actually found myself preferring Soule’s run during my read through, though this could be because I have read Snyder’s run previously.
The only downside is that I found the final issue of Soule’s run (not counting the Future’s End conclusion) to be rather rushed, which I understand was due to the series’ cancellation. Just one more issue would have fleshed it out nicely. I also found the conclusion to one of Swamp Thing’s classic characters to be quite disappointing. But other than that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It’s a solid read if you’re a Swamp Thing fan and a good intro if you’re unfamiliar with him.
December 8, 2023
Esto básicamente se divide en dos runs muy distintos: Snyder y Soule.
Snyder lo lleva más para el lado del terror Snyderiano. Mucha sangre, tripas y desmembramientos, diseños de páginas muy jugados con toda la onda Totlebem/Bissette, sobre todo cuando Marco Rudy está dibujando. Rotworld está un opco alargada, pero igual muy divertido.
Soule lo lleva más a un estilo superhéroico. Puesta en página y narración más clásica, sin mucha tripa y todo centrado en la acción y un desfile de villanos. Lo más interesante de Soule es cómo plantea los idas y vueltas políticos que tiene The Green y que le hacen la vida imposible al amigo Alec. Después es un poco repetitivo con crear nuevos realms y plantear situaciones que después van para atrás.
Viendo otros reviews pareciera que a todo el mundo le gusta mas Soule, lo que me parece un delirio, lo de Snyder es altamente superior. De todas formas es muy disfrutable todo y sobre todo envejeció muy bien! Volvé New 52, no supimos valorarte.
Snyder lo lleva más para el lado del terror Snyderiano. Mucha sangre, tripas y desmembramientos, diseños de páginas muy jugados con toda la onda Totlebem/Bissette, sobre todo cuando Marco Rudy está dibujando. Rotworld está un opco alargada, pero igual muy divertido.
Soule lo lleva más a un estilo superhéroico. Puesta en página y narración más clásica, sin mucha tripa y todo centrado en la acción y un desfile de villanos. Lo más interesante de Soule es cómo plantea los idas y vueltas políticos que tiene The Green y que le hacen la vida imposible al amigo Alec. Después es un poco repetitivo con crear nuevos realms y plantear situaciones que después van para atrás.
Viendo otros reviews pareciera que a todo el mundo le gusta mas Soule, lo que me parece un delirio, lo de Snyder es altamente superior. De todas formas es muy disfrutable todo y sobre todo envejeció muy bien! Volvé New 52, no supimos valorarte.
April 24, 2022
Swamp Thing is one of the few books the New 52 got right. This run is among my favorites in recent years … if HBO ever decides to reinstate the wildly successful Swamp Thing series (another show canceled before its time) this would be a great place to look for ideas.
It's not easy being green! Something Alec knows a lot about.
Having only read Alan Moore's work on Swamp Thing this is easily accessible. To the new reader maybe some light googling in order. Here's hoping we get more Swampy in the future
It's not easy being green! Something Alec knows a lot about.
Having only read Alan Moore's work on Swamp Thing this is easily accessible. To the new reader maybe some light googling in order. Here's hoping we get more Swampy in the future
September 15, 2022
I would have rated this a three If it wasn’t for the last few issues, especially the last one. Damn, Soule went full Grant Morrison and yet made it work. I’m impressed.
Honestly you could skip the Snyder stuff (Don’t though) and just enjoy the Soule run by itself. Each run is about half the book and they have different tones overall.
The ‘extra’ futures end issue was not great and felt out of place.
I really want to know more and thats a sign of good writing.
Honestly you could skip the Snyder stuff (Don’t though) and just enjoy the Soule run by itself. Each run is about half the book and they have different tones overall.
The ‘extra’ futures end issue was not great and felt out of place.
I really want to know more and thats a sign of good writing.
January 22, 2023
Good story. Effective use of the lore. The art was very cool, especially the paneling - wonderful psychedelic art nouveau, along with horror imagery.
Scot Snyder writes good stuff. His Batman runs are good, and I really liked American Vampire.
Scot Snyder writes good stuff. His Batman runs are good, and I really liked American Vampire.
December 24, 2021
Snyder's run was quiet bad, but Soule's run was awesome. Loved it!
June 18, 2022
Liked the Charles Soule run more then the Snyder run. Overall great book but Alan Moore's run still holds the crown for me.
October 26, 2022
The New 52 collection of Swamp Thing is a fantastic reinvention of the character, from Snyder’s horror touches to Soule’s classic comic book action arcs.
March 12, 2025
Solid read except the last arc that felt way too hurried and abrupt. It ruined a bit the whole experience especially the rotworld arc. 3.5 out of 5!!!
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May 10, 2021This a thicc boi but it gets better and better as it goes.
December 30, 2024
This New 52 run of Swamp Thing is actually pretty good. Scott Snyder decides to do his own thing separate from the Vertigo run. Alex Holland is now the Swamp Thing again instead of just a different creature with his memories. Snyder's 3 volume arc is very much horror focused, revolving around Anton Arcane and the Rot, a third kingdom in addition to the Green and the Red.
Charles Soule takes the book over thereafter, steering back toward the Vertigo era with its concepts. It's more hit than miss and I quite liked it as well, even with a somewhat abrupt ending. The art is very good throughout with Yannick Paquette and Jesus Saiz as the main artists in the run. They both have their own strengths and are really talented.
Charles Soule takes the book over thereafter, steering back toward the Vertigo era with its concepts. It's more hit than miss and I quite liked it as well, even with a somewhat abrupt ending. The art is very good throughout with Yannick Paquette and Jesus Saiz as the main artists in the run. They both have their own strengths and are really talented.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews