La Cosa del Pantano de Alan Moore – La saga completa

Swamp Thing (1982) (Collected Editions) #1-6

by Alan Moore, Alan Moore, Alfredo Alcalá (Drawings)

Tras un horrible accidente, el doctor Alec Holland se convirtió en la Cosa del Pantano, una criatura elemental que lucha contra la autodestrucción de un mundo dominado por la contaminación. En los años 80, inspirado por el trabajo de Len Wein y Bernie Wrightson, Alan Moore llevó la colección a un nivel nunca visto, gracias a su original enfoque narrativo. Sus guiones provocativos e innovadores, combinados con el talento de autores como Stephen Bissette, John Totleben, Stan Woch, Rick Veitch y Alfredo Alcalá, entre otros, convirtieron esta etapa uno de los grandes cómics del siglo XX.
La Cosa del Pantano: La saga completa recopila en un único volumen The Saga of the Swamp Thing núms. del 20 al 64 USA y Swamp Thing Annual núm. 2 USA. Una etapa para el recuerdo que por su forma de abordar el medio y por el torrente de ideas, conceptos y recursos que desplegó, ejerció una poderosa influencia sobre generaciones de autores y lectores. Y sirvió como inmejorable carta de presentación en el mercado americano del guionista de V de Vendetta y Watchmen.

EDICIÓN ORIGINAL: The Saga of the Swamp Thing núms. 20-64 USA, Swamp Thing Annual núm. 2 USA || FECHA PUBLICACIÓN: Febrero de 2022 || GUIÓN: Alan Moore || DIBUJO: Alfredo Alcala, Dan Day, John Totleben, Rick Veitch, Ron Randall, Shawn McManus, Stan Woch, Stephen Bissette, Tom Mandrake, Tom Yeates || FORMATO: DC Omnibus (Cartoné, 156x239 mm.), 1168 págs. A color. Disponible el 01/03/2022 || ISBN: 978-84-18784-05-7

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Fiction, Dc Comics

1168 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1987

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

[Vicente Ribes · Rating 4 out of 5]

La etapa más conocida de La cosa del Pantano y seguramente la mejor fue la que realizo Alan Moore.
Alan Moore, un desconocido entonces cogió el cómic de Len Wein y Berni Wrightson y fabrico un mundo de sueños y pesadillas donde el monstruo verde se vería involucrado en unas historias muy imaginativas e originales.
Esta etapa, que transcurrió entre los números 20 y 64 le abrió las puertas a Moore al mercado internacional, el cual arrasaria con obras como Watchmen, Miracleman o V de Vendetta.
En este tomo vemos jugadas magistrales de Moore como cambiar el origen de la cosa del pantano ya en el primer número, villanos como Arcane, el Hombre Florónico, el rey mono o aliados como Deadman, El Fantasma Errante y El Espectro pueblan las páginas de este cómic y obtienen una nueva dimension con los argumentos de Moore. Pero no sólo eso, ya que en este cómic aparecerán algunos personajes que salidos de su pluma serán muy importantes en el universo de los cómics de Vertigo como pueden ser: Constantine o Cain y Abel que luego aparecerían en Sandman.
A destacar durante todo el tomo la bonita historia de amor que se desarrolla entre La cosa y Abby Arcane, siempre amenazados pero siempre juntos.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is why alan moore is the goat

[ClubKamui · Rating 4 out of 5]

9/10

Alan Moore continues to impress me and the longest story I've read did not disappoint me. Some issues didn't compel me as much as others but on the whole, I just loved the journey and experiences of Alec Holland and how he has to traverse being this creature of god-like ability and consciousness of the planet. Funny this is the first Alan Moore story where it doesn't end on such a sad note and you feel fully satisfied for Alec & Abigail.

[OmniBen · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review for the thee absolute editions comprising this boxed set)
Cursed have I been, consuming far too much bang average storytelling. Expectantly, hopefully, pulling book after book off the shelf, only to have said hope dashed on the rocks, or worse yet, bored shitless on the bottom of the ocean. But then along comes a knight in dirty, plant encrusted armor (and probably not smelling too good either I imagine). And I'm talking about Swamp Thing and not Alan Moore, just to be clear, for Alan Moore is the prince... The king... The god damn emperor of comics. Along he comes and with but a flick of his pen, a turn of the page, he curb stomps the competition back into their inferior, shabbily crafted tenements. One guess who my favourite comic writer is?
So yeah, up until now, I've managed to not read Saga of the Swamp Thing, cause you can only read it once, and I'm fast running out of Alan Moore things to read for the first time.
Many would call this Moore's greatest work. One of the greatest comic's runs of all time, and whilst I am not going to argue, I'm not quite there yet myself. From Hell still reigns supreme in this household, although if this keeps up, by the end, who knows...
The debate about the new colouration aside (come on, you don't expect that at some point DC won't try and re-release this with the original colours and try and charge us all again, but enough about that pond-scum of a company.
There are few artists who could bring Moore's sublime vision to life, but Bissett and Totleben are more than up to the challenge, to the point where, should they no longer appear on the book, I may have to invent a time machine, go back 40 years to this books creation and get a riot going. The two Shawn Macmanus issues just weren't the same, and no, I didn't read the Pog issue, that one doesn't count.
If ever you've even glanced sideways at a comic before, you need to make sure you've read Saga of the Swamp Thing before you return to the soil from whence you came.

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.

And so we sadly come to the end of a truly spectacular run. And I must admit that had volume 3 not gone AWOL there for a handful of issues towards the end, I would have been ranking this as my favourite of the three. The Alec Holland / Abbey Cable story was not only the heart of this run, although my absolute favourite part of the story. Moore's more realistic tones for the book eschewed big super hero battles, arch nemesis' and the like for what is at it's heart and love story with some very supernatural shit thrown into the mix. To have this shorter volume focus on that entirely was wonderful. I just really could have done without the handful of issues where Moore indulged his more eccentric and less stellar writing qualities. It was always well written, but it really was a slog to push through, being far too abstract and wordy. And given that I would almost certainly skip this on a re-read, it's hard to justify five stars, even with the start and conclusion to this arc being as strong as it is.
The art throughout the entire run has been stellar, despite DC being DC yet again, and messing with the colours when absolutely no one asked them to. They give a handful of pages comparing the two colourisations in the bonus section, as if trying vainly to justify their idiocy. The modern colours aren't atrocious by any means, but god help me if the originals aren't sooo much better.
So another outstanding comic run over and done with, and whilst it probably won't crack my top 3 Alan Moore stories, it really is essential reading for any comics fan to consume at least once. 4.5/5


OmniBen

[Sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

A truly fascinating run of a character I had zero context for (I really am not into DC at all, so to be fair most characters that show up here that aren't called Batman or Superman I have no context for). Some parts work better than others; the drama surrounding Swamp Thing's origins and his relationships with those around him in the wake of unending revelations about his identity and powers is all fantastic, while the more superhero-ish, crossover episodes were rougher for me - this ends up making the latter half much weaker in my opinion due to all the space shenanigans, but at least it knows how to end. It's also fascinating to see a historic paradigm shift in comic stories, how they're told and the sort of themes their authors tackle occur in the comic itself, heralding many of the comics I did end up being acquainted with. The degree to which this sets the table for The Sandman is just ridiculous, it's all here!

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY loved this, Alan Moore really never disappoints, my only issue (ha) was issue #60 where the swamp thing gets fucking raped by a starship (yeah you read that right) which i thought was just straight up bad, but still Alan Moore bad is better than many other stories, and it wasn’t so bad as to ruin my opinion on the story

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as succinct as the Watchmen but still a very good read. It’s dense - sometimes to a fault but often times will help create the world. I loved the characters and how large a comic book can grow. I also loved how much it tied in with other DC characters who I definitely had to look up to know about.

[Libros Raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 estrellas y media

[The Poor Person's Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have read this a long time ago if I knew swamp thing went to space !,

[Alejandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Todo un viaje esotérico ,infernal , de horror y romántico es la cosa del pantano y una presentación de otros personajes que darían más historias que contar ( Detectives con serios problemas de cordura , demonios que hablan en verso entre otros )

[Belén Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

La primera parte es brillante. Una vez comienzan con la trama de los psíquicos decae. Cuando cierra esa trama y comienza la de Gotham gana algo de interés, pero, solo los dos últimos tomos están a la altura de los primeros.

[Josh Small · Rating 4 out of 5]

EXACT RATING: 4.25 stars

It’s difficult to give a single rating to a collection of 40+ issues and at least 3 major story arcs. There are several high points within this saga that are among the best comic book moments I’ve ever read. Moore’s writing creativity is apparently boundless, and this story gives him room to shine.

At a couple points during the story, I felt like ol’ Swampy’s powers had expanded to the point where he was TOO indestructible, and then in just a few pages, Moore would find a way to make him seem completely mortal. Similarly, there was at least one moment when I thought to myself, “How is he ever going to win this battle / endure this struggle?” And then Moore would deliver a satisfying resolution.

Highlights include the rescue of Abby from Hell, the first intimate encounter with the sexual tubers, the ultimate showdown between light and darkness (this one was my #1 favorite), and the episodes in space.

The artwork is also incredible. There are so many insane creatures that we get to see, and it was honestly inspiring to me. It must have been so fun to create the most grotesque beings imaginable and throw them all out on a page.

Finally, I also really liked how the stakes became gradually larger as Swamp Thing uncovered his abilities. The early issues were about defeating evil humans, and then there were supernatural being like zombies, and then eventually it was demons and then evil itself, and then after that the struggle became internal, as Swampy tried to discover what it meant to be a God. In the final issues, Moore gives one of the best arguments in support of theodicy that I’ve ever encountered. Not something you’d necessarily expect from a comic book.

So with all this praise, why isn’t my rating higher? SWAMP THING doesn’t get 4.5+ stars from me because it lacks a little bit of consistency. Perhaps that’s just the nature of most comics, but I was hoping for something a little more compact and internally connected. There are some episodes that just aren’t as good and don’t have much (or any) connection to the larger story. Similarly, there are also several episodes (Abby’s connection with her dead father) that have a few touching moments but wander about before getting there.

But with that said, I would recommend this saga to anyone who enjoys comics. Especially, I’d recommend the selections I mentioned above in my “highlights” section.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first volume of this ages ago and assumed that was all Alan Moore had written with regard to ST - not sure why, perhaps because it was the only book the university library carried and I had plenty of other things on my plate. While that volume was good, only in the context of the full run does the towering achievement of Moore, John Totleben, Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch, and others become clear.

This certainly isn't my favorite Moore run on a mainstream book (that would be the Captain Britain shorts I'm currently re-reading with Alan Davis, which are far superior to their Miracleman work), or even my favorite Moore/Veitch collaboration. However, it's the work that clearly set the standard for everything that followed. All those Vertigo books, all the middling Neil Gaiman work (as he essentially admits in one of the forewords), are basically xeroxes of whatever was happening here. It's fascinating that Moore, no great lover of corporate comics or the market, was able to generate so many definitive portraits of various DC characters, including minor ones who appear only in passing.

And the art? This is basically the template for 90% of Vertigo's future output, at least for works that resemble Gaiman's Sandman in terms of layouts. But here it's executed so much better. When Cain and Abel first appear in an old horror-comics homage (the horror here is about as good as mainstream comics could get; most of the standalone stories and gross-out scenes will haunt you long after you've processed them), with those long vertical panels slicing the page, you know you're witnessing some all-time great work.

That said, this isn't among my favorites - like Miracleman, it's overwritten, dense, and slow. While it's obviously good and influential, reading it felt more like homework than the sort of pure integration of text and image I experience with Miura's work on Berserk and other similar "integrated" works of that nature. Recommended.

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tomo con mas de 40 numeros escritos por ALAN MOORE. La Cosa del pantano lucha contra seres infernalesm el ejercito, corporaciones malignas, dioses del cosmos , la muerte, el amor, y muchas cosas mas.

LO BUENO: Todo !!!, ya habia leido la saga contra la gran oscuridad y me dio miedo en su momento y me volvio a dar miedo ahora, porque es que la macrohistoria que te cuenta Alan Moore es simplemente perfecta y genial, sientes todo lo que atraviesa, desde la duda, desde el miedo, todo es tan humano, aunque sea un numer en que la Cosa del Pantano es violado/amado/destruido por un planeta tecno-organico, o el amor infantil y puro que se siente en el ultimo numero....todo esta bien y perfecto !!! , me encanto como trato los villanos, desde Arcane que te acojona con sus insectos y lo que le hace a Abby, el hombre floronico, que con ese nombre ridiculo, pone en tela de juicio a la humanidad , los Thangarianos, y sobre todo, los humanos...el arte, en donde un puñado de artistas se dejan la vida en paginas que se instalan en tu cerebro para bien ( que lindo el ultimo numero...dan ganas de reir y aplaudir, casi lloro) y para mal ( No te metas a cuevas en Chile ).

LO MALO: Que hayan salido mas comics de la Cosa del pantano después de esto. ¿De verdad alguien cree que podria hacer algo mejor?. El tomo termina de manera PERFECTA.

[Mary Dedes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Umm was not expecting this to be one of the most epic love stories of all time?? And even more, a kind of wholesome gothic love story?? In an 80s DC Comic series???? Romance fans (especially horror romance fans) don’t turn this one down, trust, I ate it up.

Has literally everything you want in a story. Literally. It gets weird but trust the process- trust it I tell you.

Stunning artwork and story that gets better as you go. Didn’t age 100% well on certain parts, but definitely ahead of its time and still reads very well. Prose *can* feel like a lot at times, but still a fun and profound read, especially if you like sci-fi, gothic & cosmic horror. It certainly goes places.

Don’t be thrown off by the fact that this is an 80s comic series or that it is called Swamp Thing lol. It’s GREAT.

One of my personal favourite reads.

Tip: Read this either outside in nature during a beautiful sunny summer day, a crisp fall evening or indoors during a thunderstorm for an elevated experience.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big ups and downs - first two volumes are 95% bangers, after that it's wildly inconsistent. Basically, whenever it's being a horror or romance comic it owns, and whenever it isn't it's pretty ropey. Moore is obviously a fantastically lyrical writer but some of his common tricks here (which he would eventualy grow out of) really stick out when reading issue-after-issue. The run is largely held down by a rotating art dream team producing page-after-page of gorgeous, detailed, often experimental panels. Generally even the bad issues are at least more interesting than your standard monthly cape comic, but I can't shake the feeling that this could've been two volumes less without much trouble.

Also, hey, my 1000th "book". I probably started my Goodreads account right around the time I was originally reading this run. Neat!

[Patrick King · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There are people. There are stories. The people think they shape the stories, but the reverse is often closer to the truth. Stories shape the world. They exist independently of people, and in places quite devoid of man, there may yet be mythologies. The glaciers have their legends. The ocean bed entertains its own romances.”

Really really fantastic run of comics. I had to do a quick read up on what Swamp Thing had been doing prior to Alan Moore taking him on, but once I had the background and finished the first couple issues I was hooked. It was at its peak in Books 3 & 4 with the introduction of John Constantine and an episodic, monster-of-the-week feel. The art was perfect and did some really cool stuff at times, especially when action was happening “in the green.” Highly recommend.

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moore’s run is a very interesting journey from start to finish. Moving from horror to ecological manifesto, biblical fantasy, science fiction and love story. It constantly keeps surprising you, giving you development in tone and setting that you didn’t even know you wanted. The research Moore did towards his settings and concepts shows of in the depth of his writing. It was fun to read about this in the forewords of each volume. The art is consistently great as well, especially during the trippier sequences. The panels of the swamp during sunset remain my favorite though.

[WadeofEarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was some wild stuff! Alan Moore is always pushing boundaries, and I feel this is where he pushes the most! For me, I had to discard everything I thought I knew about the swamp thing for this series and while I love experimentation and wild ideas, he did manage to loose me in a few places, but still I enjoyed it and enjoyed, as always, the challenge of seeing snippets of the mind of Alan Moore.

[Matteo G · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I don't like Alan More in general, didn't like the Watchman and didn't like this either. The drawings are nice but the story is too fragmented and repeating as well. Also the story in the box does not start from the beginning, this starts from issue 26 I think so there are characters that you don't really know what are for.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this along with the Shelved by Genre podcast series on Alan Moore. It is trippy and interesting, and Neil Gaiman later swiped entire plot lines for Sandman, but overall it was … fine. Groundbreaking for its time, I guess. Oddly there are panels from one issue on the wall at the World Chess Hall of Fame in St Louis, in which the monster plays chess with his double on a blue planet.

[Daniel Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Moore knows how to make me mad, sad, happy, and excited over a green monster. Loved it. Sometimes I was confused and it was complicated but the characters and motives behind everything made it a 5 star read.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

As close to perfect as I think a comic can get.

[Courtland Bethune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better the second time around!!

This is one of the most visually stunning works I've ever read.

The messages in this series still ring so true today.

This series is perfect.

[Thomas Rankin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute masterpiece. This should be mandatory reading for anyone who loves comics (or the art of storytelling in general).

[PedroFN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.04

[Thomas Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect

[James Strahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horrifying and transcendent.
Maybe Alan Moores best comics work, I love it v v much

[Nelson Soriano · Rating 5 out of 5]

"No esperaba encontrar tanto misticismo en esta obra. Me gustó lo mucho que sorprende y los diferentes temas sobrenaturales y espaciales que abarca.

[Pip Penrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saga of the Swamp Thing