Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Two
Swamp Thing has been around for as long as I can remember - I used to own a comic in the '90s where Swamp Thing and this other lady were having some sweet loving. It wasn't any of the issues out of this collection, but I'm pretty sure it was an Alan Moore story, so the memory isn't totally out of context. Anyway, Vertigo's reissue of Alan Moore's seminal story is collected in a nice hardcover volume that, for this book, includes issues 28 - 34 of the series.
I never realized how fantastic Swamp Thing really was until I read this edition. No prior knowledge of the series is required to pick up this volume - Moore does a great job of telling the story without forcing the reader to follow each issue. The plot is easy to pick up on, and the books are broken up well enough that they don't leave with cliffhangers.
Moore's writing is wonderful, a poetic prose form, using enviable metaphor that adds to the beautiful visuals that Bissette and Totleban designed. Swamp Thing is easy to feel for; he may look like a monster but his personality shines like the sun. His friend Abby is equally as friendly and fresh, and there's even a wonderful moment where the two join together intimately to become one plant-human concoction of LSD-like hypnosis.
But I digress - I'm not here to talk about Moore's work on Swamp Thing, but the actual reissue itself. DC Comics has left the paper comic pages intact, which some may disagree with but a decision that I love. Comics have dropped using the paper pages and resorted to glossy ones. They feel nice, yes, and there's less of a chance for papercuts, but I like how Swamp Thing takes us back in time to comics of old. The paper gives a nostalgic feel, bringing me back to days where I used to sit up in my aunt's closet and read old horror comics.
The hardcover binding comes with a slipcover with fantastic cover art. There's not too much in the way of added extras; we get an introduction from Jamie Delano, a foreword by Neil Gaiman, and some author bios at the back of the book. Even if you do have the issues, though, it's nice to have them all in one place.
Otherwise, though, this collection of Swamp Thing is a must-have for fans of the series, or for those who have never read the series. Ecological crises are a hot topic right now, and one that the world can not forget about. Swamp Thing is a character that not only upholds this idea that the earth is connected to humanity, but he is our savior as well - we must accept the fact that we need Earth to survive, something that we tend to forget in the face of our own daily needs. This reissue of Saga of the Swamp Thing is coming at a much-needed time; I cannot ictuate enough how moving the story really is.
Ictuate is my lost word of the day.










