This comic is creepy with fantastic art. I forgot about how good it is until I reread it! The rot is SO well drawn!
- first taste of swampy was through Moores run.
- this first arc holds up well and had fantastic art at well as storytelling.
- favorite character (group) is the parliament
- creepiest moment for me was william arcane in the diner terrorizing the customers.
2 Likes
I have to agree with that assessment – flies are evil. I know here they seem to have a personal mission to kamakasi into my face every time I step outside…not to mention gnats, hornets, wasps, mosquitos, aka God’s Rusty Needles. Just… So much hate. 
1 Like
So I just finished the issues up for this part, and I gotta tell you, it’s so compelling and so easy to just keep reading that I had to stop myself from finishing last night just so I could focus on other reading and just to, you know, savor it. It definitely has some of that overwriting tendency that Snyder has, but the care he puts in a lore that feels fresh but still doesn’t destroy what came before is really good. And Yanick Paquette’s art is SUBLIME. The man draws nature like it’s no one’s business, really keeping with the “beautiful and yet deadly” theme that Snyder puts in words.
Onto the questions:
“2.) How would you compare this book to other Swamp Thing titles?”
Of the other runs, I’ve only really read the Moore run, and even that is not too deep into it (last issue I read was when Swampy and Abby finally hook up), so maybe there’s more to that, erm, Moore run as well as the others.
That said, from what I’ve seen, I think Snyder’s run definitely has more of an action focus that previous runs. Both Moore and Snyder uses a mix of character, romance and horror, but Moore’s run feels much more subdued, where the action is really left at the end. Like, I can’t imagine Moore’s Abby Arcane driving a motorcycle and blasting rot monsters with a shotgun.
“3.) Who was your favorite character?”
It’s a little hard, because in this book there’s only three characters we really get to sink our teeth into – Alec, Abby, and William. I would say William is probably the least interesting of them; maybe it’s what I remember from my previous read of this run, but he really doesn’t progress much outside of “creepy evil kid.”
Abby Arcane is also pretty cool in this series. From what I’ve read of the previous books, Abby feels like a character who tends to be more of a damsel in distress type of character, so it was awesome to see her be more assertive and take charge, even if it kind of veers a little close to “generic action girl” at first.
But the one I think is Alec. I really like how Snyder takes time to try and establish Alec as his own character – considering how Moore retconned things to make Swamp Thing a separate entity, it’s really the first time in 30+ years that anyone has actually written Alec Holland. It was interesting seeing him trying to live a new life outside of the Swamp Thing and see details of his life before the accident. There’s a pretty cool thematic symmetry there – before, Swamp Thing was a new creature haunted by the memories of the man who in a sense conceived him, and now Alec is a man who is haunted by the memories of the creature who continued on with his life.
“4.) What was the creepiest moment?”
The two things that kind of made me shudder in thought while reading was how the initial spread of the Rot infected people by breaking their necks in a complete 180 degree angle. Seeing those heads flop around as they came for you with knives and other weapons is just so…unnerving, surreal, and quintessential horror.
The other thing was when Abby is discussing William’s power, talking about all the “dead” things that our body has around it and how it can be used against you, and then seeing it in action as William terrorizes the hospital…he may be rather one note as the creepy evil kid, but DAMN if he doesn’t pull that role off well.
1 Like
I love the first episode of swamp thing. I remember watching the old episodes on sfy nexwork years ago. Also the movie.
Issue 3
The moments leading up to this were gold (expand photo)! This scene had great tension and reveal!
I’m loving this version of Abby.
2 Likes
Thank you for touching on Snyder giving Alec his own character. That’s my favorite thing about this book and the biggest (imo) difference to other Swamp Thing books. I love Alec’s character here. I’ve never said that about any other Swamp Thing Book.
Also the people breaking their own necks is 100% the creepiest thing to me. So unsettling.
1 Like
P̸̙̳̟͙̩̙̑̅̅͒̓͢͞u҉̙͖̣͖͎͉̏͂͂̉́̔͜͝t҉̱͖̪̝͎̩҇͋̽̚͜ m̴̨̟̲̦͍͚̗͈̗̀̀̉̒͒̍͠ȩ̵̛͕̫̟̅͐̇̀͛ ḯ̵̡̳̬̮̒͡n̵̯̱̜̍̌̑̆̕̚̚͢ t̷̨̜̱̗̐͑͑͛̔̕h̶̡͙̲̅̇̀͡ę̶̮͔̗̏̿͗̕ ŕ̶̡̛͍͉͖̝̣̥̖͓̏̀̎i̴̡͍̮͔̣̔̀͝v̸̢̦̲̰̝̪̏͒͞ę̵̦̟̮̪͕̬̓̊̃͌̕r҈̩̫͈̬͖͕̓̓͑̓̆͢͡ͅ
̵̢̛̱̯̰̰̇̒̋͒͂̏̓
̵̨͈̩̄̇́̇̌̄͞P̴̧͚̞͙͚̖̱̂́͡ͅu҉̨̛̥̮̲̋͆͗̿̆t̷͇̩̳̒̅͂̚͢͡ m҈̡̖̮͓̮͇҇̍̅̓̽̑͂e҉̡͇̟͌͂̔͒̚͞ i̵̡̤̣͙̊̒͛̒̈́͡ṅ̵̢̞̘͓͙͓̙̗̎̀̍̔̊̕ t̸͈̫̖̉͐͜͡h҉̘̙̠̪͖͈͙̆̂̅̈͢͡e҉̧͓͖͕̳̪̱҇́̊̃̊́̊̚̚ͅ w̶̢͚̬̳҇̒͌̐̄̆̈ã̷̧͍̦͆̇̾̒̀͝ţ̴͇̬͉̙̱̦̟̃̉̓̈͑͡e҉͍̩̖͇̙̇̅͑̑͢͠r̶̨̙͔͙̃̿́̈́͂͡
1 Like
Now that I reread all 7 issues I’ll answer question 4. I think it’s pretty much anything with William and the rot. If I had to watch one decay in front of myself and essentially become the rot I’m out!
1 Like
Issue 4
I think the Parliament of trees here is so much more helpful than in Moore’s run.
In Moore’s run, they gave Swamp Thing two pieces of advice:
(1) avoid power and anger and (2) “…Where is evil in all the wood?”. Then they kicked him out!
In Synder’s run, the Parliament kinda gives him a tour and history, and tells Alec exactly what to do - without riddles or ambiguity.
1 Like
I couldn’t stop reading! I finished 5-7 =)
2.) How would you compare this book to other Swamp Thing titles?
- See previous response about the parliament of trees.
- I agree with @Jay_Kay, Abby feels less like a damsel in distress in this run. I prefer this version of Abby.
- I feel like Moore’s run is more of a psychological, horror/thrill. I have distinct emotional call-backs to how I felt during certain parts of Moore’s run. In contrast, I have distinct images of gore in my head from Synder’s run.
3.) Who was your favorite character?
Abby. She is a driven and intrepid character.
4.) What was the creepiest moment?
The vanilla milkshake moment. The clerk accidentally thought William wanted a chocolate shake. In response to this error, William attacked everyone in the place with the rot. It was so gory! Major kudos to the artist.
I really enjoyed reading this again @MattMcDonald Great pick!
Sweet Jebus, it’s Big Mouth Billy Bass! Fresh from Walgreens’ dumpsters and into DCU!
SN to be OT: I’m reading these issues and will chime in on them soon. I just couldn’t miss a chance to reference that stupid fish 
2 Likes
Thanks for sharing! I agree with you about the differences between the two runs. Moore’s was all about atmosphere and building tension. While Snyder’s feels like a more traditional horror story. With all the gore you would expect.
Moore’s work is also more nuanced. Not hating on Snyder’s work but I mean come on it’s Alan Moore.
2 Likes
@hotstufflouie
The rot is too spooky for me. Thanks for sharing!
1 Like
Happy Friday everyone! Make sure you swing by and let us know what you think of this week’s book!
1 Like