For the last half of April, we are going to paint the town green. Earth Day is April 22 and House of Horror is going to celebrate in style! You will want to keep your eyes peeled to your Direct Message box for some exclusive digital surprises that will drop before the end of the month! Oh yeah, we also got some spanking new House of Horror emojis that can be used throughout the community!!!
This theme song is ridiculous but we can’t take our eyes off of this video!
If you missed a House of Horror event have no fear! Here is a list of every HoH topic! Feel free to jump into the conversation no matter how old the topic is!
This week we are going to take a dive into Saga of the Swamp Thing!!! These are all rated 17+ so they probably aren’t for the kiddos. Have no fear, we have something up our sleeves that will be fun for all ages! This is a great starting point for Swamp Thing as Alan Moore just took over writing duties on The Saga of Swamp Thing on issue 20 where he wrapped a previous storyline.
We don’t want Swampie to lose his head so make sure to discuss all things Swamp Thing including this week’s comic selections!
Random but not random poll!
What is your favorite Swamp Thing movie?
Swamp Thing
Return of Swamp Thing
0voters
If you want to dive deeper into the swamp and let’s be honest who wouldn’t? You should definitely check out DC History Club’s Swamp Thing where @msgtv and @TurokSonOfStone1950 lead the DC historians through all of the muck of the swamp to uncover comic book history gold.
A few new horror comics are hitting comic store shelves this week! We might not be reading the books right away and some of them might even be discussed in other clubs upon release. Think of this as a preview of what might be lurking in the dark corners of House of Horror.
I will bravely admit that Return of Swamp Thing is my favorite Swamp Thing movie. While the first movie might have been made by a better director, Wes Craven vs Jim Wynorski, Return is just a fun flick. There are elements of the 80s slasher movies and goofy mad scientist mischief. Mix all of that with crazy bright colors and a man in a silly rubber suit and well, you can pretty much take my money.
I will be reading the first few issues in this week’s selections from my nifty Eaglemoss hardcover. This is a UK import that I picked up from Zavvi.com in a $17 mystery box with 9 other hardcovers! The book includes The Saga of the Swamp Thing issues 21-27 and House of Secrets 92.
While I am talking about hardcovers and one that is easier to find is Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? This is a GREAT Superman story written by Alan Moore. However, it is only two issues. To fill out the book a little they included the seminal For The Man Who Has Everything from Superman Annual 11 and the first team-up of Superman and Swamp Thing in DC Comics Presents 85.
I have to say, “Swamp Thing” is actually the better film. But, I love “Return of Swamp Thing.” Dick Durock is great in it, the makeup is better, even if it is the cheesier movie. It’s fun, and I think under appreciated. I’m bummed that neither film is on HBOMax.
I bought The Return of Swamp Thing on Vudu but Swamp Thing is only available for rent. That might also sway me to favor the sequel over the first movie, I can actually watch it.
I have to admit, I never actually watched any of the Swamp Thing movies. I wonder if they’re streaming somewhere…
Also, if you want to be completely accurate, technically Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing started with #20, which kind of wrapped up the previous run and ends with Swamp Thing being captured as we see in Moore’s more infamous second issue.
Return of Swamp Thing is on Amazon Prime Video. I really need to track down the 90s series, which is on Amazon Video for sale but I would prefer to just stream it and not buy it. The cartoon, to my knowledge, is nowhere to be found. Interestingly enough, Marvel’s Man-Thing movie is pretty cheap on Vudu.
Holy smokes is this good! It has the feel of the old House of Mystery books but you actually get to know and love the characters. I was reading issue 21 and I just kept going. I read all the in between issues as well. I honestly didn’t know just what to expect from this series. I’ve seen so many versions of Swamp Thing that I didn’t know this was a real horror book.
I like how it was explained, the relationship between Swamp Thing and Alec Holland. It seems to be much more fitting then the version I remember from the movie.
I have so many questions I feel I need to read the earlier issues.
I like Dr Woodrue, kind of like ST but insane. His connection to the green is muddied by his own distaste for people. What made him into the floronic man?
There are some questions I have about Matt, what happened in West Virginia that connected him to the flies. I need to read the earlier issues now.
I read the first issue of the book selection last night. I have sort of gotten carried away with playing Diablo 3 this weekend and lost track of time.
I really enjoyed the weird story where we found our hero to be dead. It was a great introduction to both Swamp Thing and the Floronic Man. I loved the artwork in this book, it fits with Alan Moore’s story. I can’t wait to dive into the remaining issues!
Just finished the second book selection. I thought the first book was a homerun but the second book was a grand slam. Watching Swamp Thing gain his humanity in such a horrific manner while Floronic Man loses his was amazing. Then there is Abby. I have many questions regarding her marriage to Matt as she confesses her feelings for Alec. I am off to read more but wanted to get my thoughts typed out before I continued reading books that weren’t a part of this week’s selections.
The first Swamp Thing movie is my preference. A lot of people who aren’t super familiar with the character’s history would probably shrug it off as just campy monster fun. But that original movie was in line with what the comics were like before Alan Moore redefined the character and the mythology. Plus, it still had the kind of atmosphere you want from a Wes Craven movie and has a touch of the tragedy that gives the story an emotional anchor.
As for the early Moore comics highlighted, the ones focusing on Swamp Thing realizing he isn’t Alec Holland, those are truly iconic. I would argue there was always a vague philosophical element with certain Swamp Thing stories before this, but that revelation took it like several extra steps further. It redefined what makes a heroic figure as well as embrace the themes of classic universal monster themes in a unique extreme.
Greetings Horror Hounds! 
If you missed a House of Horror event have no fear! Here is a list of every HoH topic! Feel free to jump into the conversation no matter how old the topic is!
