Swamp Thing #1

Story by
Scott Snyder

Art by
Yanick Paquette

Colors by
Nathan Fairbairn

Letters by
John J. Hill

Cover by
Yanick Paquette

Publisher
DC Comics

Lets reintroduce ourselves to the muck covered monstrosity.  I am not the super diehard fan of Swamp Thing although I am fast becoming one.  The only real exposure I had to him was the House of Secrets 92, the original Series by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, the 2 movies, and a scattering of the Alan Moore issues that introduced John Constantine.  Basically first and foremost I am a fan of Bernie Wrightson, secondly I am a fan of horror comics, Swamp Thing offered both and for some reason I never collected this title.  I am now thinking about filling in the gaps I have in my collection, which is more like pits rather than gaps.

The Plot

Things are dying, so many things are dying that Superman, Batman, and Aquaman have taken notice.  Que Dr. Alec Holland who for some reason has given up the lab life in order to fulfill his childhood dreams as a construction worker.  Okay not really, so far Alec does not appear to be Swamp Thing, although the local vegetation seems a bit too friendly with him.  Then Superman shows up and they have a conversation about the current wildlife events along with some fun with science by Dr. Alec Holland  add in some mysterious talks about the past and our big green friend and we get the makings of a storyline.  While this is going on we get some more plot about a disappearing mammoth skeleton and some scarey panels.  The book climaxes with a really good stinger that sold the book for me completely.  I will not spoil it.

What Was Right

The pacing by far was the best part all the way up till the end.  Snyder weaved an amazing tale and with Paquette's art it was a pleasure to read.

What Was Wrong

I am not sure the other DC heroes were needed, I know that they want to show Swamp Thing as a part of the DC Universe and not off in his own little corner, but I think the book could have been sold better if you saw the normals reacting to the all the wildlife instead of the heroes, also I don't think Superman was needed i believe it would have been more interesting if it was an old colleague discussing  the event with him, they would have to work out the mysterious ramblings about a  certain green persona another way but I don't think this would have been hard execute either. 

End of Line

I believe this will satisfy the longtime fans of Swamp Thing and is a good bridge into the horror genre of comics.  Will I be adding it to my Pull List, definitely.