Alec’s attempts to stay out of all things related to the Green only draws him in more.
What They Say:
Alec Holland thought he knew the history of the Swamp Thing – but he was wrong. The creature’s roots run deeper than he knows, and the Parliament of Trees intends to make him understand the responsibility he wants so desperately to avoid! With this issue, the mythology of the Swamp Thing branches out in ways you never saw coming – don’t miss it!
The Review:
After all my past experiences with Swamp Thing, which are more just fond memories rather than details, I was pretty hesitant about the new Swamp Thing series. The first issue helped assuage a lot of that concern as Scott Snyder really captured a great feel for the book, even sliding Superman in, while Yanick Paquette hit all the right marks in the artwork department by making it feel very earthy and otherworldly. With my long disconnect from the world of Swamp Thing and not having read the Brightest Day segment, I’ve been really curious as to how they were going to deal with all that came before by not reducing it, eliminating it or just calling it all a drug induced dream. Considering the way that book went both very epic and very strange but also did its horror run, Snyder has a real job here with the character.
What he does here is really fantastic though, as we see the origin of the Swamp Thing that was introduced at the end of the first issue. Going back to 1942, we see a British pilot named Calbraith that was shot down in the midst of battle and was absorbed by the Green as he was one with a real affinity to it. Understanding how he came to be this, and his subsequent resting at the Parliament of Trees, is a key story element because it explains why he can exist now even after Alec remembers being Swamp Thing himself. It’s confusing until it’s all rolled out with some great detail and explanations as Alec bluntly questions it all and his own memories. The revelation as to what happened to Alec when he died in the chemical fire and became Swamp Thing is essentially turned into a dream sequence of sorts, but it’s part of a larger storyline with how the Parliament used what made Alec who he was and created an artificial Swamp Thing.
Calbraith as Swamp Thing really makes a case for why they did what they did, but also as to why he’s back now to try and get Alec to understand his position in the grand scheme of things. Though I tend to dislike the idea of introducing a big evil that nobody has talked about because it’s too evil to talk about, Snyder integrates it well into the mythos overall and makes a compelling case for why Alec should get involved. But Alec’s head is full of these memories that aren’t his as he’s now learned and the Parliament has abused him in a way that just pushes him further away. But importantly, he doesn’t believe he’s the type that can do what needs to be done even with his connection to the Green. This does cast him as the reluctant hero, a familiar role for many characters over the years, but Alec has a little more nuance to him because of how he’s been burned in the past and I definitely like that part of it.
Digital Notes:
This Comixology edition of Swamp Thing contains the main cover as seen with the print edition with no variants or other extras included.
In Summary:
With the first two issues of the series, Swamp Thing completely reinforces my decision to make this a release day same-day purchase. I’m trying to keep my pull list for those small, to the titles I really want to read that keep me intrigued and excited and Swamp Thing hits a lot of good moments here. The story of Calbraith is awkward at first until you realize how it fits into things and then you read it again to get more out of it. There’s a lot of infodump material coming here, but it’s made compelling through the way it’s revealed and though Paquette’s artwork, though the double page spreads didn’t work that well for me as the flow didn’t feel natural. But it’s a small quibble compared to all the positives here. The third issue can’t come fast enough, especially after the end of issue tease we get here.
Grade: A-
