Reviews

Absolute Swamp Thing by Alan Moore, Vol. 1 by Alfredo Alcalá, John Costanza, Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, John Totleben, Tatjana Woods, Shawn McManus, Dan Day, Ron Randall

nateyboyo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

nateyboyo's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

adamskiboy528491's review against another edition

4.0

 I like how the issues dive deep into the DC multiverse. Moore's run on the title is considered the definitive Swamp Thing. Still, parts of it have become non-canon, particularly Swamp Thing's extremely public invasion of Gotham City when he became an internationally famous figure. Commissioner Gordon, for example, no longer remembers a 50-foot-tall Swamp Thing marching up Broadway. 

adamskiboy528491's review

4.25

 The book was among the first to abandon the Comics Code and paved the way for the darker and edgier comics of the 1980s and 1990s, including Moore's own Watchmen and DC's Vertigo imprint, where the series eventually ended up outside the main DCU. Swamp Thing also showed publishers that holding comics to a higher literary standard did not necessarily mean a drop in sales. 

 

Originally, Swamp Thing was a scientist named Alec Holland who was turned into a monster in the swamps near Houma, Louisiana, after his lab equipment was sabotaged and his wife Linda was killed. Wes Craven followed this plot with his mildly successful film adaptation, about your standard modern-day Prometheus doing good and lamenting lost love. Moore, however, retconned the character's origin. 

 

The character is generally considered to have changed hugely for the better when Alan Moore did away with "Alec Holland" trying to become human again, recast Swampie as the anthropomorphic personification of all plant life and began exploring nature mysticism. Most writers afterwards have followed this angle. 

estelessa's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

abecuellar's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

lcush98's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

themagicrat's review

5.0

Whenever I read something by Moore, I'm always struck at the humanity in his writing, the way he can delve into the human experience, take the nitty gritty, everyday boring stuff and elevate it with lyrical prose. This is no exception.

I had avoided the Swamp Thing for many years, mainly because the premise didn't sound all that exciting to me. What a mistake to make! Moore gives it his all, mixing horror, the supernatural, relationship drama, environmental themes, eroticism and occasional forrays into plain old superhero comics.

This is a landmark series in DC's history, the birth of a style that would flourish under the Vertigo banner. Also, to all Sandman fans, it's impossible to overstate how much this comic influenced Neil Gaiman, especially in the earlier Sandman volumes.

Overall, an excellent start. I can't wait to see where Moore takes this!

alexanderp's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This one moved a bit slower for my taste and while it was cool for Swamp Thing to start getting more powers and used to his new state - there was a lot that was still left somewhat unsatisfying to me. I do appreciate Moore's subversion of expectations. 

alexanderp's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

First time getting into Swamp Thing and it is a wild ride. I'm extremely unversed in the DC universe, but that's okay because I'd rather this be something entirely separate that I can just enjoy, rather than more "capeshit."

Really loving Moore's exploration of monsters, nature, and humanity. In typical Moore fashion, he is not staying away from the transcendent as much as grounding it in the physical, which is both refreshing and interesting.