Reviews - Swamp Thing, Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing

449 reviews for:

Swamp Thing, Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing

Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, John Totleben

4.2 AVERAGE

449 reviews for:

Swamp Thing, Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing

Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, John Totleben

4.2 AVERAGE

teethbonjour's review against another edition

5.0

One of the comic stories that you should read and could be easily recommended.

benj_78's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed the main story of this collection, but the chapters around it were not that engaging. The main story was chapters 2-5, I believe and were easily 5 stars. The artwork is fantastic (gotta love the old hand-drawn days), the panel arrangements were unique, and the conundrum of plants and animals needing each other to survive all felt perfect for this character. However, the first chapter and the last few tell me enough to know that I am probably not going to be a Swamp Thing fan betond this.

Very glad I got this book and would recomend it to anybody that is hesitant to dip their toes into comics. If this doesn't grab you, nothing will.

cjborg's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

My expectations were high for this so I'm thrilled to announce that this managed to exceed all of them!! This was a beautifully gothic tale about the monstrosity of humans and the humanity of monsters. I especially loved the issue titled 'The Anatomy Lesson' which was so eerie and thought-provoking as a body horror story, interrogating ideas of what it means to be alive and to be human, it was equally horrific and inspiring and beautiful; i love it. I also really enjoyed the conflict between Alec Holland/Swamp Thing and Dr Woodrue, and the ongoing exploration of mental illness throughout this collection which I felt was handled with surprising care, especially through the character of Abby. Stephen Bissette's art was also especially stunning and I was floored by the level of detail. Oh and I also loved the section where Swamp Thing was experiencing a dream sequence where he had to protect his humanity from giant worms, it was profound without being incoherent or overly pretentious and it made me fall in love with him as a character. I really can't say enough good things about this comic; it really is the masterpiece everyone says it is.

gardnerhere's review against another edition

5.0

Billed to me as the best of Alan Moore, and it's hard to argue. I often find Moore a little stilted, but here's he's not banging his socio-political drum quite so vociferously. Great art, rich story, fabulous premise. Who the hell knew that Swamp Thing would be his most human story?

scrooge3's review against another edition

4.0

Moore's historic run on Swamp Thing starts a little slowly. Issue #20 wraps up many of the plot lines from the previous writers, and even issue #21 is mostly retconning. It's really not until around issue #25 when Jason Blood, aka The Demon, appears that Moore is able to push the story forward. Moore's revised origin for Swamp Thing makes a certain kind of (comic-book) science sense. I also liked that Moore logically explained why the Justice League members are unequipped to handle the supernatural elements of Swamp Thing's milieu. Bissette and Totlemen's artwork is very appropriate for a horror title like this, evoking the kind of art that EC used in its landmark horror titles, dark and moody. This first volume doesn't quite live up to the hype, but I expect that once Moore gets going it will be quite a ride. Moore is a writer who takes his time establishing his characters before turning things inside-out.