449 reviews for:

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

Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, John Totleben

4.2 AVERAGE

undulateabyss5's review against another edition

4.0

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A very eerie and creepy atmosphere with a fascinating Frankenstein-que story and lore. A- (91%/Excellent)

djdixon719's review against another edition

4.0

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Knowing nothing about this other than people like it and Alan Moore wrote it, I thought it was great! Very horror based and now I think Swamp Thing is super cool. If you enjoy anything else by Alan Moore then this is a must read. Or if you like horror monster stuff.

robbishreads's review against another edition

3.0

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A frustrating read that bordered on greatness but was held back by some strange decisions. First of all, the art style is a bit dated nad often had me reading panels or dialogue in the wrong order. The first chapter, however, was fantastic--a great horror short story that the rest of vol 1 never quite lived up to. For the most part, the stories and presentation were excellent. It's just that every so often a little detail or element showed up that diminished what would otherwise be brilliant. For example, the inclusion of the Justice League, or causing a demon to appear wearing awkard spandex underwear. The overall plot was enough to carry the title, and you can't help but love the actual Swamp Thing. If ever there was a title that could benefit from a gritty remake this would be it.

bell1691's review against another edition

4.0

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I thought it was kind of cheese-y. Actually, it made me laugh; the dialogue was so dramatic at points. However, that's what I kind of liked about this graphic novel - it was serious but never seemed too serious.

jmtsuruoka's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

crookedtreehouse's review against another edition

3.0

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The beginning of Moore's Swamp Thing run isn't as good as I remembered. Sure, it's okay, and it's a historically important run for DC and Vertigo comics, but it doesn't hold up as well as Jamie Delano's Hellblazer run.

You can read Delano's Hellblazer and imagine it's a period piece about the 80s, written in a timeless fashion. Moore's Swamp Thing just feels like a 1980s writer rehashing some mid-twentieth century sci-fi and horror tropes. It's okay, but not engrossing. The characters are pretty flat, and the motivations for each character are set at Dudley Do-Right or Evil Villainy, until they are flipped in order to drive the story forward. Seemingly decent people are "possessed" into doing evil. It feels incredibly dated, even for a story from the early 1980s.

While the series is historically important for comics, v in general, and the foundation of DC/Vertigo, in particular, it's neither Moore's best work, nor one of the better Vertigo titles.

living_dead_girl's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

mgiegerl's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

joegoodden's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jdarnold's review against another edition

3.0

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It was a fine read - for a comic book. It was dark and foreboding and had some nice lines, but I guess I'm just not the comic book type.