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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
A-may-zinggggg. There are some things you just can't review because in trying to do so you know you're just not going to do any justice to the masterpiece you've just read. That's this.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing is pretty much universally recognised as a brilliant series. So I was hesitant to pick it up as it was before my time and my knowledge of Swamp Thing was limited. But I throughly enjoyed it. I’m grateful for what this series allowed Alan Moore to achieve in comics following on from this. Alan Moore showed what was possible with comics. They could be more poetically and beautifully written. He turned a generic monster story into something more powerful and nuanced. The comics code had made stories watered down or more melodramatic but Moore was able to capture something more real and human in his work. I think this book throws you into the story so it is possibly better to read/google what came before to have some context. He also changed the origin of the character opening up a world of possibilities that I can’t wait to explore. I feel the series will getter better now that I have read the first book and better know Swamp Thing.
dark
emotional
reflective
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:
Complicated
I'm really digging Swamp Thing. This first volume got me into it right away, for a few reasons which I will update later, but start off with the one:
The complexity of the character. He's not simply a tortured man transformed into something he hates. That kind of gothic story of poor me self loathing will anybody can anybody love me is fine, but what the green guy offers up as a character is so much more: there's an existential message of ok here I am who will I be that moves beyond the dualism of man and monster, swamp and thing (ha).
The richness of the plot. This is Alan Moore here after all, the guy when it comes to funny books that demand to be taken seriously. I've read his self contained epics Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Seeing his genius at work on a serial narrative is a different experience, and a welcome one. Here he has time to experiment, to weave in and out of different themes and motifs for each storyline, like a jazz musician playing some standards each week but mostly branching off with his own voice.
The complexity of the character. He's not simply a tortured man transformed into something he hates. That kind of gothic story of poor me self loathing will anybody can anybody love me is fine, but what the green guy offers up as a character is so much more: there's an existential message of ok here I am who will I be that moves beyond the dualism of man and monster, swamp and thing (ha).
The richness of the plot. This is Alan Moore here after all, the guy when it comes to funny books that demand to be taken seriously. I've read his self contained epics Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Seeing his genius at work on a serial narrative is a different experience, and a welcome one. Here he has time to experiment, to weave in and out of different themes and motifs for each storyline, like a jazz musician playing some standards each week but mostly branching off with his own voice.
Alan Moore is amazing. I never thought I would enjoy a graphic novel about Swamp Thing, but the premise and writing is truly inventive.
4'5 ⭐. La verdad que ha superado mis expectativas con creces. Recuerdo que intenté leerlo hace años pero lo dejé al poco, me aburrí. Ahora, me ha enamorado. Sobre todo el dibujo de Bissette. Normalmente el cómic clásico me cuesta por varias razones, una siendo el dibujo, pero este es MARAVILLOSO.
I sought this out after reading Watchmen and V. I liked the idea of Swamp Thing, but after reading this I decided that this, even though I'd never read any other, was the ultimate version of the character.
Another collection off of my stepson's shelf of comics trades I've bought him over the years with the ulterior motive of reading them myself at some point. My friend Mike A. once promoted the theory that Alan Moore and Grant Morrison made satanic deals that allow them to spin the wildest stories in way that the beguiled reader is able to make clear intuitive sense of, where leader writers would just go off the rails. Perfect example of that magic on the page here.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced