Reviews

Swamp Thing, Vol. 4: A Murder of Crows by Alfredo Alcalá, Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, John Totleben, Stan Woch, Ron Randall

jammasterjamie's review against another edition

4.0

Another really great volume - I shorted it a star because of the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover stuff making it kind of confusing and leaving some parts of the story feeling disjointed. No fault of Moore's, of course, and it doesn't hurt the superb storytelling overall, but it did take me out of it for a couple of pages without really explaining why, so that wasn't great. That said, it did set up a fantastic end to the volume, so at the end of the day it's all good.

ostrava's review against another edition

4.0

The first volume of the Swamp Thing I'm not giving the full five stars. It's not awful but by far my least favorite. Maybe it's on me though, I could have given it a chance, but I'm a bit distracted at the moment and couldn't give this one my full attention.

The stuff that works is excellent. But it doesn't reach the highs of the second and the third volume. I'm hopeful about the new stuff with Abby though...

some_okie_dude27's review against another edition

5.0

I generally dislike event comics, as a lot of the time they end up turning into convoluted, shoddily written messes, much like the rushed-out-the-door, soulless shit that Marvel and DC have been putting out for the last several years. There's been a few events that I've read that've made the cut. Mark Millar's Civil War is enjoyable, though it suffers from his usual schtick of having an interesting idea, yet never doing anything of substance with it. Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars fared much better in my eyes, while Hickman certainly likes to be lofty in his aspirations, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Hickman didn't get lost in explaining little, frivolous details and was focused on telling a cohesive, coherent story, and the art from Esad Ribic also didn't do much to damper anything. Yet, I still avoid them for the most part, unless a writer I enjoy takes one on, though even sometimes that can also go badly.

There have been several alternate takes on the 'event comic' over the years too, like with Robert Kirkman's Invincible with the Invincible War issue or Valiant's take on it with The Valiant, but Moore's approach is entirely unique and I like to tell people that this book is Alan Moore's take on the event comic, and in his usual style, he takes the trappings and conventions of event comics and then turns them on its ear. Though it's not necessarily an event comic, It was written during the 'Final Crisis' event at DC Comics, and Moore had to write a tie in for the event. But Moore managed to tie it in with the conclusion of the 'American Gothic' storyline that's been carried through the third trade of the series. The so called 'event' is the ending of the trade, where Swamp Thing and the previously introduced more obscure characters of the DC universe face off against the evil forces seeking to destroy the world as we know it. Moore writes with a surprisingly brisk pace, considering his usual wordiness and slow burn stories that he's known to write. Much like Love and Death, it was one that Moore was forced to write on the spot, and as thus didn't have much time to build as much as he likes to do. Yet somehow he managed to write a great story from it, as if he cast a spell from his magical beard. Moore's aforementioned love of the DC universe comes into full swing in this volume as well, with dozens of references, characters, and call backs that they can't all be captured in the first sitting.

This trade shows how event comics should be, if they were planned out and done by the actual writers instead of them being forced on by editorial to placate idiot VPs, who have no knowledge or interest in how storytelling works. The rest of the stories of the trade also showcase Moore's continued versatility in terms of theme and character, going from disturbing to fun to wryly hilarious from issue to issue, yet with a consistent sense of tone and atmosphere throughout that connects them together. Yet with this trade, we see a climax to the series, and I say that for lack of a better word with the end of the American Gothic storyline, and it wraps up in a way that only Alan Moore can, somehow grand, yet also personal in scope.

Moore writes as deftly as usual, continuing his trend of writing about bigger issues, yet never losing track of what should matter in the story. Moore's political commentary and satire also continues to be sharp and surprising astute as he tackles such topics as xenophobia, gun violence, and further environmental concerns as the trade goes along. It's often Moore's foresight into these issues and his satirical edge on them that keeps his work impressive, even if I don't always agree with it. What I most admire is that, as I've said before, he never seeks to insult his audience or tell them what to think, but to allow for them to come to their own conclusions. Certainly, he'll put out his own opinions, but he never wants to tell others what to think while he does so, it is the showcasing of a master of storytelling and also a pointer for those who want to put social or political commentary in their work.

To not sound too much like a broken record, Bissette and Totleben's art continues to impress, though Woch also manages to bring an hallucinogenic edge to the series, especially once we see Moore continue his expansion into Swamp Thing's mythology and origins that would go on to influence a generation of creators who would work on the character after him. Veitch also continues to impress, and I can't say enough how he continues to perfectly mimic Bissette and Totleben's style and add his own working to their style, becoming a suitable heir to Bissette and Totleben as they begin to fall back on art duties during the series.

Swamp Thing continues to chug along strongly, but we also see a culmination of everything that had come before it, not to say that it only goes down from here, but you do wonder where they can go next after such an epic excursion.

jayspa65's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

 I love plants. Plants that beat the crap out of bad guys are even more awesome.

While Moore almost certainly didn't intend it, "A Murder of Crows" is a foundation stone for what eventually became DC's Vertigo line. Various writers, chief among them Neil Gaiman, picked up many of the ideas Moore threw into the Swamp Thing pot and ran with them in other books, and certainly the existentialist approach to super-heroics Moore brought to Swamp Thing has been a common thing in all super-hero books since (for good and for ill).

As to the merits of this volume: the overall quality is good, but the presence of the rest of the DCU tends to deflate some of the strong horror elements that Moore had incorporated into the series in previous volumes. The dark threat is tied into the Crisis, however indirectly, and so the overall tone is far more the conventional adventure story. The art, by a collection of top notch talent, is still surreal and just a tad creepy, which is generally a good thing, except for scenes depicting the gathering of super-heroes, where it looks out of place.

Swamp Thing always borders on the old horror comic take, which is a nice departure from superhero stories. Advise keeping this away from younger readers, as the content can be a little disturbing. 

rocketwave's review against another edition

5.0

Saga of the Swap Thing is a gift that keeps giving. One of the best graphic novels/comics I've read so far.

A fantastic blend between horror, philosophy and general spoopy stuff. I would recommend it to everyone, however the dated artwork may scare people away.

dessa's review

3.0

Off the rails and anti-climactic. Super chilling scene where a girl vomits up her own intestines to become a bird.

lookhome's review against another edition

5.0

Everything is one the line in this one and Moore continues to surprise and impress bringing in a large variety of known and lesser known characters. Constantine's further developed and our favourite rhyming demon makes another appearance.
The conclusion is satisfying but as mentioned in another review, it may leave the gore hounds wanting more.

bae0fpigs's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

mcyewfly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

If the first three volumes’ focus was primarily interpersonal and internal struggles driven, then this fourth volume departs  itself with broader, impossible philosophy. There are no grand conclusions; the battles are not epic in description or depiction. Yet, the stakes feel extraordinarily sturdy. Every story beat pumped me up with more adrenaline. My favorite ongoing element of this collection has been the exploration of Swamp Thing proper. This section’s profound shift away from him was disappointing in a selfish way. The story does not suffer, thankfully. 

has3000's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring fast-paced

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

3.5

The culmination of the plot with Constantine that was building up throughout the last book, and the Crisis crossover!

This was actually an interesting way to do the Crisis event, without having Swamp Thing just be another punchy guy with Batman and Superman. It was much more of a  psychological battle, which is just what I want from Swamp Thing.

Overall, it didn’t have the same depths as the previous books, but it was an interesting continuation nonetheless.