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| Swamp Thing | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | (vol. 1): Bi-monthly (The Saga of the Swamp Thing vols. 2–6,The Swamp Thing): Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Superhero,horror |
| Publication date | List
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| No. of issues | List
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| Creative team | |
| Written by | List
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| Pencillers | List
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| Inkers | List
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| Colorist | List
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The character ofSwamp Thing has appeared in seven American comic book series to date, including several specials, and has crossed over into otherDC Comics titles. The series found immense popularity upon its 1970s debut and during the mid-late 1980s underAlan Moore,Stephen Bissette, andJohn Totleben. These eras were met with high critical praise and numerous awards. However, over the years, the Swamp Thing comics have suffered from low sales, which have resulted in numerous series cancellations and revivals.
The firstSwamp Thing series ran for 24 issues, from 1972 to 1976.[1]Len Wein was the writer for the first 13 issues before David Michelinie and Gerry Conway finished up the series. Horror artistBerni Wrightson drew the first 10 issues of the series, whileNestor Redondo drew a further 13 issues, the last issue being drawn byFred Carrillo. The Swamp Thing fought against evil as he sought the men who murdered his wife and caused his monstrous transformation, as well as searching for a means to transform himself back to his human form.
The Swamp Thing has since fought many villains, most notably themad scientistAnton Arcane and his army ofUn-Men. Also involved in the conflict wasMatthew Cable, a federal agent who originally mistakenly believed Swamp Thing to be responsible for the deaths of Alec and Linda Holland.
Despite Wein's writing the first 13 issues, only the first 10 issues of the originalSwamp Thing series had been collected in trade paperbacks or reprint comics, primarily due to the popularity of Wrightson's artwork, stopping rather than concluding the story arc. Wein ended his run as writer by having the Swamp Thing reveal his identity to Matt Cable and ultimately avenging the death of his wife by killing Nathan Ellery. The full Wein 13-issue run was released in hardcover by DC in June 2009 asRoots of the Swamp Thing, volume 4 of the 9-volume book series theDC Comics Classics Library.
As sales figures plummeted towards the end of the series, the writers attempted to revive interest by introducing fantasy creatures, sci-fi aliens, and even Alec Holland's brother, Edward (a plot point that was never referred to or even mentioned again by later writers), into the picture.
The appearance of Holland's brother toward the end of the series marked a series of plot developments, designed to provide the series with a happy ending, which generated much controversy.[citation needed] InSwamp Thing #23, Alec finally regains his humanity and while the creature was on the cover of the 24th and final issue of the series (albeit transforming into human), Holland appeared as human throughout the interior story. The cover illustration showed a yellow muscular creature, Thrudvang, beating up the Swamp Thing; the interior showed Holland imagining the Swamp Thing beating up Thrudvang, in similar positions but with roles reversed—the issue itself depicting Holland and his new love interest (and his brother's research assistant) running away from Thrudvang. A battle between the Swamp Thing andHawkman was promised for the next issue, but no such battle occurred untilSwamp Thing (vol. 2) #58.
During the short-lived revival ofChallengers of the Unknown in issues #81-87, also by Gerry Conway, the Swamp Thing returned as Alec Holland who, without continually producing andself-medicating with the bio-restorative formula, reverted into the form of the Swamp Thing. Holland, along with the Challengers of the Unknown, encountered the supernatural being known asDeadman (though they were unaware of Deadman's presence), a fact that would confirm the post-Wein Swamp Thing stories existence in DC Universe continuity years later when Deadman and the Swamp Thing met again during Alan Moore's run as writer. The Swamp Thing also appeared with theBatman twice inThe Brave and the Bold #122 and 176 and withSuperman inDC Comics Presents #8. In the latter, bySteve Englehart, he tried in vain to stop Superman from committing what he perceived asgenocide (using a compound developed byS.T.A.R. Labs) on 60Solomon Grundys living in the sewers ofMetropolis.
In an issue dated May 1982, DC Comics revived theSwamp Thing series to try to capitalize on the summer1982 release of theWes Cravenfilm of the same name. The title, calledThe Saga of the Swamp Thing, featured in its firstAnnual the comic book adaptation of the Craven movie. Now written by Martin Pasko, the book loosely picked up after the Swamp Thing's appearances inChallengers of the Unknown #81-87,DC Comics Presents #8, andThe Brave and the Bold #176, with the character wandering around the swamps of Louisiana as something of an urban legend that was feared by locals.
Martin Pasko's main arc depicted the Swamp Thing roaming the globe, trying to stop a young girl (and possibleNazi-affiliated Anti-Christ) named Karen Clancy from destroying the world. The series also featured back-up stories involving thePhantom Stranger byMike W. Barr, which led to a collaboration between the Swamp Thing and the Stranger in a guest run byDan Mishkin that featured a scientist who transformed himself into asilicon creature. The primary artist for the bulk of Pasko's run wasTom Yeates; towards the end of the run he was replaced withStephen R. Bissette andJohn Totleben (who began by inking Yeates' pencils). Bissette and Totleben, who had known Yeates atThe Kubert School, had been ghosting various pages for Yeates, and were given the assignment on Pasko's recommendation.
In issue #6, editor Len Wein declared, in response to a published letter, that Alec never had a brother and that every Swamp Thing series story after issue #21 of the original series never happened. The letter, however, questioned why the Swamp Thing had reverted, which had already been explained in theChallengers of the Unknown run. A later column pointed this out, so they said they would not deliberately contradict it, even though they would still go from the assumption that it never happened.
The arrival of Bissette and Totleben came as Pasko, who wrote the secondBrave and the Bold team-up shortly before he began the series, resurrected plotlines from the original series. Abigail Arcane and Matt Cable were brought back and shown to be married, though this development had a darker side: Cable had been tortured via repeated electroshock treatments by his black-ops superiors over his decision to stop working for the government in order to marry Abigail. The electroshock treatments caused permanent brain damage for Matt, resulting in him being unable to work and, ironically, granting him psychic ability in the form of being able to create lifelike mental illusions. Pasko also resurrected Anton Arcane, now a grotesque half-human/half-insect cyborg with an army of insectoid Un-Men who ultimately cannibalized their creator after the Swamp Thing was forced to kill Arcane.
Pasko left the book with issue #19, which featured the (third) death of Arcane, the second of which, fromSwamp Thing #10, was reprinted inThe Saga of the Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #18. He would be replaced by British writerAlan Moore.
AsSwamp Thing was heading for cancellation due to low sales, DC editorial agreed to giveAlan Moore (at the time a relatively unknown writer in America whose previous work included several stories for2000 AD,Warrior andMarvel UK) free rein to revamp the title and the character as he saw fit. Moore reconfigured the Swamp Thing's origin to make him a true monster as opposed to a human transformed into a monster. In his first issue, he swept aside the supporting cast Pasko had introduced in his year-and-a-half run as writer, and brought the Sunderland Corporation (a villainous group out to gain the secrets of Alec Holland's research) to the forefront, as they hunted down the Swamp Thing and "killed" him in a hail of bullets.
The Saga of the Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #21 (Feb. 1984), "The Anatomy Lesson", signaled a change in the character's mythos by having an obscure supervillain, theFloronic Man (Jason Woodrue), perform anautopsy on the Swamp Thing's body and discover it was only superficially human, its organs little more than crude, nonfunctional, vegetable-based imitations of their human counterparts, indicating that the Swamp Thing could never have been human. The Swamp Thing was not Alec Holland, but only believed it to be so: Holland had indeed died in the fire, and the swamp vegetation had absorbed his consciousness and memories and created a new sentient being that believed itself to be Alec Holland. The Swamp Thing would never be human again because he neverwas human to start with. Woodrue also concluded that, despite the autopsy, the Swamp Thing was still alive and in a deep coma due to the bullet wounds and imprisonment in cold-storage.[2]
Moore would later reveal, in an attempt to connect the original one-off Swamp Thing story fromHouse of Secrets to the main Swamp Thing canon, that there had been dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Swamp Things since the dawn of humanity, and that all versions of the creature were designated defenders of theParliament of Trees, an elemental community also known as "the Green" that connects all plant life on Earth.
The Swamp Thing went catatonic due to the shock of discovering what he really was, after having killed Sunderland in a fit of rage and escaped deep into the Green. Woodrue went insane after attempting to connect to the Green through the Swamp Thing, and Abby had to revive the Swamp Thing in order to stop Woodrue after Woodrue killed an entireLouisiana town. Swamp Thing returned to the swamps of Louisiana, and encounteredEtrigan the Demon, then gave a final burial for Holland's bones.
Matthew Cable, gravely hurt in the previous storyline, was revealed to have been possessed by Anton Arcane, and Abby unwittingly had an incestuous relationship with him. After a fight, Cable was thrown into a coma, and Abby's soul was sent toHell. InSwamp Thing Annual #2, modeled onDante'sInferno, the Swamp Thing followed Abigail, encountering classic DC characters such asDeadman, thePhantom Stranger, theSpectre, and Etrigan en route, and eventually rescued her.
The relationship between the Swamp Thing and Abby deepened, and inSwamp Thing (vol. 2) #34 ("Rites of Spring") the two confessed that they loved each other since they met, and "made love" though ahallucinogenic experience brought on when Abby ate atuber produced by the Swamp Thing's body (this served as a segment in the filmThe Return of Swamp Thing, where the Swamp Thing produces a fruit and the ingestion of the fruit makes Abby to see the Swamp Thing as a handsome man, and then they make love). The controversial relationship between a plant and a human would culminate in Abby being arrested later for breaking the laws of nature and conducting a sexual relationship with a nonhuman. Abby ultimately fled to Gotham City, leading to a story arc featuring the fourth encounter between the Swamp Thing andBatman. Before that, the "American Gothic" storyline introduced the characterJohn Constantine (later to star in his own comicJohn Constantine, Hellblazer) in issues #37–50, where the Swamp Thing had to travel to several parts of America, encountering several archetypal horror monsters, includingvampires (the same clan he fought inThe Saga of the Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #3), awerewolf, andzombies, but modernized with relevance to current issues. Around this time, Moore had the Swamp Thing encounter Superman a second time, inDC Comics Presents #85. The storyline began with the Swamp Thing's old body being completely destroyed, and growing a new one. Constantine encourages the Swamp Thing to use the power for transportation, and the Swamp Thing learns to do so with increasing speed. The "American Gothic" storyline ended with a crossover withCrisis on Infinite Earths, where the Swamp Thing had to solve the battle between Good (Light) and Evil (Darkness). He also met theParliament of Trees in issue #47, which was where Earth elementals like him lay to rest after they have walked the Earth, and it was here Moore solved the continuity problem of the first and second Swamp Thing: the first Swamp Thing, Alex Olsen, was now a part of the Parliament.
Although Abby was eventually released, Swamp Thing was ambushed by soldiers using a weapon designed byLex Luthor. Luthor's weapon destroyed the Swamp Thing's connection with the Earth, whilst the Swamp Thing's body was destroyed by napalm. Unable to regrow a new Earthly body, the Swamp Thing was presumed dead. However, the Swamp Thing's consciousness had instead fled to outer space, in search of a planet that was amenable to his new psychic wavelength. In the first tale of the Swamp Thing's extraterrestrial activities ("My Blue Heaven", #56), the Swamp Thing came upon a planet colored entirely in shades of blue, and on which there was no intelligent life. In this particularly popular issue, the Swamp Thing populated this lonely blue planet with mindless plant replicas of Abby and other reminders of his lost Earth.
In issue #60, entitled "Loving the Alien", the Swamp Thing actually becomes the father of the numerous offspring of an alien cosmic entity after she "mates" with him against his will.
Moore's run included several references to obscure or forgotten comic characters (the Phantom Stranger, Cain and Abel, the Floronic Man), but none so prominent as in issue #32, when he broke with the serious and moody storyline for a single issue. In the story "Pog",Walt Kelly's funny animal comic characterPogo (created in 1943) and all of his woodland friends show up as costumed visitors from another planet, looking for an unspoiled world after their own utopia was overrun and destroyed by brutal monkeys.
Moore began a trend (continued byNeil Gaiman, among others) of mining theDC Universe's vast collection of minor supernatural characters to create a mythic atmosphere. Charactersspun off from Moore's series gave rise to DC'sVertigo comic book line, notablyThe Sandman,John Constantine, Hellblazer, andThe Books of Magic; Vertigo titles were written with adults in mind and often contained material unsuitable for children.The Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon theComics Code Authority (CCA); after the CCA denied issue #29 the seal of approval, DC created an imprint to publish the series under and no longer submitted issues ofThe Saga of the Swamp Thing to the CCA for approval.[3]
Moore's final issue, #64, was dated September 1987. At that point, regular pencillerRick Veitch began scripting the series, continuing the story in a roughly similar vein for 24 more issues. Shortly after issue #65,Swamp Thing Annual #3 was produced, this time focusing on DC's primate characters, such asCongorilla,Sam Simeon, andGorilla Grodd. The Batman guest-starred in issue #66.Hellblazer also began soon afterSwamp Thing (vol. 2) #67, and the two series had storylines which crossover to each other duringHellblazer's first year under writer Jamie Delano. In Veitch'sSwamp Thing stories, the Parliament of Trees, having believed the Swamp Thing dead, grew a Sprout to replace him. Unwilling to sacrifice an innocent life, he convinced them that he would take the Sprout as his own child, and eventually impregnated Abby (now his wife) with it by possessingJohn Constantine. After the completion of this storyline, the Swamp Thing sought to resolve his need for vengeance against those who had "killed" him during his showdown in Gotham City, culminating in a showdown with Lex Luthor (and Superman) inSwamp Thing (vol. 2) #79 and a confrontation with the Batman inSwamp Thing Annual #4.
It was during this time that the Swamp Thing first encounteredBlack Orchid inNeil Gaiman andDave McKean's three-part graphic novel. Later, during theInvasion! crossover event, the Swamp Thing was thrown into the past, and traveled through time trying to return to the present. The story was published inSwamp Thing (vol. 2) #80–87. One issue of this storyline [#84] focused upon the Swamp Thing's regular supporting cast. In this issue, Matthew Cable died during his coma and arrived in the land of the Dreaming, where he encountered Morpheus and Eve. Cable would later be written intoThe Sandman by Neil Gaiman as Matthew the Raven.
Veitch's term ended in a widely publicized creative dispute, when DC refused to publish issue #88 because of the use ofJesus as a character despite having previously approved the script, in which the Swamp Thing is revealed to be the cupbearer who offers Jesus water when he calls for it from the cross. The move was said to be made due to controversies then arising from theMartin Scorsese filmThe Last Temptation of Christ. ArtistMichael Zulli had already partially completed the art. The move disgusted Veitch and he immediately resigned from writing. Neil Gaiman andJamie Delano, who were originally slated to be the next writers, sympathetically declined to take up the helm. Gaiman, however, was cooperative enough with the editorial staff to writeSwamp Thing Annual #5, featuringBrother Power the Geek, to fill the series hiatus, which led into the run of the new Swamp Thing writer, Doug Wheeler. TheAnnual was reprinted inNeil Gaiman's Midnight Days.
In 2025, duringNew York Comic Con, it was announced that Veitch's final four issues of Swamp Thing would be published in 2026 under DC'sBlack Label imprint.[4]
From September 1989 to July 1991,Doug Wheeler wrote issues #88–109. Wheeler quickly wrapped up Veitch's time travel arc and oversaw the birth of Abby and the Swamp Thing's daughterTefé Holland. The remaining tenure of Wheeler's run focused upon a longstanding war between theParliament of Trees and the Gray, a fungus-themed elemental realm in opposition to the Parliament of Trees.
Wheeler's run was drawn byPat Broderick and Mike Hoffman. Broderick's work had a more traditional, adventure-comics look than previous artists on the series. John Totleben continued to contribute painted covers up to issue #100. After issue #101,Alfredo Alcala departed his role as longtime inker as he transitioned from comics to animation. The art of Mike Hoffman lacked the atmospheric detail that had characterized the first 100 issues. Due to the backlash among creators including planned Swamp Thing writers Jamie Delano and Neil Gaiman, DC relied upon newcomer artists and writers whose careers in comics never took off. This poorly received run eventually caused DC to replace Hoffman and Wheeler. Swamp Thing received a large multimedia push during the transition from Wheeler to Collins, receiving ananimated series from Dic and alive action series onUSA Network.Bill Jaaska was used on a few issues including Annual #6 during the transition.
Seeking to revive interest in the series, DC brought horror writerNancy A. Collins on board to write the series, first withSwamp Thing Annual #6 before moving on to writeSwamp Thing #110–138.
Collins dramatically overhauled the series, restoring the pre-Alan Moore tone of the series as well as incorporating a new set of supporting cast members into the book. Collins resurrectedAnton Arcane, along with the Sunderland Corporation, as foils for the Swamp Thing. Collins also moved the series, which had focused on the Swamp Thing's time travel adventures and explorations into other-dimensional realms, back to normal society by having the Swamp Thing and Abby set up shop in southern Louisiana and attempt to live a normal life with friends and family, culminating in the introduction of the elemental babysitter Lady Jane into the supporting cast. It was during her run that DC officially launched the Vertigo imprint andSwamp Thing #129 was the first issue to carry the Vertigo logo on the cover. Collins wrapped up her run by having the Swamp Thing promise Abby that he will never leave her side. He then breaks his promise and creates a secret double to stay and protect Abby as he goes into the Green during an environmental crisis. Abby feels betrayed and leaves a despondent Swamp Thing behind. He retreats into the Green, and when Lady Jane reaches out to him, it sparks into a love affair. Arcane returns and arranges an abduction of Abby to force Tefe to use her powers to grow him a healthy body. The ongoing stress from constant attacks and dealing with Tefe's powers leads to Abby rejecting Tefe and eventually leaving town with her new boyfriend. Fearing for Tefe's safety, Lady Jane betrays the Swamp Thing and kidnaps Tefe into the Green, so that she can be trained by the Parliament of Trees.
Swamp Thing Annual #7, published around this time, was the final annual issue as part of the Vertigo crossover event "The Children's Crusade". Collins also wrote a Swamp Thing story for the anthology one-shotVertigo Jam. Shortly after Collins' departure,Black Orchid series writer Dick Foreman wrote a two-part crossover between the two titles,Black Orchid #5 andSwamp Thing #139.
With issue #140 (March 1994), the title was handed over toGrant Morrison for a four-issue arc, co-written byMark Millar. As Collins had destroyed the status quo of the series, Morrison sought to shake the book up with a four-part storyline which had the Swamp Thing plunged into a nightmarish dream world scenario, where he was split into two separate beings: Alec Holland and the Swamp Thing, which was now a mindless being of pure destruction.
Millar then took over from Morrison with issue #144, and launched what was initially conceived as an ambitious 25-part storyline where the Swamp Thing would be forced to go upon a series of "trials" against rival elemental forces. This led to a series of lengthy storylines by Millar as the Swamp Thing fought rival elemental beings and in the process, became champions of the five main Elemental Parliaments: Trees, Stone, Waves, Vapor and Flames. It was during this time that the Swamp Thing also encountered the Batman's enemyKiller Croc, in a failed attempt to resolve the character's ongoing storyline in 1995'sBatman #521–522,Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #159-160, andThe Batman Chronicles #3.
The series was later cancelled. Explanations for the cancellation vary, from low sales to Millar himself having become bored with the series. Despite this, Millar decided to leave the title which, in turn, caused DC to cancel the series.
Millar was given the job to wrap up the series, which would end withSwamp Thing (vol. 2) #171. John Totleben would return to illustrate the covers for issues #160–171.
Millar's final arc for the series had the Swamp Thing, due to his success in beating the other Elemental Parliament Champions, become godlike and unapproachable by mortals, even as his estranged wife Abby returned to try to reconcile with him. With help from John Constantine, Abby sought to keep the Swamp Thing from destroying humanity so that the Parliament Elementals could claim control over Earth. In the end, the Swamp Thing unites all of the Elemental Parliaments into one collective hive mind with him in control of it. Achieving a global sense of consciousness, the Swamp Thing sees through the worldview of every living thing upon the planet and find the good and the potential in even his worst enemy. This is shown most notably with the final resurrection of Anton Arcane who, during his most recent stay in Hell, befriended a priest that was unfairly condemned to Hell and in the process renounced evil and became a born-again Christian.
The Swamp Thing thus spares humanity and becomes a Planetary Elemental, representing Earth itself, and joins the Parliament of Worlds, which is made up of all the other "enlightened worlds" (the only others actually named wereMars, who greeted the Swamp Thing into their number, and Oa; due to its destruction some time before [inGreen Lantern #0], Mars lamented Oa could not witness Earth's induction). This was the most significant change made to the character since Moore's reinterpretation, though in the Michael Zulli story "Look Away" (found within the 2000 special issueSwamp Thing Vertigo Secret Files and Origins #1) the Swamp Thing ultimately returns to normal and renounces his status as a Planetary Elemental, due to his belief that he was more effective a figure as a normal elemental being living in the swamp.
After being overlooked for inclusion in countlessDC Universe crossovers sinceInvasion!, the Swamp Thing reappeared in the coda for the DC Universe crossover eventThe Final Night, appearing at Hal Jordan's funeral alongside John Constantine. In 1997, the Swamp Thing was written intoAquaman (vol. 5) #32–33 byPeter David and attended the funeral for the ghost of Jim Corrigan inThe Spectre (vol. 3) #62 byJohn Ostrander, which was the final issue of that series.
Early 1998 saw the production ofJon J. Muth's Vertigo graphic novelSwamp Thing: Roots. TheSandmanspin-offThe Dreaming #22–24 written byCaitlín R. Kiernan saw Matthew Cable's return to human form, his uneasy reunion and final departure from his ex-wife Abby (now married to the Swamp Thing) and Cable's restoration to his dream raven form. Matthew the Raven died inThe Dreaming story "Foxes and Hounds" in issues #42–43, a fact that was later touched upon by the 2000 special issueSwamp Thing Vertigo Secret Files and Origins #1. The final week of 1999 saw the Swamp Thing teaming up with other Vertigo heroes from the DC Universe in the one-shot specialTotems.
Written byBrian K. Vaughan and drawn by Roger Petersen (issues #1 – #11) andGiuseppe Camuncoli (issues #12 – #20) in 2001, the third series focused on the daughter of the Swamp Thing,Tefé Holland. Even though she was chronologically 11–12, the series had Tefe aged into the body of an 18-year-old with a mindwipe to try to control her darker impulses, brought about by her exposure to the Parliament of Trees. Due to the circumstances under which she was conceived (the Swamp Thing, possessing John Constantine, was not aware he was given a blood transfusion by a demon), she held power over both plants and flesh.
The fourth series began in 2004, with rotating writers ofAndy Diggle (#1–6),Will Pfeifer (#7–8) andJoshua Dysart (#9–29). In this latest series, the Swamp Thing is reverted to his plant-based Earth elemental status after the first storyline, and he attempts to live an "eventless" life in the Louisiana swamps. Tefé, likewise, is rendered powerless and mortal.
Meanwhile, a rogue consciousness, calling itself the Holland Mind, was living in theGreen. As of issue #15, botany professor Jordan Schiller, an influential man from Alec Holland's past, has been summoned to the swamp by strange visions and memories, apparently manipulated by this rogue consciousness. The full purpose for this manipulation was revealed in issues #21–24. In sacrificing his power, the Swamp Thing lost much of his Alec Holland personality. Now he is restored to his proper station and power and has resumed his romantic relationship with Abby, as of issue #25. Beginning with issue #21 onward,Eric Powell provided covers for the series.
The Floronic Man returned in #27–29, his mind splintered in the aftermath ofInfinite Crisis. Issue #29 was the final issue of the fourth volume, which had been cancelled due to low sales numbers, despite fan-supported efforts to save the series.
The Dysart series deals with the aftermath ofHurricane Katrina in the last 12 issues of the series. Most notable is the fact that real estate tycoons had been wanting to develop theLower Ninth Ward ofNew Orleans.
The Swamp Thing was relaunched as an ongoing series in 2011 as part ofThe New 52, a company wide relaunch by DC comics. It was written byScott Snyder and drawn byYanick Paquette. Taking off from the end ofBrightest Day, the series follows a resurrected Alec Holland who wants to put the memories of the Swamp Thing behind him. He is approached first by an earlier incarnation of the Swamp Thing, representing theParliament of Trees. This Swamp Thing informs Holland that he is a unique individual who would have become a legendary warrior for the Parliament and the Green, the essence of all plant life. When Holland died, the Parliament created a creature which thought it was him as a substitute. Holland rebuffs the creature's entreaties that he assume the mantle of the Swamp Thing. Next, he is approached by Abigail Arcane, the former lover of the Swamp Thing. She enlists him to help save her half-brother William Arcane, before he becomes the champion of the Rot, the force of decay, once known as the Swamp Thing's archenemy,Anton Arcane. While traveling cross-country, Holland and Arcane find themselves increasingly attracted to each other. After confronting William, who has already become a servant of the Rot, Abigail is captured and taken away. At the same time, the Parliament of Trees comes under attack and is about to be destroyed. Realizing his mistake, Holland accepts the mantle of the Swamp Thing as the only way to save Abigail and prevent the Rot from triumphing.
Issues #8 and 9 were drawn by Yanick Paquette and Marco Rudy. Issue #10 was drawn by Francesco Francavilla, and #11 by Marco Rudy. Issue #12, which featured Animal Man, was a collaborative effort between Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire, Marco Rudy, Dan Green, and Andy Owens. Issue #13 subsequently returned to Yanick Paquette drawing.
After the conclusion of Scott Snyder's tenure on the series, Charles Soule took over with issue #19. His run on the series has the Swamp Thing fighting with Jason Woodrue, now known as the Seeder in the new continuity, who gained power over the Green after saving Alec Holland in the past. The Seeder eventually becomes the new Avatar of the Green after the Swamp Thing chooses not to kill him. Holland manages to escape from the Green by becoming one of the Parliament of Trees and grabbing Woodrue to tap into the power of the Avatar. He manages to convince the Parliament that he is better by making all plant life, including the algae in the oceans and seas, to become hyperactive and produce massive amounts of oxygen, which makes all other beings feel lazier. The Parliament agrees and makes him the Avatar once more.
From March to August 2016, a six-issue miniseries was published, written by Swamp Thing co-creatorLen Wein and pencilled byKelley Jones.[5]
The new series, retitled asThe Swamp Thing, started March 2021 and being written byRam V and pencilled byMike Perkins.[6] A new character Levi Kamei takes over the role as the new Avatar of the Green. The series was planned to be a ten-issue miniseries until it was extended to 16 issues.[7]
Swamp Thing has so far been collected in the following collections published byVertigo andDC Comics:
The entire Alan Moore run (save his first issue,Swamp Thing #20, which was not reprinted until 2009) from #21-64 was first collected in the U.K. in the late 1980s as a series of black and white trade paperbacks. Because DC had been reluctant to reprint the complete Moore run, these trades became highly popular amongst fans of the series, a popularity which was further fueled by them not being distributed in the U.S. Release of hardcover reprints began in 2009, with the first volume includingSwamp Thing #20 for the first time.
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