Our reading group recently finished reading this series and discussed each volume on the podcast. If you’d like to listen they can be found here:
Volume 1: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1793148/episodes/16190640
Volume 2: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1793148/episodes/16201675
Volume 3: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1793148/episodes/16368133
Volume 4: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1793148/episodes/16475760
Volume 5: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1793148/episodes/16670973
Volume 6: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1793148/episodes/16703895
I’ll leave this as spoiler free as possible, so if you haven’t read this run yet I’ll do my best not to spoil anything for you.
I’m a big fan of Alan Moore. Watchmen is one of the all-time classics. So many other iconic stories that were penned by Moore, it felt strange not having read his Swamp Thing run. I grabbed the boxed collection and I was ready to go. Thankfully I have friends who read books together, so I had someone to discuss these with.
There are some really great stories in this run, including those with Lucifer and Sandman. The horror elements shine through and surprised me how dark some of the subject matter was, especially considering the years these were published. The artwork is a good fit for these stories too, leaning into the horror and darker imagery. There are some absolutely gorgeous panel layouts.
The prose does tend to be on the poetic side, diving deep into themes and ideas. Some beautiful writing that can feel overdone at times, but you definitely start to see Moore’s later work in a different light. An impressive debut for Moore with this being his first dive into writing a comic book. While I’m not the biggest fan of some of these stories and subject matter, Moore definitely swings for the fences with this run and I respect that. I like that chances are taken and a different approach is embraced. It’s undeniable that this run was an inspiration for many creatives and changes the course of comic book history. But when I tell you that shit gets weird… shit gets really weird.
With all that said, I can’t say it’s a series I’ll ever read again. At times Moore has a tendency to wrap up storylines very quickly. After so much build up, tension and anticipation built, having a story end in a page or so felt like a let down. It’s an ambitious story, but at times it’s too ambitious that it’s borderline silly, especially some of the romance aspects. It’s loaded with social commentary, and while I don’t mind that it’s very heavy handed. When commentary is subtle it’s more thought provoking and something you’ll walk away considering even if it’s a different viewpoint. But when it’s a sledgehammer I tend to skim through it.
Since it’s DC comics, of course we have to integrate other DC characters and properties into Swamp Thing where it absolutely doesn’t fit. Even when other characters show up for just a few panels, it feels wrong. They don’t belong in this world, they don’t fit. Look, it’s just what happens whenever Marvel or DC have a book, they include other properties. I get it. But I wish sometimes they would leave a character alone and stop shoehorning Batman and Superman into everything. I’ll be honest, I don’t find Swamp Thing very interesting as a character. While compelling visually, he’s not a character I was dying to learn more about. He lacks that substance and punch, even if he has an interesting astatic. After reading this series, I do find him more interesting, but not enough to read more runs of the character.
It’s possible to appreciate art and not thoroughly enjoy it. I appreciate Swamp Thing for it’s place in comic book history, the way it changed comics and introduced us to the brilliant Alan Moore. That doesn’t mean I have to love or even like this series. It was fine. I’m glad I read it and I did feel like I learned about comic book history (thanks to Jarrod on the podcast), but the stories aren’t anything I’ll think about later and it’s not a book I’ll ever read again. If you haven’t read this run and are curious about it, I would suggest giving it a try. Worst case scenario you’ll walk away with a greater appreciation for comics, Swamp Thing and the start of Moore’s comic writing career.
