Swamp Thing #5 Spoilers and Discussion

[sifighter]

Alright so I want to say that I liked this issue but not as much as the last issues, and all of that is my own personal hangups and nothing to do with book quality. First, Mike Perkins is not drawing this issue John McCrea is, and while it looks good especially in the spirit world it just doesn't quite have the same flair that Perkins brought to this series and who I would sell this entire series on his art alone.

Second problem, I'm not very far in my John Constantine reading. That is important because John is in this issue but so is an acquaintance of his who I do not know and have no clue about. It feels like being with your friend and they run into an old friend you don't know so you have absolutely no idea what they are talking about so you just stand there and listen. Unless of course Sierra Kirre is new, but again I have no idea.

But this is a swamp thing book so let's talk about Levi, so what brings him to the UK area? Well let me see if I can explain this adequately because its nuts. Sierra's friend is a wannabe mage who somehow gets tangled up in the spirit(?) of an unexploded ww2 german bomb that is turning people into fascists. That why Constantine gets summoned and then Levi shows up as Swamp Thing because its tangled into the ground of the building. However what is weird is when John and Swampy meet.

Because here is the thing, Swamp Thing talks as if he knows John even though this is the first meeting of Levi and John. So I guess this is just an aftermath of last issue where he gets caught in the memories of the green and it just allows Levi to know who John Constantine is which is probably for the best as a warning. Anyway the two then take care of the bomb (although he ends up exploding) and rescue the poor guy caught in it all while trying to have a message about WW2. Overall good issue with classic John and Swampy with some pretty good art.

Of course we can't leave on that message no, because the final page is Amanda Waller and Peacemaker getting ready to attack Levi and capture the Swamp Thing by setting something off in the forest of India where he got his powers. Either way prepare for the Suicide Squad to go foresting.

[HsssH]

I think I mentioned in previous thread or two that Perkins is killing it and him not being here was really felt. McCrea is good, but he is not good enough to make book on his own and it didn't help that, in my opinion, this one had weakest script as well. If not for last page and the one showing Levi getting dragged into the ground you probably could collect this story in some random Swamp Thing collection and nobody would even notice that it is not Alec. Levi's transportation didn't really make sense to me and I think whole bomb-idea thing was not clear enough. Were people turning Fascist because it was Nazi bomb (lets ignore that Nazi is not the same as Fascist) or was that a statement in general against bombs/war? Would USA bomb in middle east generate a different idea? I don't know and it probably doesn't matter.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I don't mind John's old friend Sierra popping up because John Constantine tends to be more additive than other established characters. He has old friends/enemies popping up all the time.

John does steals the show from Levi. It feels more like a Hellblazer issue with the Swamp Thing popping up as a guest star than the other way around.

In hindsight it would've been better if John was cut out and the issue retooled around Sierra and Levi forming a partnership.

[HsssH]

Very good point, this issue might as well be added to random Hellblazer collection.