July Book Club Discussion: Swamp Thing: Anatomy Lesson!

[thwhtGuardian]

Meanwhile, weird stuff is going on with Abigail's husband, which is one of the most effective subplots I've seen (hmm, noticing a trend of this run featuring pinnacles of a type of story) in serialized horror. Etrigan the Demon guest-starrs, although his willingness to take innocent lives to stop a monster complicates things. It also crystalizes a big part of what this run of Swamp Thing is about, as we have an unflinching (as far as DC superhero comics go) look at what's bad in the world, but it won't stop the people who are well aware of this from risking everything to try to make it better.

Grade: A+

Volume One Grade: A+/ It's easily on of the 50 best comic book trade paperbacks I've ever read.

I think I would have liked this story more if it had come out just a bit further on down the line. While I do really like the focus on Abigail and the character work is so great that it gives the book a fantastic and very believable horror feel...so soon after getting a "new" Swamp Thing I really can't help but want more of him which makes me feel slightly disconnected from this story when read in conjunction with what came before.

Still and all, this was a great new start to Swamp Thing and definitely one of the best horror books ever done.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I love that Daredevil run and that description of the Avengers. It sums up the Cap and Thor dynamic for the ages. For my money when Moore resurrects the Demon he shows how much there is to work with , with so many obscure DC heroes. He does the same thing later with Adam Strange. I don’t think we would see a Black Orchid series, a Sandman Mystery Theater, or an Animal Man without Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. The Fear Monster trilogy helps flesh out Abby’s story and that sets up the love story, Alec and Abby are still the greatest romance in comics.

[thwhtGuardian]

I love that Daredevil run and that description of the Avengers. It sums up the Cap and Thor dynamic for the ages. For my money when Moore resurrects the Demon he shows how much there is to work with , with so many obscure DC heroes. He does the same thing later with Adam Strange. I don’t think we would see a Black Orchid series, a Sandman Mystery Theater, or an Animal Man without Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. The Fear Monster trilogy helps flesh out Abby’s story and that sets up the love story, Alec and Abby are still the greatest romance in comics.

While we don't see much of it in this selection I definitely agree that the romance was exceptionally well done by Moore and is definitely one of the best rendered(if sometimes weird) relationships in all of fiction.

[Johnny Thunders!]

While we don't see much of it in this selection I definitely agree that the romance was exceptionally well done by Moore and is definitely one of the best rendered(if sometimes weird) relationships in all of fiction.

I think the Shape of Water, the Guillermo Del Toro flick is an indirect homage to the Abby and Alec, though I suppose
they are all Beauty and the Beast variations.

[SJNeal]

Just wrapped up this morning - these stories still hold up as well as they did the first (and subsequent) readings.

I'm reading the Absolute Editions for the first time, and while a beautiful presentation, I find myself missing those garish pinks & blues of the original coloring. I've been jumping back and forth to compare key/memorable scenes, and find some just aren't hitting me that same way this time. I blame the more muted, realistic tones of the remastering.

[thwhtGuardian]

I think the Shape of Water, the Guillermo Del Toro flick is an indirect homage to the Abby and Alec, though I suppose
they are all Beauty and the Beast variations.

The underwater element from Shape of Water(one of my favorite films by the way!) definitely recalled Swamp Thing and Abby's romance, the comparison is especially apt in this volume with the way Moore included the bit about playing Creature of the Black Lagoon.

Just wrapped up this morning - these stories still hold up as well as they did the first (and subsequent) readings.

I'm reading the Absolute Editions for the first time, and while a beautiful presentation, I find myself missing those garish pinks & blues of the original coloring. I've been jumping back and forth to compare key/memorable scenes, and find some just aren't hitting me that same way this time. I blame the more muted, realistic tones of the remastering.

Has anyone ever done a shot for shot comparison?

[Johnny Thunders!]

I have the old hardback trades, the Absolutes, and the single issues. I do like the original colors better but I found the psychedelic yam episode to benefit from the larger page format if not the colors. The Killing Joke and Sandman are the two books where I feel the re coloring diminishes the experience. I did see some original colors from Flex Mentallo as well and I wish I had those as well.

[Johnny Thunders!]

“There is a house above the world where the over people gather. There is a man with wings like a bird. There is a man who can see across the planet and wring diamonds from it’s anthracite. There is a man who moves so fast that his life is an endless gallery of statues.. In the house above the world the over people gather…”


That for me just redefines the JLA with a majesty that had never been touched on before. This sets up the kind of epic JLA story telling we would later see in Kingdom Come or Morrison’s JLA run ( Whoops I just walked by my Gruenwald Squadron Supreme, that’s a pretty straight line to the Authority and Kingdom Come). Using the word over people also hints at the fascistic overtones of super people.

The art is also unreal and it can’t be translated to any other medium. A one of a kind uniquely comic book reading experience.

[thwhtGuardian]

“There is a house above the world where the over people gather. There is a man with wings like a bird. There is a man who can see across the planet and wring diamonds from it’s anthracite. There is a man who moves so fast that his life is an endless gallery of statues.. In the house above the world the over people gather…”


That for me just redefines the JLA with a majesty that had never been touched on before. This sets up the kind of epic JLA story telling we would later see in Kingdom Come or Morrison’s JLA run ( Whoops I just walked by my Gruenwald Squadron Supreme, that’s a pretty straight line to the Authority and Kingdom Come). Using the word over people also hints at the fascistic overtones of super people.

The art is also unreal and it can’t be translated to any other medium. A one of a kind uniquely comic book reading experience.

It's definitely poetic, and I'd love it for another team of "heroes" but it's definitely far from how I like seeing the JLA.

[Johnny Thunders!]

That quote is not just about the majesty of the JLA but the menace. I don’t see them as that way either, but I think Moore is trying to point out that they are not the Superfriends. They are human weapons of mass destruction, which is kind of what humanity has become, sadly. I wish we had Superfriends!

[thwhtGuardian]

That quote is not just about the majesty of the JLA but the menace. I don’t see them as that way either, but I think Moore is trying to point out that they are not the Superfriends. They are human weapons of mass destruction, which is kind of what humanity has become, sadly. I wish we had Superfriends!

The fascist, people of mass destruction angle is definitely a popular trope, and certainly worth exploring and have been by some really talented writers(Moore included) but it's a concept that has always held very little interest for me. I like horror comics, I like dark stories...but I like people being beacons of hope too and I don't think that's any more childish than grim and gritty deconstruction.

It's why I'm absolutely loving Waid's World's Finest, it's a book that's not afraid to be bright, colorful and fun.

[Johnny Thunders!]

The fascist, people of mass destruction angle is definitely a popular trope, and certainly worth exploring and have been by some really talented writers(Moore included) but it's a concept that has always held very little interest for me. I like horror comics, I like dark stories...but I like people being beacons of hope too and I don't think that's any more childish than grim and gritty deconstruction.

It’s been done over and over! I still think Watchmen and Miracle Man are the best examples of this idea and there is no need to mention the low points. It’s new for the general public I think? The Boys TV series has been surprisingly good and I am seeing MCU fans really enjoy the subversiveness of the show and it’s take on Superheroes. They are like the Unforgiven or Peckinpah versions of Westerns. Or maybe Tarantino is a better touchstone in the case of the Boys. Anyways don’t want to get too far from good old Swamp Thing!


Waids Daredevil was also bright after a ton of really great torturous takes on the character.

[SJNeal]

Has anyone ever done a shot for shot comparison?

Posted one, no. But I had both editions out for this re-read. And the Absolute takes the edge only when it comes to lettering, imho. The colors are very earth-tone and subtle, making for a lot of panels that kind of blend together, if that makes sense...?

[thwhtGuardian]

So all said and done, how does this rate among everyone's favorites?

Something you'll revisit again?

[etrumble]

There are very few comics I re-read.

This is one of them.