PREVIEW: Swamp Thing #1

[Old Man Ollie 1962]

I guess I'm the only one who likes Len's run more than Moore's. Can't wait for the trade.

That's a bold statement.

[OBrianTallent]

I guess I'm the only one who likes Len's run more than Moore's. Can't wait for the trade.

No, you are defintely not the only one...but there might onlly be two of us!! haha.

And man, is it good to see Kelly Jones back on a mainstream book, especially Swamp thing!!

[johnsmith]

"Old school" as in compressed story-telling, meaningful text to make this a good 20-minute read, characterizations that have nothing to do with being "badass" or "edgy"? Sign me up!

[shgs]

I wouldn't describe the art as bad, but the way Swamp Thing is drawn doesn't look at all... well, swampy to me. With the smooth skin he just looks like Hulk with a different face.

[Tetragrammar]

"Old school" as in compressed story-telling, meaningful text to make this a good 20-minute read, characterizations that have nothing to do with being "badass" or "edgy"? Sign me up!

If that's "old school" I'd take that all the time. I love when I have to actually read a comic as opposed to blowing through 20 pages in 20 seconds. I do hope this Swamp Thing hooks me. I'm always up for new interesting stories with the green guy. Just Len Wein himself I have yet to be hooked on his writing style though I appreciate the first Swamp Thing stories.

[Oskar Von Strange]

And man, is it good to see Kelly Jones back on a mainstream book, especially Swamp thing!!

I agree!! I absolutely loved the last Batman minis he did; Unseen and Gotham After Midnight.

I hope the dudes at the shop remember to pull this for me.

[Ragdoll]

I have such mixed emotions about this. I did read Len's run, but god, was it tough to get through at toimes. Hopefully he has a more modern style now and doesn't just snub everyone's run that defined the character. Every since Moore, Swamp Thing has been the best stoner comic in town, all I want is a Swamp Thing book worth getting high for. Len's run had some monsters that made me think Len might have a psychedelic bone or two in his body, so maybe this won;t suck. His Convergence Swamp Thing story was not very good, though. But then again, most Convergence stories sucked, so I won't hold it against him for what happened during DC's two black months this year.

Any other stoner Swamp Thing fans here? Moore's issues when baked are the most glorious things in comics, and many writers have kept that spirit alive ever since.

[CBR News]

Swamp Thing returns in an all-new series written by his co-creator, legendary writer Len Wein! Swamp Thing has received an ominous warning, and now he finds himself under attack from the forces of dark magic. These are more than just your average monsters-and there's something much worse looming on the horizon for Alec Holland!


Full preview here.

[Ragdoll]

I really hate... that Len Wein... brought back Alec... talking in short bursts... just like I am....right now...

[Steven Ely]

Oh, I love this!

And really, a complaint about Swamp Thing speak? Len Wein is the Swamp Thing creator, and that is how Swamp Thing was intended to speak. How anyone can be a Swamp Thing fan and hate Swamp Thing's strained speech pattern is beyond me. It's part of the characters uniqueness and he's intend to be a tragic monster figure, Creature from the Black Lagoon-esque (and the Gill Man couldn't speak at all), and there's a Frankenstein's monster-esque Patchwork Man, etc. Also, Swamp Thing spoke like that in Alan Moore's '80s run.

And plus, Kelley Jones has a uniquely Wrightson influenced style incorporated within his own style, and is one of my favorite artists. This is right up my alley (I can't say that for much of what DC publishes theses days, other than reprint books).

[Ragdoll]

And really, a complaint about Swamp Thing speak? Also, Swamp Thing spoke like that in Alan Moore's '80s run.

I know, Swamp Thing is the only DC character I've read every single issue of their ongoings (for now, at least). It's not just in Len and Moore's runs, but every run up to New 52, and was consistently the one thing I ever disliked about ST books. When New 52 got rid of it, I was so happy. It is super distracting trying to do his voice in my head. I was so glad Snyder and Soule dropped it. But it isn't enough to make me hate the new book or anything, it was just something that stood out to me from the preview pages that I was actively hoping wouldn't be there.

[Lee Stone]

Oh, I love this!

And really, a complaint about Swamp Thing speak? Len Wein is the Swamp Thing creator, and that is how Swamp Thing was intended to speak. How anyone can be a Swamp Thing fan and hate Swamp Thing's strained speech pattern is beyond me. It's part of the characters uniqueness and he's intend to be a tragic monster figure, Creature from the Black Lagoon-esque (and the Gill Man couldn't speak at all), and there's a Frankenstein's monster-esque Patchwork Man, etc. Also, Swamp Thing spoke like that in Alan Moore's '80s run.

And plus, Kelley Jones has a uniquely Wrightson influenced style incorporated within his own style, and is one of my favorite artists. This is right up my alley (I can't say that for much of what DC publishes theses days, other than reprint books).

It would >tik < be like Bug of the >tik< Micronauts without his alien speak.

[Steven Ely]

Micronauts! That brings back memories.

[beetee]

I'll definitely give it a read. But it feels Old Skool. A little too Old Skool....

[Rakzo]

Well, this felt like an old-school story in both the right and wrong ways.

I'm not exactly a fan of Wein's writing, I think he's pretty boring and the fact that he created Swamp Thing is not really important considering that Moore was the one who made the character relevant. The story itself is not particularly impressive and it becomes pretty predictable immediately.

The narration is another problem. It seems pretty overwritten at times while leaving very little to the imagination. Not a fan of Wein's voice for the character either, I think other writers have done a better job.

However, the story has a certain 70's horror feel by playing with the mystery of yet another man turned into a monster and Jones' artwork really helped to get that vibe. It has its own appeal in that sense.

Mixed thoughts about this overall.