Swamp Thing Winter Special #1

Swamp Thing Winter Special #1
Written by Tom King and Len Wein
Art by Jason Fabok and Kelley Jones
Cover by Jason Fabok
Published by DC Comics

Cool Runnings

Winter isn’t exactly the season you think of when you think of Swamp Thing. The rebirth of spring and the heat of summer are more familiar settings for a character known to have grown fruit from his very body to feed others in need. Yet a icy winter blizzard is where first encounter Swamp Thing in the open story ‘The Talk of the Saints.’

Written by Tom King, in this episode, a snow demon has taken residence in the Louisiana Bayou where Swampy dwells. The plant-based super hero is carrying a small child in his arms, trying to keep the lad warm and safe from the winter monster. The snow monster’s frigid powers have put an amnesiac spell over Swamp Thing, preventing him from being able to tap into the green; the earth based source of his powers.

Swamp Thing seems to be going around in circles as he and the boy flee the monster. But there’s more dangers in the swamp than just hunters, savage beasts, and the elements. For the one monster Swamp Thing cannot escape is himself.

Dark Nights

The second story is perhaps the main reason any fan of Swamp Thing wants to purchase this winter special. That’s because it is the last Swamp Thing story written by co-creator Len Wein. In this chiller, a baby has been kidnapped from his Gotham City home by Solomon Grundy. Grundy’s escape route is taking him to Cajun Country. Hoping to head the villain off at the pass, Batman travels to Louisiana hoping to enlist Swamp Thing’s help in saving the child.

Unfortunately, there is a lot missing from this story. This tale was supposed to be the first chapter in a miniseries penned by Wein. However, with his unexpected death last year, only the first issue was plotted. Not only is this story not lettered, it doesn’t even have a title. That’s how early in the creative process Wein was with this story.

This proposed story was to be a sequel to Wein’s 2016 miniseries Swamp Thing: The Dead Don’t Sleep. The story doesn’t have any words, as DC thought it best not to alter Len Wein’s final creative vision. Thus Wein’s plotted script is included in the back of this special. In order for Wein’s fans to fully experience it, the first segment was pencilled, inked and colored by Wein’s The Dead Don’t Sleep creative partners Kelley Jones and Michelle Madson.

Welcome to the Future.

Tom King’s story of the snow demon terrorizing Swamp Thing was pretty darn good. It got a little philosophical at the end. But that was just about any issue of Swampy Thing written by Alan Moore. But I feel that Tom King should stick to what he does best at DC- writing Batman stories! Perhaps completing Wein’s Batman/Swamp Thing team-up might not be a bad assignment for Tom King.

But I wouldn’t use Kelley Jones to do the artwork. Instead, the art assignments for Swamp Thing needs to go to one man- Jason Fabok. The amazing job he did in the opening story was so well done, Jason Fabok should be the only artist to draw Swamp Thing from now on!

While many agree that the Swamp Thing movies weren’t all that great, it is almost a universal understanding that the make-up job was outstanding. Fabok’s Swampy looks like images were taken directly from the live-action films and inked and colored. DC, if you don’t make Jason Fabok the premiere artist of Swamp Thing franchise, you are doing your fans a disservice!

Farewell to a Friend

The second half of the Swamp Thing Winter Special was a loving obituary to Len Wein. However, it also acts as a farewell to Swamp Thing co-creator Bernie Wrightson. Previously published tributes to Wein and Wrightson are included. There’s also a segment on the art process to a Dan DiDio commission had done for Wein’s wife Christine.

This one-shot is an essential read for a lot of comic book fans. First and foremost to want to own this issue is Swamp Thing fans. Len Wein also had a hand in crafting a number of Marvel characters such as Nightcrawler, Storm, and most famously Wolverine. So if green isn’t your thing, but you are a Len Wein devotee, you will want to own this over-sized tribute to a comic book legend who is sorely missed by all.

The Swamp Thing Winter Special #1 debuted on February 7, 2018. It retails for $7.99.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.