Swamp Thing Annual #1 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

 In 1982, Bernie Wrightson and Len Wein's creepy creation, the Swamp Thing, made its motion picture debut. Written and directed by Wes Craven, the film tells a mostly faithful origin story of Dr. Alec Holland and how he is transformed into a being of sentient plant matter.

While working in a secret government lab deep in the swamps of Florida, Dr. Holland has created a formula that can transform barren deserts into futile farmland. His sister Linda, has also discovered that a single drop of the formula can also double as a powerful explosive. Anton Arcane, a despotic paramilitary leader, has caught wind of the chemical and attacks the lab in hopes of making the formula a part of his ever growing arsenal. During the assault, the chemical is spilt on Holland and he immediately catches fire thanks to its volatile properties. To extinguish himself, Holland jumps into the murky swamp and seemingly perishes.

Meanwhile, Alice Cable, a new government attaché to the project, flees with one of Holland's notebooks. With Arcane's operatives trailing her, Cable must find a way to alert Washington to the attack. However, the commandos get the better of Cable. With the notebook in their possession, there's no longer a need to keep Cable alive. But right before they silence the government agent, a mysterious creature emerges from the muck. It's the Swamp Thing and boy, is he mad!

The live action film was produced by Swampfilms and distributed jointly by Embassy Pictures and United Artists. It started Ray Wise as Dr. Alec Holland.  Adrienne Barbeau played Alice Cable. Renown French actor Louis Jourdan was the evil Arcane. Dick Durock would don pounds of rubber and fake moss as the title character. Over the next decade, it would only be Durock's body in the Swamp Thing suit. The imposing 6'6" actor would star opposite Heather Locklear in 1989's campy Return of the Swamp Thing. A year later, Durock would return for an hour long TV series on cable's USA Network. The series would run 72 episodes over 3 seasons. 

None of the subsequent Swamp Thing adaptations to star Dick Durock would receive the comic book treatment. This oversized special was written by Bruce Jones. Mark Texeira penciled; Tony DeZuniga inked. The cover image is of the original theatrical poster. It was painted and airbrushed by celebrated fantasy and sci-fi artist Michael Whelan. 

Completing this review completes Task #30 (A Movie Adaptation) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Legend of the Swamp Thing Halloween Spectacular #1

My last read for Halloween 2024. It's a Swamp Thing special from 2020 built on a unique premise. 6 terrifying tales starring various Guardians of the Green throughout history. You thought Alec Holland was the only human to become the creature known as the Swamp Thing? Think again!

This anthology begins with Holland's Swamp Thing rescuing a missing child from the Great Abysmal Swamp. Afterwards, he begins to reflect on his past lives throughout history, including an encounter with the armies of Julius Caesar in Brittany and witnessing a group of Spanish explorers become trapped on an island of living rage. That one was the best story, by the way. Things wrap up with a glimpse at a future incarnation of the Avatar of the Green.

Though touted as a Halloween special, none of the stories were set at Halloween. But all 6 did have elements of fear. Did I feel gypped by the erroneous title despite pay for the full cover price? No, not really. Maybe it's because I had long lost this book in my massive pile of books needing to be added to my collection and the feel of wasted money over a Halloween comic that really wasn't has passed. Or maybe it's because this book was so darn good. 

Great stories. Very good art. A reboot of a legend that I hope I can live long enough to experience when the future Swamp Thing's time finally arrives.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

DC's Terrors Through Time #1

Finally, after several years of complaints, DC releases a holiday time special that contains relevant content but doesn't make the reader want to kill themselves because of being shamed about the sins of the world. 

For instance, in the prequel story starring the Gotham City Sirens, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman face a Hawaiian earth spirit who is unhappy with how their pristine island has become tarnished by man. I did not realize how much damage cats have done to the island chains' ecosystem, including the surrounding oceans! But in this story, the Sirens 3 are given a chance to redeem the wrongs and there's a little bit of hope; something that has been lacking from DC Comics' for the past several years.

I think DC is starting to understand that the readers with money to spend want to be entertained, not preached at. If I want a sermon, I know where to go on a Sunday morning. There's nothing wrong with covering political or even social topics. Just don't be snarky with your comments and inside jokes. Not every white male in America supports Trump and his ideals...

There are 7 other stories in this book which looks at horror through the ages as opposed to time travel frights. Based on the cover with the Super Sons looking over blueprints for a time machine, that's what I thought this book was going to be about. Alas, I was wrong.

Instead, the opening story, starring the Phantom Stranger sets the tone for this 80-page giant. The Stranger's story reflects on his eternal mission to save humanity from the forces of darkness. This usually involves demons and monsters. But I would have expected a story that took place over eons would have The Stranger wearing different togs. Instead, he wears that 1960s mod turtle neck, fedora and cloak of his throughout all time. I didn't know his costume was so timeless.

The story starring The Demon, Etrigan, was perhaps one of the best stories ever published by DC. The ending was absolutely freakin' perfect! If they still do awards for story of the year in comics, this one gets my vote and full support!

Other stories of note was the Halloween set story of the Super Sons as they go to trick-or-treating to all the secret lairs of the Justice League's line-up. Then go 50 years into the future to see how Swamp Thing protects the Green after a nuclear catastrophe. 

There's also a really good Green Lantern Corps story set about 425 years in the future. I felt that it was a story that contained characters that DC isn't done with yet. If that's the case and a Green Lantern Corps series set in the 25th century is to be a thing? Well if so, expect me to be adding it to my subscription wish list at my local LCS. It's that good!

And let's not forget that I was a fan of the Gotham City Sirens tropical tale. 

The two stories I was not a big fan of involved the Justice Society of America and Deadman. The JSA story, set during WWII, involved stopping some Nazis from obtaining a magical museum piece that could turn the war in Hitler's favorite. Overall, the art was good and the plot was okay. I just felt like writer Charles Skaggs (Grayson) was trying to fit 25 gallons of pickles into a 5 gallon bucket. The pacing was just too fast and the one-liners fell flat.

As for the Deadman tale, I blame the artist, Kelley Jones (Batman & Dracula: Red Rain). I love Jones' work. But I hate how he draws Deadman. This team-up with Damian Wayne had promise. But writer Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash) ruins it with Deadman waxing philosophical at times and Batman, when he appears, just doesn't seem himself. I thought Batman liked and respected Boston Brand. But here, the Dark Knight seems to treat Deadman with the disdain you'd expect from Batman to have towards Plastic Man. 

A very good offering of stories from DC. Not very scary. And like I said, there wasn't any time travel. But this also book contained what I think is the best story of the whole year of 2022! And this was probably the best holiday giant from the House The Superman Built in the last 5 years. I'm feeling a lot of hope for the December offering thanks to this issue.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Secret Spiral of the Swamp Kid

We’ve dug into our massive to-read pile and pulled out another gem. Explore the legend of the Swamp Kid in this Family Comic Friday Extra!

The Secret Spiral of the Swamp Kid
Written and Illustrated by Kirk Scroggs
Published by DC Zoom
Pages: 160
Retail: $9.99

Earlier this year, when DC Comics announced the inaugural line-up of it’s DC Ink and DC Zoom imprint, I had mixed feelings about this book. For one thing, I wasn’t very sure if I liked the idea behind the Swamp Kid or not. For one thing, the character of Swamp Thing has never been a G-rated property. Plus, to have such a gothic character rebooted as a Diary of a Wimpy Kid arch-type just seemed wrong to me. So, when this book debuted in October for sale, I waited.

That wait came to an end when I found a copy of The Secret Spiral of the Swamp Kid at my local library. I must say- I was pleasantly surprised. The character of Russell Weinwright, AKA Swamp Kid, is NOT the Alec Holland Swamp Thing!  But I don’t think that Russell is entirely a new character either.

On more than one occasion, Russell is referred to as ‘Little Sprout.’ That’s a term referred to the character of Tefe Holland; the daughter of Swamp Thing. So, is there some sort of reverse gender bias here? If there is, this all went under the radar of an otherwise hyper-sensitive cache of modern comic book fans who fall into fervor over such recastings...

I was very pleased with all of the Easter eggs peppered throughout this book. First, there is the name of the Swamp Kid: Russell Weinwright. It’s a portmanteau of Swamp Thing creators Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. Then you’ve got several Swamp Thing baddies here. Plus, references to other DC heroes and maybe a cameo or two!

Designing this book to be like a kid’s private journal has been done to death. But with the doodles and clever side bars, it really worked this time. While I wouldn’t mind seeing further adventures of the Swamp Kid, I hope DC limits themselves to utilizing this sort of format in it’s future all-ages works. Because like I said, this writing method is getting a little stale in my opinion.

As I mentioned earlier, I would like to see more of Russel Weinwright. But honestly, I’d like to see him pop up in the pages of a mature Swamp Thing title. I think he’d make a great addition to the Swamp Thing family tree. If DC Comics follows suit with this idea, this graphic novel might actually shoot up in value as it would be the first appearance of the character!

This was a fun read that doesn’t seek to reboot the Swamp Thing franchise. Instead, it adds a somewhat fresh take on a fan favorite character! Good job DC! Keep it up!

The Secret Spiral of the Swamp Kid debuted in print and digital formats on October 1st, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

This review was originally published on Outrightgeekery.com.

A Very DC Halloween

Collecting 2017's DC House of Horror and last year's Cursed Comics Cavalcade. This is a truly disturbing look at some of your favorite heroes from the House That Superman Built. 

Let's first examine DC House of Horror. I don't know how I overlooked this Halloween special. It's the main reason I bought this book. I already had Cursed Comics Cavalcade in my collection. But I could not pass up this getting my hands on this trade. 

Keith Giffen (Justice League) pens all of the stories in DC's House of Horror. Giffen, who is known for penning some rather lighter fare, such as all of those Ambush Bug stories, must have a dark side deep down. Every story in this special was extremely creepy. From a ghost story involving Harley Quinn and some poor haunted schmo hired to renovate the old Arkham Asylum ruins to a young American girl who summons the spirit of an Amazon warrior princess, I was creeped out by all of these stories. 

And that zombie Justice League story! Man, did that have a tragic ending!

The Cavalcade wasn't so bad. A couple of stories were rather light-hearted such as the Zatanna yarn in which her (and Fables' Bill Willingham) show a scared little girl the magic behind Halloween. The Swamp Thing and Demon stories were quite good as those fan favorites characters never seem to miss. And I enjoyed the twists of the Batman story and Robin/Solomon Grundy team-up. 

Speaking of that Batman episode, the villain introduced in that, Gorehound, needs to see a return in a multi-story arc in the pages of Detective Comics! 

I love Halloween comics. These didn't disappoint getting me in the holiday spirit. But I was unprepared for the level of depravity and sorrow that these normally upstanding and upbeat characters! 

I'm glad it's only just for All Hallow's Eve!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Cursed Comics Cavalcade #1

This, the official 2018 Halloween special from DC Comics has it's roots in history. 

First is the amazing cover that pays homage to the EC Comics of the 1950s. EC is the benchmark for which all other horror anthologies are ranked. Nice work Doug Manke!

Then there's the title. Back in 1978, sales at DC were dismal and a slew of comic book titles were unmercifully cancelled. To finish up the titles' running story-lines and to finalize pay for the creators, artists and writers, a small hand full of ash cans titled 'Cancelled Comics Cavalcade' were produced. To find one of these two issues is to find a holy grail in which you'd have to mortgage a first child to be able to afford. If you were a fan of any of the books cancelled, it was a day full of horrors.

So that's where we get the cover and title of our book. What's inside is 10 spooky stories starring characters from the DC Universe. Some tales are set during Halloween; some are not. Just as the seasons vary, so do the quality of the stories. 

The Batman story involving horror-themed movies and the Robin/Solomon Grundy team-up are the best stories. Once again the Batman Family tales are the best. Is this because of some unfair bias on the part of DC to put better talent on these titles? Or are the Gotham City themed characters the best that DC has to offer?

In the almost perfect category is a New Orleans 1880s themed story starring Jason Blood and his counterpart, The Demon. Then there's a heartwarming tale starring Zatanna and her dad. Plus the Swamp Thing story was quite good though it was a bit too meta at times to thoroughly enjoy. 

The Black Lightning/Katana story was good but it wasn't great. For some reason, lately, nobody really seems to be able to do the character of Katana right. Black Lightning is obviously in this book because of his series of The CW. So why couldn't he have been given a solo story? Is it because Katana is currently a weak character? (I think she needs to show up on the TV show, but that's subject of a different review.)

Dragging up the rear was a poorly drawn Green Arrow feature that has a bunch of plot holes. Then there's the disappointing (because he's my favorite and this story sucked) Superman tale that have more holes in it than the Titanic. 

The Guy Gardner story was another tale that should have been better than it was. Plus, the art was a very pale imitation of the late Darwyn Cooke. And rounding out the book was....

And then there's that problematic Wonder Woman story. As if you could not tell, I forgot all about it and had to go back to see which story I was forgetting. It had great art. The monster was quite creepy. I was satisfied with the ending. Yet, I had completely forgot about this ghost tale.

Cursed Comics Cavalcade was a decent mix of horror themed adventures. But based on the title, I think it would have been cool to have had this special comprised of stories starring characters who were cancelled during the DC Implosion. Along with Black Lightning, we could have see scares starring Firestorm, Kamandi, Vixen, and Shade the Changing Man. To appease the DC Editors, you could still have a couple of Dark Knight capers as the anthology series Batman Family was cancelled during this time. 

It's a missed opportunity but hey, there's always next year! Come on, DC Comics! Give this idea a chance... if you dare!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Swamp Thing Halloween Horror Giant #1

The terrifying Swamp Thing is highlighted in this Walmart exclusive 100-page Halloween special. The big box chain has had a fair amount of success with its line of exclusive 100-page specials published by DC Comics. Each special features a 15-20 page all-new story, along with around 80 pages of reprinted material.

Most of the material reprinted so far has been of New 52 or Rebirth issues. So the lure of lone new story hasn’t swayed me to making my local Walmart my new LCS. Yet, there’s always something special with a holiday special. Whether it be related to Christmas, Halloween or Arbor Day, I am a sucker for a holiday-themed comic book. So what if the book has stories that I’ve read before?! If the book has got something new, even if it’s just a one-pager or a revised cover- if it’s got some sort of holiday cheer (on in this case, fear), I must have it!


Swamp Thing Halloween Horror Giant #1New Material by Brian Azzarello and Greg CapulloPublished by DC Comics exclusively for Walmart

The new Swamp Thing story is called ‘Hollow.’ I think Azzarello and Capullo have something big in store for Swampy and it launches from this story.

First Swamp Thing has a disciple with him that he calls ‘Twiglet.’ This story acts first as an origin as to how and why Twiglet is essentially Swamp Thing’s apprentice.

This story also introduces an unseen character. This entity is quite powerful and called Bi’tal by his followers. Swamp Thing calls this malevolent force The Barren. After saving some trick-or-treaters from Bi’tal’s followers, the hero hints at a coming war between Barren and The Green.

I don’t know if this forthcoming battle between Swamp Thing and The Barren will play out in the pages or a regular Swamp Thing comic or a series of Walmart exclusives. But it’s another genius move on DC’s part. Just a couple of weeks ago, the publisher okays the showing of Bruce Wayne’s ‘Bat Pole’ in order to bring massive free publicity to DC’s new Black Label. Now, DC is luring Halloween fanatics like myself to Walmart for a new special to get us hooked on a new Swamp Thing story arc! Pretty Sneaky DC!!!

Reprint Material written  by J. Michael Straczynski, Steve Niles, Mikey Way, Dan Didio, Brian Azzarello, Len Wein, Dennis O'NeilArt by Bernie Wrightson, Neal Adams, Jesús Saíz, Dean Ormston, Mateus, Ian Churchill, Greg Capullo

Swamp Thing also ends this special. The final story is a reprint of the character’s classic first appearance in House of Secrets #92 by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. This Giant marks the third or fourth publication I own which reprints this iconic story. For the very first time, I noticed that the story is set in the Antebellum South and that here Swamp Thing’s real name isn’t Alec Hammond. So Wein and Wrightson did a bit of retooling before DC greenlit a Swamp Thing stand alone.

Several of the reprint titles are taken from the DC Halloween specials of the late 90s-early 2000s. There’s a fun adventure with Blue Devil and a very aged and angry Charlie Brown and Linus in a certain pumpkin patch. The Superman Vs. The Zombies story was rock-em, sock-em fun and I was particularly creeped out (in a good way) by the Zatanna tale.
In a paring I never would have expected to happen, Jack Kirby’s Demon teams with Aquaman to save the world from an underwater evil. It had amazing art from Jesus Saiz and that twist ending was awesomely frightening.

The last big story of this Halloween collection involved Robin and Batman versus the Grim Reaper. It was an interesting tale from Denny O’Neil, Neal Adams and Dick Girodano. The trio of artists somehow managed to get themselves added as stars in this story that is half murder mystery/half Holocaust horror story. For such a serious storyline, having Neal Adams acting like a buffoon was rather odd. And that abrupt ending leaves you reeling. (Side Note: Adams and crew would return to this same setting for at least 2 other appearances in 70s issues of Justice League of America for more weird interactions with DC’s greatest heroes.)

I enjoyed this 100-page giant. I am hoping that DC and Walmart might team-up for a Christmas special. But they are going to have to dig deep into the archives as I own just about every DC Christmas story from the past 40 years.

I do feel a little cheated as a couple of the pages of this special are of advertisements. The ads are for DC Comics related things. But I thought these Walmart exclusives were going to be add free except for the inside and back covers. Did DC change its mind? Or did they forget their promise to the fans?

The Swamp Thing Halloween Horror Giant was a fun read. It had moments of humor and times of fright. They were all good scares though. I highly recommend this book but you will have to look for it. The book was due in stores last Friday. I had to go to 3 Walmarts to finally find a copy. Plus there are some on social media have still been reporting since then that the special has not dropped at their local Wally World as of the publication of this review, the following Monday. So grab it when you finally locate it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #40

Those meddling kids of Mystery Inc., along with Scooby-Doo, take to the Louisiana bayou to investigate the report of a Voodoo Queen. In her command are dozens of zombies: mindless townsfolk kidnapped from a neighboring parish. When it looks like the Cajun witch is just about to capture the teenage detectives, to their rescue comes the legendary Swamp Thing. But can he save the day when another unexpected player enters the swamp. One so rotten, so evil, the only side he’s on is his own!

Scooby-Doo Team-Up! #40
Written by Sholly Fisch
Art by Dario Brizuela
Published by DC Comics

Yet another entry in the Scooby-Doo Team-Up series that proves why I love this all-ages crossover so much! The opening page reads like a lost Alan Moore tale of the Green. The art of that page and several other panels involving the mutated body of former scientist Alec Holland look like never-before-seen works by the late Bernie Wrightson! And this is coming from what is traditionally thought of as a kid’s book.

SDTU offers some much more than the same old Scooby-Doo plot. Yes, some of the earlier issues ran the gamut of having Shaggy and Scooby act as bait for the villain of the month. But the series has evolved into one that reflects the lore of the DC Universe and the nostalgic fun of multiple Hanna-Barbera properties. I’ve even gotten to where I enjoy the running joke about pulling masks off bad guys as it’s done so creatively now.

Writer Sholly Fisch (Teen Titans Go!) has become a master at scripting the DC kids titles. His brilliant has allowed for him to trim off any rough edges of his writing talents. In return, Fisch has smoothed those quirks out into this diamond of a book that awaits my pull box every month!

As for Dario Brizuela, I once was upset that he reused characters and set pieces ad nauseum. But Brizuela has really upped his game in the past year adapting his art style to match that to some of the great artists who created the monthly guest star of SDTU.

Next Month, the series returns to the Hanna-Barbera side of things with a pairing with Penelope Pitstop. But I am really looking for to the issue after that as the Mystery Gang will be matching wits against some of the most feared gorillas of the DCU! Start saving your pennies. It’s an issue not to be missed, no matter how old you are!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

This review was also published concurrently at Outrightgeekery.com.

Young Monsters In Love #1

Leave it to DC Comics to not just provide it's devoted fan base with a Valentines Day special! A sappy love fest of unrequited romance between two unlikely paramours just will not do for DC! Nope! Instead, DC Comics has issued a holiday special devoted to cupids and chocolates starring some of it's most popular supernatural characters.

Why use monsters in a Valentines Special? Part of the quirky fun of many B-movie horror films is when the beastly main character falls in love with a beautiful damsel in distress. King Kong falling for Faye Raye. The Creature From the Black Lagoon lusting after Julia Adams. And who can forget Tor Johnson's deformed Lobo saving Loretta King from a deranged Bela Lugosi in Bride of the Monster? Creatures of the night and romance are B-movie box office gold!

While Young Monsters In Love #1 may take it's inspiration from the schlock horror films of the 50s and 60s, this special is full of A-list talent. It features over a half dozen stories written by some of the best comic book talent in the industry, topped off by Batman: The Animated Series' Paul Dini. Jeff Lemire, Steve Orlando, Phil Hester and many more craft stories of love, loss, and monsters. 

Some highlights include:

• 'Heart Shaped Box'- A House of Secrets quality story in which Swamp Thing enacts revenge against a team of mercenaries that interrupt Swampy's V-Day plans with a lady botanist.
• 'Be My Valentine'- Deadman helps a bullied child get some revenge against those who made it the worst Valentines exchange party of all-time.
• 'Dear Velcoro'- One of the Creature Commandos receives a Dear John letter in-between missions in Nazi Germany.
• Monsieur Mallah goes shopping for his Valentine, The Brain, by robbing a Lexcorp research facility in 'Visibility.'
• 'Pieces of Me'-Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. pens a letter to his Bride, highlighting the complicated history between the two lovers.
• And in 'Nocturnal Animal', Kirk Langstrom struggles to battle his own personal demon, the Man-Bat, in the light of his crumbling relationship with his wife Francine.

DC has a habit of turning one or two of their featured holiday stories into miniseries or regular titles. If the pattern continues, I hope that the powers that be will offer more Paul Dini penned Deadman adventures. I know that there's currently a Deadman miniseries written and penciled by Neal Adams. It's good, but Dini's take gave the character of Boston Brand a warmth and life not seen in over 30 years. 

Overall, Young Monsters In Love was an unexpected delight. I didn't learn about this special until just a couple of weeks ago. Every story was masterfully written. The artwork was varied but brilliantly crafted by talents such as Guillem March and Kelley Jones, whose 1950s sci-fi movie inspired poster cover was so very retro and awesome!

The only thing that I wasn't a fan of was the price. With a cover price of $9.99, that's still pretty lofty, even if this was an 80-page giant. But I am a sucker for holiday specials of any type and what was inside the cover was flawless fun! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

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.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 79

   
  Yesterday the legendary artist and writer Bernie Wrightson lost his battle with brain cancer. 
It's a real sad day for the comic book community and fans like me. Wrightson was a master horror and the macabre and I spent many a day of my youth pouring over his works.

    Let me just say that my parents didn't have the best sense of discretion. Or maybe they were the coolest parents ever. When it came to books, they let me read just about anything I wanted. The very first comic book I ever bought was a horror comic book was Ghostly Tales #152. It didn't feature artwork by Bernie Wrightson but it did start me down the path to reading and collecting horror comics. 

     One of my group of favorite horror books are the classic EC books from the 1950s. Those controversial books influenced Wrightson to focus on horror books over the course of his career. Well it had been a goal of mine to own an original EC Comic of any sort. In a bittersweet moment of glory for this Madman, on the same day I finally get to own an original EC book, the comic book world lost Bernie.

In '77, Wrightson did a series of lithos
based on dinosaurs.

Wrightson's most famous creation, Swamp Thing.
A short story from an issue of House of Secrets, the plant man hero is a fan favorite.

Some villagers trying to kill a vampire.

A scene from Wrightson's 1977 Frankenstein project.

Though Wrightson is noted as a master of horror,
he did many other genres including this Jonah Hex cover, a western.