Hey, It's Time To Talk About: Swamp Thing, Book 1

That which you absorb with your eyes and ears is just as important as that which is spun from the fingers. Therefore, take a moment to pause for a little review:

Saga Of The Swamp Thing, Book 1 by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette and John Totleben

Much has been written about Alan Moore and I probably won't bring anything new to the table here but I did want to offer my perspective on this singular book (series).  Like many, my first introduction to the work of Alan Moore was The Watchmen.  He's of course a legend to many, a god to fanboys, and the mad devotee of Glycon, and his influence in the field is immeasurable.  I could write whole posts just about Moore but this is a review of Swamp Thing.

Swamp Thing, the loneliest hero

'Moore' after the break.

A funny ancillary note: Swamp Thing, the movie, was filmed near where I grew up in South Carolina.  And though the film is a bit gruesome at points, I loved it as a kid, especially as I've always had a huge crush on 80's scream queen Adrienne Barbeau, due in no small part to Creepshow, which was also a childhood favorite.  Anyway, this is a post that could easily spin out of control via reminiscences.  Back on track, the book.

I had heard great things about Moore's run on Swamp Thing and of course this only primed the pump for me to see the work through rose-colored glasses, but I'm happy to say, it's deserving of every bit of praise.  I've read a number of interviews with Moore and one thing that strikes me when he talks about Swamp Thing was how he approached it.  Being that he's a Brit, and had never ventured to the Louisiana bayou, he endeavored to learn all he could about the area, immersing himself in maps and lore until he couldn't help but burst with the tale of Alec Holland's tragic, environmental anti-hero.  This is not your average superhero book, and in fact, the story suffers when DC mainstays get shoehorned into it.  Not sure of the quota that Moore had to adhere to to keep it part of the DC universe, but Superman and Green Lantern can't help but stick out in their colorful leotards like clowns at a funeral.

Moore has said that because he didn't know anything about Swamp Thing or the area the only thing he could do was make the character and story interesting for himself, thus ensuring he'd be able to write effectively.  I love this idea, that you can tackle any job simply by making it appealing to yourself, rather than grumbling that it's not for you.  I think this is a real teachable lesson.

The horror of Swamp Thing overwhelms his victim.

But what about the art?  As far as I know Stephen Bissette and John Totleben worked as a team on it, I'm not sure where penciling and inking duties started and stopped between the two but the art has a wonderfully organic feel, with luscious blacks that carve out the story with inky ferocity.  The panels and compositions are fearless in structure.  The artists really hit their groove with psychedelic visuals matching Moore's outrageous tales in the second book, but we'll save that for another post.

If I have any one complaint, it's the coloring.  Before I lay this at the feet of colorist Tatjana Wood, I'd like to say that it's more a matter of personal taste and thoughts about the practice and science of coloring at the time.  We, as an audience, have gotten used to color gradients and painting effects since the advent of digital coloring.  These early colorist were dealing with a whole different, limited box of crayons and unfortunately it sometimes shows, limiting the impact that could be squeezed from a scene.  Overall this is not enough to mar the experience and I definitely recommend picking up the whole run of Moore's stint on Swamp Thing.

Grade: 86/100