REVIEW: DC Comics Presents #85 Sept//1985

SUPERMAN and SWAMP THING:

It's really a shame it went the way it did with DC and Alan Moore, and this issue is a perfect testament to what we missed, namely more stories by a guy who actually "gets" Superman.
I'm sure Mr.M could have written any of DC's stable well, but so few can write Superman stories that become classics.

We get Superman from a different angle that leaves you thinking and stretching your brain a bit more - great sensation. Alan Moore likes exploring space, and his Krypton is always interesting - it's the details - he hones in on specifics and puts the science in science fiction stories, never forgetting that Superman is from another planet a zillion trillion miles away. He's so good at making classic story structures fresh and this one is a mythic little tale that harkens back to the original stories cavemen might have told - that of the "anonymous hero".
I'll leave it at that as for revelations about the story itself, but noteworthy too are guest-artist from the Swampy-verse - Rick Veitch on groovy art duties, and a Silver-Age Superman - the Curt Swan Supes of the early '80s just before John Byrne's Man of Steel update.
I love clever one-off Swamp Thing team-up stories and it's a really good read, but much more of a "Big Blue" comic, with a special appearance by Swampy but that's what makes it work.
Not only do we get the best writer in the industry writing the trickiest character in the industry, we get Alan Moore's current(at the time) brilliant work in progress strolling in as a logical and fun as hell cross-over. The ending is smile-worthy for sure.
GREAT issue, and you can get it in the volume below.

Which brings me to my earlier point - I think DC should have found a way to make Alan Moore stick around back in the classic universe for a while. I love the work he did everywhere else but just think of maybe ten more books by that brain whilst wrapped around the costumed-stories - imagine a one year run of DC Comics Presents ..ahh, well - that volume is awesome but the whole Swamp Thing saga from #1 up to the Alan Moore stuff is good single-character comic reading. The story isn't challenging like the work to come but it is a dark and fun take on Swamp Thing's Alec Holland continuing saga and the art is excellent. Then, when you're settled into Alec Holland's plight and enjoying the book, along comes Mr.Moore's Anatomy Lesson and the truly legendary ride begins..

A.