GO READ SWAMP THING #25 !!
..if only for the art - check it out.
That's not a shot at the writing, which is lively and pretty fun - nope - just a huge appreciation for this artwork - Jesus Saiz has the best grasp of Swampy since Bissette and Tottleben - really really nice - worth buying.
Now for the story.
DC has done a funny thing with the character of Swamp Thing with this New 52 stuff. His continuity still exists because he has his backstory intact..
BUT..
he's new at the same time. It's a bit like Star Trek's sequel/reboot in that Alec Holland is now the Swamp Thing - body and soul oddly for the first time. He has met the "Swamp Thing" of the Moore era who's discovery of his non-Alec Holland-ness made the book into what it was.
The current storyline is where it gets very strange. I'll call the current Swampy Alec for the sake of clarity - so Alec is fighting a character by the name of Seeder..
- a rival for the affections of "the Green", and not a bad antagonist, but here's where it gets weird - he's Jason Woodrue - not the Jason Woodrue Floronic Man but a young ex-student of Professor Holland's. That means that the Alan Moore Swamp Thing battled Jason Woodrue in the '80s, then his 2013 Alec Holland version encounters/battles a rebooted incarnation. If Alec has Moore Swampy's memories, does he remember the other Woodrue, and does that make him, like Batman, a bridge between the two DC Universes?
curious..
but it doesn't deter from enjoying the book immensely. It's just plain fun - so so cool to have the book continue to surprise.
I look forward to Swampy every month, and this one was a treat.
- again, you have to read this issue - just gorgeous.
AC
That's not a shot at the writing, which is lively and pretty fun - nope - just a huge appreciation for this artwork - Jesus Saiz has the best grasp of Swampy since Bissette and Tottleben - really really nice - worth buying.
Now for the story.
DC has done a funny thing with the character of Swamp Thing with this New 52 stuff. His continuity still exists because he has his backstory intact..
BUT..
he's new at the same time. It's a bit like Star Trek's sequel/reboot in that Alec Holland is now the Swamp Thing - body and soul oddly for the first time. He has met the "Swamp Thing" of the Moore era who's discovery of his non-Alec Holland-ness made the book into what it was.
The current storyline is where it gets very strange. I'll call the current Swampy Alec for the sake of clarity - so Alec is fighting a character by the name of Seeder..
curious..
but it doesn't deter from enjoying the book immensely. It's just plain fun - so so cool to have the book continue to surprise.
I look forward to Swampy every month, and this one was a treat.
- again, you have to read this issue - just gorgeous.
AC
I haven't been following the New 52 Swamp Thing, but that cover is really striking! Wow! So is it worth picking up the trades of the New 52 Swamp Thing? My Swampy was the Alan Moore and Nancy Collins eras. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteShag
Hmm..
ReplyDeleteI think a good "Jumping-On" point would be AFTER the "Rotworld" story - it was fun, but mostly a derivative echo of the Alan Moore story form the 80's "American Gothic".
Jesus Saiz artwork is worth the read alone, but I like Charles Soule's writing better too.
I'm just frustrated with DC continuity at the moment, Shag