Swamp Thing (1972) #14

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And now Wein has left too, leaving David Michelinie to clean up the mess.

The mess in question is Wein’s swamp monsters. It turns out they aren’t because of Alec Holland’s serum, rather because of a strange batch of toxic waste dumped in the swamp, which somehow interacted with the Holland formula.

While Redondo’s art just keeps getter better, the writing takes a hit. Even when Wein was at his most talky, nothing compares to Michelinie’s endless narration. He also doesn’t bring much intelligence to Swamp Thing’s thoughts—he doesn’t seem like a brilliant scientist, more like an average joe. Though I guess it’s funny to see Swamp Thing kick somebody in a fight.

Because the story’s about the selfless sacrifice of maligned children, the issue turns out to be somewhat affecting. But Swampy doesn’t come off well. He comes off a little like a selfish jerk.

Still, nice art.

Swamp Thing (1972) #13

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Even though the issue ends with a teaser of the next one, it reads a little like Wein was preparing for it to be Swamp Thing’s finale. Swamp Thing reveals his identity to Matt Cable and then, instead of setting off with Matt to adventure, heads back to the swamp. It takes Swamp Thing a night to walk from Washington D.C. to Louisiana. Wein’s not so great at geography apparently.

This issue features Redondo’s best work so far. Besides integrating horrific into his tragic renderings of Swamp Thing, he also gets to do a lot of regular action. Matt and Abby put on SHIELD uniforms to break Swamp Thing out, for example.

Wein starts off stronger than he finishes, opening with Swamp Thing discovering his serum, in the swamp water, has been mutating the wildlife. It’s interesting, but Wein moves on immediately.

It’s goofy and pointless, but never too bad.

Swamp Thing (1972) #12

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I’ve decided what Redondo does so differently from Wrightson (and how it effects the book). He draws Swamp Thing not as a muscle-bound, ideal specimen… but rather a lumpy, awkward creature. No wonder he looks forlorn all the time. It changes how the book plays. One wouldn’t think Arcane would be after Swamp Thing’s body if he’d seen it as Redondo conceives it.

The issue is a depressing affair, with Swamp Thing tied to an unfortunate man who’s cursed to live forever… starting at the dawn of time. It apparently gets lonely when one’s alive billions of years. Wein plots it a little like a mystery, which works, but Swamp Thing’s inglorious departures from various time periods leaves something to be desired. Oddly, the internal thoughts start poor and get better, like Wein’s getting back into the groove.

Speaking of upping the grooviness… Wein gives Cable a black sidekick.

Swamp Thing (1972) #11

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Nestor Redondo has the somewhat impossible task of following Bernie Wrightson. He does pretty well, though he could have gotten more help from Wein. Redondo recasts Swamp Thing as more of a lumbering superhero (Redondo’s expressions of Swamp Thing’s frequent dismay are startling, given the character is genetically predisposed to stoicism). But he does fine. The cliffhanger’s fantastic and his people are good.

But Wein’s plot and his details (the dialogue, Swamp Thing’s thoughts) are all questionable. The issue’s a sequel to a Phantom Stranger issue Wein wrote three years earlier… it ties Swamp Thing to the greater supernatural DC universe, but it’s an odd fit. There’s only so much one might believe could happen in Swamp Thing’s particular swamp.

There’s a lot of cruelty; Wein explains why it’s okay later, but it’s a cheap excuse. He also objectifies Abby here (for the first time).

It’s all right, just… off.

Swamp Thing (1972) #10

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I love this issue. I only sort of remembered it, but I love what Wein and Wrightson do with it. Wrightson gets a story credit so maybe he’s the one who came up with the concept. Swamp Thing’s back in his swamp, basically just hanging around, when he comes across an old black woman. A very old black woman; she used to be a slave on a plantation nearby. She tells him a story about how the swamp is protected by the ghosts of slaves.

Then Arcane and his Un-Men show up and attack Swampy. You get a few pages of beautiful Wrightson fight art, then the slaves’ ghosts show up to save Swamp Thing. He sleeps through the fight; it happens unseen.

The issue has a dreamlike quality to it. It’s this haunting little story where Swamp Thing isn’t even the lead when fighting his nemesis.

Just wonderful.

Swamp Thing (1972) #9

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Wein and Wrightson (he has some amazing panels this issue, whether Matt and Abby at the beach or a captured alien) are back on task this issue.

While Wein still overwrites, the plotting is so good it doesn’t matter again. This issue brings Swamp Thinig back to the swamp where he was created and Wein nicely contrives to get Matt back there too. Swamp Thing’s back to work in his lab—it only occurred to me this issue all his adventures previous were out of his control; the delay is because Arcane grabbed him second issue—and he runs into an alien.

The alien’s using the lab to repair his spacecraft, which leads to some misunderstanding between him and Swamp Thing. The alien design from Wrightson is singular; it’s utterly brilliant.

Cable shows up with the rest of the government agents to contain the situation.

Compications ensue.

A great issue.

Swamp Thing (1972) #8

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While the cover—Swamp Thing versus green tentacles—might be memorable, this issue is the first where Wein doesn’t come up with something distinctive as far as narrative. It’s Swamp Thing not versus green tentacles but versus a Lovecraftian god. A really, really weak one who lives in a mine and eats people to get stronger. Swampy takes him out with a cave-in.

Wrightson’s panels, on the monster section, are very strong. He draws a hideous creature and does the summary of its history well too. But the rest of the issue feels dispassionate. Swamp Thing shows up in town after fighting a bear. It’s not a very interesting fight scene, against the bear, in a cave. And then there’s a bunch of talking heads pages, only since Swamp Thing doesn’t talk, it’s rather boring.

It’s decent enough, but something’s definitely missing.

I mean, where are Matt and Abby?

Swamp Thing (1972) #7

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Swamp Thing arrives in Gotham to save Matt and Abby from the Conclave and runs into Batman. Wrightson doing Batman is something, especially seventies Batman. I love Bruce’s hair, but how does he fit it into the cowl?

Wein finds a great way to integrate Swamp Thing into the DC Universe proper; for a while, as he’s roughing up thugs for information, it’s clear he’d make an interesting pulp hero (which later writers came back to, I think). Wein even avoids most of his regular missteps, maybe because Batman takes up so much of the issue, not Matt. There is one regular Wein moment when Matt’s proud he’s not answering questions under torture (even though he doesn’t know anything).

The issue resolves some of the questions so far—but not why the Conclave’s leader has a pet monkey.

The only serious drawback is Batman gets the conclusion, not Swamp Thing.

Swamp Thing (1972) #6

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It’s sort of amusing how Wein can construct these fantastic, devastatingly emotional moments for Swamp Thing… but still have inane plotting. This issue, Swamp Thing finds a little Swiss town in Vermont. He also discovers himself (as a human) and his dead wife living happily there. Wein soon reveals a Swiss clockmaker spent the thirty years putting together a town of androids, their identities from the obits. It’s purely coincidental he picked Alec and Linda Holland. Swamp Thing has some beautiful, depressing scenes with his wife’s android stand-in.

Now, Matt Cable and Abby show up—because no one in town has been filing their taxes. Matt’s gone from CIA agent to Interpol agent to IRS agent in six issues. Wein doesn’t acknowledge no one in town would file their taxes because they don’t have any income. They’re aware they’re robots.

Still, great art, memorable issue; albeit contrived Wein plotting.

Swamp Thing (1972) #5

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Wein’s writing is back on track—except one page with incredibly awkward second person narration where he addresses the reader. Swamp Thing ends up in Maine, teaming up with a young woman accused of witchcraft and her little brother. Wein and Wrightson have a good time with the setting—even coming up with a conclusion I’m surprised the Comics Code let pass.

The issue opens with Swampy having to jump overboard on a freighter (there’s a brief explanation of how he got on the boat between last issue and this one) and it features some wonderful Wrightson art. Most of Swamp Thing, after the first issue, has been more traditional, British horror setting (even this issue) but the beginning is thoroughly modern. It’s interesting to see Wrightson do action, especially when it’s not monster-oriented.

The last page has a stunning soft cliffhanger.

Like every previous issue, this one’s indelible.