Hey folks, Dr. Cyborg here with another edition of Tee Time, in which I take time out of my precious schedule to talk to you about something slightly less important, while golfing! This edition dedicated to Alan Moore’s run of Swamp Thing. So pour yourself a Black and Tan (1 part Bass® pale ale, 1 part Guinness® stout, Fill stein half full with Bass. Next pour Guiness over a spoon slowly until glass is full. If done correctly the Guiness will stay on top and the Bass on bottom hence the name Black & Tan.), and let’s go golfing.
Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing runs from issue 20-64 the bulk of it illustrated by John Totleben. It’s collected in six graphic novels, that are being re-released by DC comics as we speak. The second volume is coming out November 10th, which means it’s coming pretty slow, but since they already had a regular release in 1995, it shouldn’t be to hard to get a hold of.
I haven’t read Swamp Thing before his run or after it, meaning that I have nothing to compare this directly to. It also means that I had no preconceived ideas about what the comic or the character should be. Which brings me to my first point that Alan Moore does an excellent job filling you in, and keeping you as informed as you need to be. So it would be easy to recommend these books to everyone, even if you’ve never even heard of the Swamp Thing before. Fore!? Whatever……
This is one of the best comic book runs that I have ever read. Alan Moore has always been one of my favorite writers, but this run is so brilliantly written it really pushes him over the edge in my book. The way he writes the Swamp Things thoughts is poetic. He builds the majesty of the character wonderfully by contrasting him with other popular DC characters, which I think helps a bit. The thing that I think stands out the most about this series is you can tell that Alan Moore really cares about the character and takes his time in telling compelling stories using scenario’s esoteric to this particular creation. Well at first.
As the stories go on they become more and more obscure, but in a “that’s completely awesome” kinda way. In the middle there are a lot of horror stories that I liked quite a bit, especially the one about a haunted house filled with ghosts that were killed with a particular rifle. His ghost stories were thought out so well, and told brilliantly. It was a real treat to read.
It’s so refreshing to read books like this, good stories told in an unconventional manner, sometimes I didn’t understand what the Swamp Thing had to do with an issue until it was over. Nearing the end of the series the book turns nearly into a sci-fi book. On another interesting side note, apparently this was the first series to run with out the comic code seal of approval.
The whole series is laced with fitting DC character cameo’s from Batman to Dr. Fate. It’s also the series where the character John Constantine first appeared and was created. Every story is well told, and brings something new to the comic book genre. A few of the issues start a little slow, but by the end I was forced to admit it was better than any other issue before it. This book starts out good, and keeps getting better. It’s a must read.
JJJJJJZZZZZZEEEDDDD!!!! Whoa! I don’t understand why I only get struck by lightning while I’m golfing. As I am 30% weathervane all of the time. Maybe it’s just that Zeus favors my golfing.
The last thing I want to say about this particular comic book, is that I have wanted to read it for a long time for the reason that I really enjoy Alan Moore books, but there is something about the idea of me reading the Swamp Thing that I didn’t like. I didn’t think anything that happened to this character would make me interested enough to enjoy reading it. I guess the character always looked dull to me, and so I stayed away from it as long as I could. After reading just the first few issues, I quickly realized what an Idiot I had been, this book is truly great. I recommend it whole heartily as one of the best runs on a comic book series ever.
I want to go back and read it all over again, 256 out of 255 stars. Dr.Cyborg seal of approval, and all that jazz.