Blossoming After Death - Saga of the Swamp Thing Book One

 

Review:

Before his stunning V for Vendetta series, before he stood Batman's world on its head with The Killing Joke, before he redefined superhero comics with the Watchmen, before all of these legendary accomplishments, came the Saga of the Swamp Thing. Alan Moore began his mainstream comics run here, with ground-breaking work in visual story-telling set in the horror genre. It was here, in these Saga pages, where he began to reimagine what graphical narrative could be, and began his influence on the medium that continues to reverberate 40 years later.

In these stories, reprinted here in box-set form over six volumes, Alan Moore pushed the boundaries of comics story-telling. Looking back, how were these stories so ground-breaking?

For starters, he rebooted Swamp Thing before the notion of a character reboot even entered the cultural lexicon. Beginning with Saga of the Swamp Thing #20, aptly named "Loose Ends", he radically rewrote the origins, even the very nature of the monster from the swamps. He began by tying up many loose plot threads inherited from the previous creative team. 

Then he killed the Swamp Thing! And left him dead for another two and a half issues. During that time, the little-known Floronic Man, Dr Woodrue, gives us an autopsy-esque anatomy lesson that completely flips our understanding of Swamp Thing. No longer is this Alec Holland turned monstrous, but a living plant creature that believes it is Alec Holland.

These stories, even forty years later, are shocking, horrific, at times terrifying. The monstrosity and inhumanity of its characters. The themes of life and death, love and betrayal and loss, anger and revenge, self-discovery and more deeply human traits saturate this collection.

Although of necessity heavy in narration and ponderous in pace, these tales still burst with poetry and profound human insights.

Supporting the phenomenal story-telling are the incredible visual sensibilities of Stephen Bissette and John Totleben. We feel the pain, the confusion, the budding new growth in their images. They employ innovative structures and sequences, with the story bursting out of its panels in sometimes surprising ways. At times dark, occluded, at other times exploding with the colors and beauty of a mountain meadow - or a swamp in bloom.

A great start to this 6-volume set!

Description:

Before Watchmen, Alan Moore made his debut in the U.S. comic book industry with the revitalization of the horror comic book The Swamp Thing. His deconstruction of the classic monster stretched the creative boundaries of the medium and became one of the most spectacular series in comic book history.

With modern-day issues explored against a backdrop of horror, The Swamp Thing stories became commentaries on environmental, political and social issues, unflinching in their relevance. Saga of the Swamp Thing Book One collects issues #20-27 of this seminal series including the never-before-reprinted Saga of The Swamp Thing #20, where Moore takes over as writer and concludes the previous storyline.

Book One begins with the story "The Anatomy Lesson," a haunting origin story that reshapes Swamp Thing mythology with terrifying revelations that begin a journey of discovery and adventure that will take him across the stars and beyond.

Collects: issues #20-27

Authors: Alan Moore
Artists: Stephen Bissette, John Totleben
Published By: Vertigo
Published When: April 10 2012
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 9781401220839
Pages: 208 pages