Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book One

Grade: E
Name: Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book One
Author: Alan Moore
Art: Stephen Bissette, John Totleben, Dan Day, an Rick Veitch.


Saga of the Swamp Thing truly surprised me, which I didn't think it would. I have read Moore before (Watchmen was the first comic book I read, and I've read V for Vendetta) and I knew that this comic is the one that brought Neil Gaiman back to reading comic books, but I still expected Swamp Thing to be a little cheesy. Indeed, the first chapter, as I like to call them, called "Loose Ends" is what I was expecting the entire thing to be. However, the depth of Swamp Thing blew me away- I hate to say that because it sounds like a cliche. Like most cliches, it is a cliche for a reason. Really, I was blown away by the simple beauty in this graphic novel (a term I feel bad using because Moore reportedly deemed this name distasteful) in both the intelligent writing and the well executed artistry of the illustrators.

Let's start with the writing of the esteemed Alan Moore (who let it be know does seem a bit of a creeper). You should look up his personal life: odd. I will say that he has been known to worship the snake god Glycon (sp?) even though he says it is a hoax...what? Moore is, just face it, a legend. He is a great way to get introduced to the comic book world because his writing is so sophisticated and intelligent (rather than patronizing, something that always really peeves me off and something that has to be watched for in comics...for example, I don't want to be told what I am seeing - see X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills) - the way writing should always be. After you work through "Loose Ends," which does provide a good introduction to the characters, you are met by Moore's breathtaking "Anatomy Lesson." Once you get into the meat of the story, the highlight, for me, that made me stop in amazement at what I was reading was the picture of Swamp Thing's mind after he learns that he is not really human - at all. No lingering humanity for him to cling to; pure science for how he became who he is, which strips him naked in his own mind. I don't want to give too much away because there is much to be said for reading something blind. However, these are wonderful because not only do they allow you to get to know the main character intimately, but they also present some provocative questions about identity and humanity. Well written, with some passages that made me go back and reread them (for example, when Swamp Thing is attempting to escape men trying to kill him he says, "This morning I watched a beetle...that had gotten itself in trouble...with some ants. First there was the beetle...then there was just...a beetle-shaped pile of ants. The beetle was bigger...and stronger...and more clever...there were just too many ants" 31).

The illustrations I had expected to be weak because, I am ashamed to admit it, I judged the book by the paper it was printed on! The copy I have is printed on cheap newspaper quality with some garish coloring that appeared a bit cheesy at first (and - if I am being honest, and why would I lie? - at some places throughout the entire story). However, there were some beautifully drawn pictures, and I found myself especially attracted to practically any representation of the Swamp Thing. The way they drew and colored him had me mesmerized.


All in all, I encourage you to go out and buy this book! I have posted a link (http://www.amazon.com/Saga-Swamp-Thing-Book-1/dp/1401220827 ) so you can have easy access to buy (buy! buy! buy! - no, really you shouldn't take shopping advice from me. I am forever in trouble because I stroll into an innocent looking bookstore and come out with heaps of books and no money). I don't think you will be disappointed. Let me know your thoughts on it below!

Before I go, I wanted to mention my direction in choosing the comic books. Since I really didn't know where to start in the vastness that is the comic book industry, I decided to begin by working my way through Wizard's (the comic magazine) "Top 100 Trade Paperbacks of All Time." Interestingly, Swamp Thing Vol. 1 was ranked at #13. Thus, I will be ping-ponging through the list in my own special way. Until next time; go enjoy some art!

Bonjour My Sweets

Since this is my first post, I wanted to explain what I hope to accomplish with this blog. First and foremost (other than God, of course), I LOVE art. So much! Almost to the extreme…well some have said that I do love art to the extreme, but I would argue it was their view that is mistaken. Since I love art, I adore paintings and right now my favorite is Manet’s Dead Toreador


I say "right now" as if it changes often, but this piece has been my favorite since it stopped me, quite literally in my tracks, in the National Gallery of art. I stared at it for hours, and whenever I go to D.C. I always spend as long as I can get away with looking at it (much to the chagrin of whoever I am with, which has mostly been my awesome, practically perfect sister, who we will call "Emma" in this blog because she fits that character from Austen's book so well). I also am obsessed with books and have been as long as I can remember. My mother read to me each night and, since I didn't have a T.V. growing up, we read as a family almost every night as well. Predictably, I became an English major when I went off to college and have further fallen in love with books. So, since I love paintings and drawings as well as literature, one might suppose that comic books were always a favorite medium of mine as they bring together two things I love so dearly. However, not until I was just finished with my junior year of undergrad (only two years ago) was I first introduced to comic books by my brother, which I will forever be thankful for - he is the best older brother ... be jealous! I could not believe that no one every told me how beautiful and wonderful they can be! My whole life I had written off comic books as something uninteresting and predictable - like the generic romantic comedy. I didn't look down on people for reading them exactly, I just could never understood why they would want to. Imagine my irritation at my own prejudices when Gretzky (which is what I will call my brother because he loves sports and this is my favorite sports player - I am a sucker for hockey) asked me to read Watchmen. It really changed my life because it opened up a whole new world of art for me that I didn't even realize existed. However, what I have found in the past two years is that it can be hard to get direction when seeking a comic book to read. So, I decided (with the help of my two wonderful parents Mother and Father of mine heart) to read a comic book or graphic novel each week to get to know the field even better, which should prove quite helpful since I am writing my thesis on them and hope to, perhaps, do the same for my dissertation. Thus, I hope these reviews will lead you to read some great comic books or graphic novels and maybe someone who has scorned them in the past will become a new convert (Yay!! Just the thought of it makes me giddy). I am also reviewing a movie each week - on Tuesdays while I will post the review of the comic book on Fridays. Why, you might ask, am I doing comic books and movies. I have to admit I don't have a great answer to this question except that I love both and hope to engage the two in a discussion of sorts. Look for my first review this Friday on Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing: book one, which I have yet to read. Never fear, I'll be ready.