I remember loving, as a kid, a comic book called “Dial ‘H’ For Hero”. It was about these two kids who, whenever their town needed a superhero, they diI remember loving, as a kid, a comic book called “Dial ‘H’ For Hero”. It was about these two kids who, whenever their town needed a superhero, they dialed an old rotary phone that would magically turn them into a superhero. They’d be weird superheroes, too, with powers that were kind of ridiculous, like shooting ketchup and mustard from their fingers, or being able to turn into smoke or inflating into a giant beach ball and bouncing everywhere. And they’d never be the same superhero twice. I guess that was the charm and appeal of the comic book.
Well, apparently, in 2012, DC Comics brought the title back with the writing talents of China Mieville, an award-winning British science fiction/fantasy author. Potential goldmine, right?
Here’s my problem: best-selling novelists who try their hands at writing for comic books don’t always do well in the transition. Jodi Picoult, Jonathon Lethem, Brad Meltzer, and even Stephen King have all written comic books, to varying degrees of success. Generally, I have found that novel-writing is a very different animal than comic book writing. Sometimes, what makes a great novel doesn’t always make a great comic book, and vice versa.
That said, Mieville’s “Dial H” is, at the very least, intriguing. It’s also darkly humorous, especially with the weird array of superheroes. My favorites: Boy Chimney, a Jack Skellington look-alike with a long top hat that belches smoke; Captain Lachrymose, a sad superhero whose superpower is to incapacitate villains by bringing to mind their most tragic and heart-breaking memories; and Cock-a-Hoop, a giant hula hoop with the head and wings of a chicken. There’s a helluva lot more, too.
I won’t bore you with a plot synopsis, because, Really? There’s a superhero named Cock-a-Hoop that is literally a hula hoop with the head and wings of a chicken. Do you even care about the story?
As weird as this is, I will probably read the second volume....more
Wonder Woman Volume 7, “War-Torn”, written by Meredith Finch, picks up where Brian Azzarello left off in his previous six volumes. Diana is strugglingWonder Woman Volume 7, “War-Torn”, written by Meredith Finch, picks up where Brian Azzarello left off in his previous six volumes. Diana is struggling to balance her roles as a superhero member of the Justice League, her new-found title as Goddess of War, and the new Queen of Themascyra. She feels like she’s succeeding at none. To make things worse, some Amazonian witch has brought forth Donna Troy to contest Diana for the throne of Themascyra. I’m kind of confused because I only remember Donna Troy as being Wonder Girl, a good guy. In this, she’s a bad guy. I’m guessing it’s an attempt to re-tweek some origin stories. In any case, I’m interested in seeing where this goes. ...more
In Volume 6, “Bones”, of Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman series: Hades and Poseidon are standing down and standing by…; Hera has brought back the AmazoIn Volume 6, “Bones”, of Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman series: Hades and Poseidon are standing down and standing by…; Hera has brought back the Amazons on Paradise Island but can’t seem to bring back Queen Hippolyta; Zeus’s First Born has taken over Hell; Strife wants a ringside seat for the apocalypse ‘cause she’s a no-good bitch; the war for the throne of Olympus begins; Wonder Woman begins to appreciate her new role as Goddess of War, which makes her a badder bad-ass than she was before…
I love everything about this series. Sadly, “Bones” is the final volume in Azzarello’s run. It was a great run, but I am also looking forward to where the series goes from here. I am an unabashed fan of Wonder Woman now…...more
In Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman, Volume 5: “Flesh”: we learn a lot more about Zeus’s First Born’s origin and how he was raised by hyenas, gave birthIn Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman, Volume 5: “Flesh”: we learn a lot more about Zeus’s First Born’s origin and how he was raised by hyenas, gave birth to an army of human-hyena hybrids (yuck) and tried to overthrow Mount Olympus; Wonder Woman is having problems with her new title as God(dess) of War; Cassandra kidnaps her blind brother who has maggots in his eyeballs and we learn that she has a spaceship and a pet minotaur that looks like a buff Ron Jeremy in a dominatrix outfit; something is up with Strife; the First Born tackles Apollo because he is so hateful and finally conquers Olympus; Hera gets her powers back; Wonder Woman gets an army…
It’s heating up towards a huge battle between Wonder Woman and the First Born, and hoo boy! It’s gonna be a scorcher!
This series is fun and has converted me to a Wonder Woman fan. (It wasn’t hard, though.)...more
Zeus’s First-Born is swallowed by Poseiden, which just pisses him off more. Orion keeps disrespecting Wonder Woman by calling her “Legs”, so she gets Zeus’s First-Born is swallowed by Poseiden, which just pisses him off more. Orion keeps disrespecting Wonder Woman by calling her “Legs”, so she gets pissed and kisses him (???), which makes his face turn all ugly and he runs out of the room. Lennox sacrifices himself for the greater good. The gang ends up in Jack Kirby’s New Genesis. The final showdown between Wonder Woman and the First-Born ends in tragedy for one of the Olympians.
Lots of crazy stuff going on in Volume 4, “War”, of Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman series. Crazy game-changing stuff. Lots of Jack Kirby “New Gods” references. Lots of blood. Wonder Woman kicks ass. I like this series....more
In volume 3 of Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman, “Iron”: a never-before-told story of a young Diana being trained by the god Ares in the ways of battle!In volume 3 of Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman, “Iron”: a never-before-told story of a young Diana being trained by the god Ares in the ways of battle!; Zeus’s long-forgotten and unnamed First Born has been waiting seven thousand years in Antarctica for revenge!; some dude named Orion that looks like a DC version of Starlord comes back to Earth on a mission that coincides with Wonder Woman’s: find Zola’s baby!; Hera is having no fun being mortal until she discovers shopping!; Mars does something surprising!
I just felt like this issue, in particular, had a lot of exclamatory moments. Not sure what was up with the side-story about the First Born, especially when it ends so weirdly and abruptly… Or does it?...more
I’m digging Brian Azzarello’s run as writer for Wonder Woman from 2012, under the DC New 52 line. His contemporary take on Greek mythology is intelligI’m digging Brian Azzarello’s run as writer for Wonder Woman from 2012, under the DC New 52 line. His contemporary take on Greek mythology is intelligent and humorous, and his “controversial” re-interpretation of Wonder Woman’s origin story is far more cynical and believable than the traditional origin story.
In Volume 2, “Guts”: Eros (or Cupid, for the Romans in the audience) has traded in his bow and arrow for gold-plated handguns; Hephaestus forges weapons under a jewelry shop in Italy; Diana discovers even more horrible truths about the Amazons, in regards to what happens to male children who are born in Themyscira; Diana goes to Hell, where she is to be Hades betrothed; she tricks her way out of marriage in a way that is both clever and a bit unbelievable (but whatever); Apollo and Artemis ride up on a chopper; Zola has the baby, but someone in the group has double-crossed them all…...more
My only real knowledge of “Wonder Woman” comes from the George Perez comic books from the 1980s, which is, according to many fans, the zenith era of tMy only real knowledge of “Wonder Woman” comes from the George Perez comic books from the 1980s, which is, according to many fans, the zenith era of that DC title. Perez is one of my personal favorite comic book writer/artists of all time, so I feel like I’ve learned a lot about the Amazonian warrior princess just from reading those.
I’ve always had questions about her origin story, though. Not the story of her being raised on Themyscira, falling in love with pilot Steve Trevor, and going off to fight human wars under her super-heroine name Wonder Woman while living a normal life as alter ego Diana Prince. That I don’t have a problem with.
It’s her birth I have trouble with. According to most sources, Diana was born after her mother, Queen Hippolyta, shaped her out of clay. She was then breathed life into her by the goddesses of Mount Olympus. This is one story.
Writer Brian Azzarello was hired on to write for Wonder Woman in 2011, and in that run, Diana’s birth story became radically different. In my opinion, it also became somewhat more believable.
I have always felt that the pantheon of Greek Gods were a bunch of selfish assholes, led by the biggest asshole himself, Zeus. Hera, his wife, was a jealous bitch. (Although, granted, she had every reason to be.) Zeus’s brothers and children were a bunch of snot-nosed little shits always fighting to steal their father’s throne, either by trying to kill him or dethrone him in other shady ways. Not a single one was likable.
By the way, I’m not making this impression up out of whole cloth or based on nothing. I’m basing it on the actual legends of Greek mythology, which I remember from 8th grade English class and, later, in a college Mythology course I took. (I’m not even sure if this stuff is taught in high school anymore, and if it isn’t, it’s an extremely sad commentary on our educational system.)
Zeus was a rapist. Nearly every Greek legend one reads about Zeus makes this quite clear. He raped a lot of human women, giving birth to a lot of illegitimate children. His most famous, of course, was Hercules, who was, by all accounts, also kind of a dick.
Anyway, part of Azzarello’s shocking “twist” on Diana’s origin story is that we discover that Hippolyta has been lying to her daughter and every other Amazon of Themyscira for centuries. Apparently, Zeus (disguising himself as a human) and Hippolyta had a one-night stand, which, nine months later, produced Diana.
Now, I don’t know how this revelation went over with fans of the comic book. I would assume that it may have been shocking to many. I would even imagine a few nasty letters of reprimand and “how dare you mess with the sacredness of Wonder Woman’s origin story blah blah blah…” made its way to DC’s editors.
Personally, I think it makes a hell of a lot more sense than some woman shaping a baby out of clay and then having a bunch of goddesses sprinkle life-giving fairy dust on it. That always struck me as being a bit too Disney.
But lust-hungry Zeus the Walking Phallus popping his mummy-daddy button in Hippolyta’s hoo-ha during a terrific night of Greek God-on-unsuspecting human female sex just sounds right.
Anyway, Volume 1, “Blood” is damn good. Azzarello, in my opinion, knocked this out of the park. And, yes, I’m well aware that making a sexual “home run” joke about a comic book about a cosmic rapist is in poor taste. Sorry....more
Under the writership of Ram V and James Tynion IV, Justice League Dark has greatly improved to the point that I’m not pulling my hair out of anger andUnder the writership of Ram V and James Tynion IV, Justice League Dark has greatly improved to the point that I’m not pulling my hair out of anger and that I actually look forward to, rather than dread, reading the next several issues. Assuming more issues are forthcoming.
In any case, Volume 4, “A Costly Trick of Magic” was pleasantly surprising in its, well, not-badness. At times, it was actually very well-done and was a reminder of the potential that this series has, if given decent writers and artists.
Speaking of artists, immense shout-outs must be given to the various artists in this series: Kyle Hotz, Amancay Nahuelpan, Alvaro Martinez Bueno, and Raul Fernandez. All terrific artists, each with their own distinctive styles. Seriously, this comic book series is gorgeous to look at, even if its pictures of people with exploding heads or slimy grey creatures from the Rot.
In this volume, Animal Man joins the group. Something is happening to start a war between the various Parliaments of Life. John Constantine, with the the help of Abby Arcane, resurrects Swamp Thing to aid in the fight. The evil forces from the Other Place, led by the Upside Down Man, are trying to upset the balance of our world, but they are receiving help from a familiar supervillain from our world. Zatanna hopes to rescue her father, who has been trapped for eternity in the Other Place, but, as Constantine is always pointing out, magic always comes with a price. It may, however, prove to be a life-saving point…...more
Swampy goes up against the Avatar of the Kingdom of Machines, who happens to be a cybernetically and bio-mechanically enhanced Lady Weeds. She’s also Swampy goes up against the Avatar of the Kingdom of Machines, who happens to be a cybernetically and bio-mechanically enhanced Lady Weeds. She’s also recruited Anton Arcane to be the Avatar of the Rot, again. Together, they’ve created a zombie-cyborg of Alec Holland’s corpse. Swampy’s in deep in this one.
With “Season’s End”, the seventh volume of DC’s Swamp Thing and the final issues to feature Charles Soule as writer, Swampy is once again caught up in a worlds-ending crisis.
I enjoyed the first half of this volume, with the creation of the Machine Queen, but the story kind of falters near the end, with a climax that seems rushed. There is a bizarre little interlude with the Avatar of Story—-an attempt to break the fourth wall—-that seems contrived. It’s an interesting concept, and one that might work elsewhere, but it breaks up the pacing and literally takes the reader out of the story momentarily, for no real reason.
Disappointing ending story-wise, but the incredibly gorgeous artwork throughout makes up for it. Seriously, this series has some of the best artwork that I’ve seen from DC....more
It only took about two years, roughly 20 issues, seven compilation volumes, and numerous writers for Justice League Dark to put out a series of issuesIt only took about two years, roughly 20 issues, seven compilation volumes, and numerous writers for Justice League Dark to put out a series of issues that I not only don’t want to use to wrap dead fish with but that I would actually proudly admit to liking.
Volume 3, “The Witching War”, written by James Tynion IV, is actually pretty damn good. Compared to some of the unreadable bonkers kakapoopoo issues previously published in this title, this stuff is golden.
In this volume: Wonder Woman is visited via a dream by Zatara, who warns her that she still has some dark magic left from Hecate’s “witch mark”; some twerpy little supervillain named Witch Boy has put a spell on Man-Bat; Swampy succumbs to the new Legion of Doom Dark and becomes a puddle of rotten goop; Circe tricks Wonder Woman into using the magic diamond holding Eclipso; Detective Chimp is zapped into a naked, normal chimp; Khalid dares to don the helmet of Dr. Fate; Wonder Woman makes a deal with the Upside Down Man, one that may come back to haunt her.
I was a bit leery of the whole Legion of Doom Dark thing, but to see the Floronic Man, Papa Midnight, and Solomon Grundy join up makes it alright. Also stoked that John Constantine is back, doing his thing. Which is basically just smoking a lot, making wisecracks, and coming up with a nearly-impossible solution at the eleventh hour....more
It’s in this compilation, Volume 2 of Justice League Dark, “Lords of Order”, that I think the series finally evolves into some semblance of “pretty goIt’s in this compilation, Volume 2 of Justice League Dark, “Lords of Order”, that I think the series finally evolves into some semblance of “pretty good”. I mean, it’s most definitely not excellent, but it’s certainly not horse-shit, either. (Some previous issues were definitely horse-shit.)
James Tynion IV is the main writer, and while the last two volumes (I include the JLD/Wonder Woman cross-over event “The Witching Hour” in that) were decent, Tynion seems to have found his groove in “Lords of Order”.
The magical heroes of JLD are trying to save the world’s magic from being wiped out by Dr. Fate, who sees the destruction of all magic (including himself) as the only way to protect humanity from the horrors of the Otherkind, creatures attempting to break into this world from another dimension.
Wonder Woman and Zatanna believe that they can fight the Otherkind and win using magic. Unfortunately, it may involve using the wrong kind of magic.
Also included in this volume are several origin stories, including the decision made by the Justice League of America to create JLD in the first place as a means of protecting the world from threats of the magical and supernatural kind.
The final issue, Annual #1, seems more like it should be a “Swamp Thing” title, as it deals solely with Swampy’s replacement by the Parliament of Trees. It’s a beautiful, sad, disturbing story, (and my personal favorite issue out of all the JLDs I have read thus far) drawn beautifully by Guillem March and co-written by Ram V. It also sets the stage for the creation of a new Legion of Doom Dark, because, you know, the JLD didn’t have enough magical and supernatural threats to deal with…...more
I like witches. I also like Wonder Woman. So, one would think a graphic novel series in which Wonder Woman becomes a witch would be a winner for me. II like witches. I also like Wonder Woman. So, one would think a graphic novel series in which Wonder Woman becomes a witch would be a winner for me. It wasn’t.
“The Witching Hour” was, however, somewhat better than some of the more recent Justice League Dark volumes that I have grown to find annoying and yet still continue to read like a bad habit. It’s much like my addiction to Taco Bell. I know it’s unhealthy, and I should just quit eating the shit, but they just keep making Chicken Gorditas and Burrito Supremes. It’s also right next to my place of work, so I’m fucked.
Anyway, “The Witching Hour”, written by James Tynion IV, and illustrated beautifully by an array of artists, all with beautiful Latin names, is way more fun to look at than it is to read, but you have to read the words in order to fully understand the story. That’s how it works. But seriously: pretty, pretty pictures. And the fact that the majority of the characters are spandex-clad superwomen makes that all the better.
Anyway, the story has something to do with Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, who has “marked” Wonder Woman and several other super-powered women to help take over the world or some such. There’s a lot of magical hijinks and supernatural whatnot that goes on in the story. I was trying to follow the storyline, but there was a lot of sexy witches kicking the asses of other sexy witches, so the story, for me, kind of got lost. Seriously, I haven’t been this enthralled in girl-on-girl fighting since “G.L.O.W.”
I will say that this volume was extremely helpful in helping to understand the ridiculously convoluted and (I’m just gonna say it) incomprehensibly stupid plot lines of the Justice League Dark issues I recently read. And that I will, stupidly, continue to read because JLD is my graphic novel Taco Bell....more
Writer Charles Soule’s iteration of Swamp Thing, in Volume 6, “The Sureen”, confirms, for me, the fact that Soule is the best writer to come to the seWriter Charles Soule’s iteration of Swamp Thing, in Volume 6, “The Sureen”, confirms, for me, the fact that Soule is the best writer to come to the series since Alan Moore’s run in the mid-‘80s. High praise, for sure, but Soule’s writing is top-notch and attempts to do what Moore did with the series: separate it from previous iterations while still retaining the basic essence of what Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson envisioned when they first created Swampy back in the ‘70s.
In this volume: Swampy has ended the Parliament of Trees but now has the unforeseen responsibility of dealing with Jonah, the Wolf, and Lady Weeds in human form; a group of Avatar of the Green groupies known as the Sureen has shown up, offering to give Swampy anything he wants; the Sureen, it turns out, isn’t what they seem, and they trick Swampy into leaving his Avatar by jumping into a human body; while trying to find answers in India, Swampy meets the Avatar of the Grey, which is the elemental that represents fungus; something is attacking the oceans and Aquaman blames Swampy; Wolf and Lady Weeds go on a rampage…
Great artwork by Jesus Saiz and Javier Pina. My least favorite part in this volume is the introduction of Aquaman, the DC superhero that I find the least interesting, but it’s also the only issue not written by Soule.
Having given up on "Constantine" and seconds away from giving up on "Justice League Dark", "Swamp Thing" continues to be the only series from the DC New 52 (that I have read, at least) that is worth its salt....more
Bloody shite. That’s kind of how I feel about the DC New 52’s iteration of “Constantine” under writer Ray Fawkes. Volume 3, “The Voice in the Fire” isBloody shite. That’s kind of how I feel about the DC New 52’s iteration of “Constantine” under writer Ray Fawkes. Volume 3, “The Voice in the Fire” is, not to put too fine a point on it, bloody shite.
There’s so much weirdness going on in this volume, I don’t know where to start. Constantine, working for some group called the Cult of the Cold Flame, is hopping around the world trying to stop evil magic-users. That’s his thing now.
Frankly, I don’t care. I’ve almost completely lost interest in this series. I’ll stick with the old Vertigo series, that was much better-written, better-drawn, and at least somewhat comprehensible.
I seem to be always on the cusp of angrily throwing in the towel with DC’s Justice League Dark, but, like the mafia, it keeps sucking me back in for dI seem to be always on the cusp of angrily throwing in the towel with DC’s Justice League Dark, but, like the mafia, it keeps sucking me back in for dubious reasons.
I haven’t enjoyed (or understood) the last couple volumes, and much of that has to do with the fact that DC loves these giant cross-over events. I’m bored of all these “crises”. How many times can the world be destroyed and resurrected? I long for the day when superheroes get back to fighting bank robbers and serial killers: no alien invasions, cosmic supervillains, or an army of demons escaping from Dimension X. Simple, old-fashioned superhero stories. That’s not gonna happen any time soon.
I hesitantly picked up James Tynion’s take on JLD, “The Last Age of Magic”, hoping that this iteration would be slightly better than previous attempts.
It’s not bad. Saving graces: fantastic artwork by Alvaro Martinez Bueno and Daniel Sampere.
Potential negatives (for me): John Constantine is no longer the leader of the JLD, and while he makes an appearance, it’s a brief cameo at best. It’s almost like nobody likes him or something.
Anyway, Wonder Woman inexplicably joins the JLD (I guess to add some legitimacy to the group), and the two newest members are Man-Bat and Detective Chimp. (???)
I swear to God, these writers must smoke a lot of weed.
So, bad things are happening to magicians around the world. Magic is broken, and entities calling themselves the “Otherkind” are attempting to invade our world.
I’m not gonna lie: I have no fucking clue what is going on in this story. Apparently, there is a cross-over series called “The Witching Hour” that would explain it all. I’ve reserved it from the library, rather than just bitch and moan about how I fucking loathe cross-over events.
Because I know all of you out there who read my reviews love when I fucking complain about shit…...more
Charles Soule takes over as head writer in Swamp Thing, Volume 4: “Seeder”, in which: Swampy goes to Metropolis, battles the Scarecrow, and gets some Charles Soule takes over as head writer in Swamp Thing, Volume 4: “Seeder”, in which: Swampy goes to Metropolis, battles the Scarecrow, and gets some advice from Superman; Swampy meets a bad-ass warrior chick named Capucine (no idea how to pronounce that; I keep calling her Cappuccino in my head…) who begs him to protect her; he keeps hearing about an entity named Seeder that has the ability to steal power from the Green; Swampy goes to Scotland, following a lead about Seeder’s whereabouts, where he encounters John Constantine and an entire town literally out of their minds with some bad whiskey; Abby Arcane, the new Avatar of the Rot, grills her uncle, Anton, in Hell about her mother, but she may be unleashing more than just repressed memories…
Soule’s stories are excellent and, in my opinion, the closest thing, stylistically and tonally, to Alan Moore’s writing. This bodes well for future reading....more
About the only thing keeping me from throwing in the towel in regards to Justice League Dark is the fact that John Constantine and Swamp Thing are stiAbout the only thing keeping me from throwing in the towel in regards to Justice League Dark is the fact that John Constantine and Swamp Thing are still in it and because Zatanna’s skimpy costume is ridiculously sexy. (Seriously, it’s a weird cross between Vampirella, sexy magician’s assistant, and every goth chick I had a crush on in high school.)
Volume 6, “Lost in Forever” was more of the same hot mess that the stories have been since volume 4, except now, the artwork seems to be getting worse.
I have pretty much stopped caring about every other character in this series—-Nightmare Nurse, Deadman, Black Orchid, Madame Xanadu, Frankenstein, and Andrew Bennett—and it’s pretty clear that so have the authors.
It seems that each issue now pits the team of heroes in world-, galaxy-, universe-, or multiverse-ending peril that either Constantine or Zatanna manage to stop with some ancient magical spell that they pull out of their ass. (Ohmigod the Great Nothingness Cloud of Planet Zanzibar is ripping a hole in our time-space continuum! Hold on a minute, I have the Amulet of Ahmek Ra here in my pocket! It’s the only thing that will stop it!)
Yeah, I’m kind of done with this series. I’ll still read them, of course, but let’s be honest: I’m really only reading them now for Zatanna’s clothing. Or lack thereof…...more
In Volume 3 of Scott Snyder’s excellent Swamp Thing series, “Rotworld: The Green Kingdom”: Swampy and Animal Man jump into the swamp vortex/portal to In Volume 3 of Scott Snyder’s excellent Swamp Thing series, “Rotworld: The Green Kingdom”: Swampy and Animal Man jump into the swamp vortex/portal to Hell to save the world, only to find a year has passed in the 20 minutes they are there and all Hell has broken loose, literally; a handful of supers and pockets of humans are all that survive in a global takeover by the Rot; Swampy goes to Gotham City to find that Batman has turned but left a doomsday weapon that could mean survival for what remains of the human race; Swampy and the few remaining supers meet Anton Arcane on his turf for the battle to save humanity…
Special note must be given for artists Yanick Paquette and Steve Pugh, whose nightmare-inducing illustrations are some of the best comic book artwork in the field.
This volume sees the Rotworld storyline to its conclusion (I think), and it was a pretty good jaunt. My only complaint is the same complaint I have had with other DC New 52 series: cross-overs. I could be wrong, but I felt like, at times, I was missing key pieces of information or just explanations for events that happened in other comic books. And what was with the whole Animal Man cross-over? As someone who is unfamiliar with the character, I didn’t get a clear idea of who he is or even what his powers are. (Is he basically Dr. Doolittle? Can he talk to animals? Or does he turn into animals? It’s unclear.)
Scott Snyder’s “Swamp Thing” is a phenomenal addition to a series that has been running, in some manifestation, for almost 50 years for DC Comics. ManScott Snyder’s “Swamp Thing” is a phenomenal addition to a series that has been running, in some manifestation, for almost 50 years for DC Comics. Many great writers have contributed to the series over the years, including Alan Moore, Nancy Collins, Brian K. Vaughan, and even Grant Morrison, so Snyder is following in some pretty big shoes.
In the second volume, “Family Tree”: the Rot is spreading across the western United States; Swampy saves Abby but unwittingly unleashes the true villain behind all this: Anton Arcane, back from Hell; Swampy teams up with Animal Man (a superhero I know nothing about); we learn a little bit more about the history of Arcane’s evil and how Alec Holland’s life has been tied to it; we also get a glimpse of the future, in which the Rot has basically taken over the world and Swampy has a glandular problem…
I've been wavering between like and strong dislike over the whole DC New 52. More to the strong dislike, after some annoying upsets with series like "Justice League Dark" and "John Constantine". Snyder's "Swamp Thing", however, is about the only thing keeping me tethered to it right now. Snyder is a great writer and one that has respect for Len Wein/Bernie Wrightson's original concept for Swamp Thing while also trying to keep him updated for a new audience. Kudos to Snyder......more