Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch, John Totleben & Shawn McManus
Collects: Saga of The Swamp Thing 28-30, Swamp Thing 31-34, Swamp Thing Annual 1
After reading Vol 1 (review here) , I trust all of you are here now, are you? Good, then I'll begin in earnest.
Previously, we saw how that the Swamp Thing, contrary to what he thought, was never Alec Holland....his body was a tangle of vegetation with only the consciousness of Alec Holland to guide it. The question is...what happened to the real body of Alec Holland? That question is answered in this issue, when Swamp Thing finally lays the body of Alec Holland to rest. This issue has Shawn McManus as guest artist.
The next three issues (which continue into the Annual) see the return of Anton Arcane, paired with the forces of hell, taking over the body of Matt Cable to perplex Swamp Thing & Abby. The visuals, rendered wonderfully by Stephen Bissette are unbelievable, especially for the chapter when Swamp Thing goes to Hell.
He does run into numerous characters from the annals of DC's Supernatural titles, like the Phantom Stranger, Deadman and The Spectre.
Oh, and scratch everything else! The real part of this collection begins just now. In a homage to Walt Kelly's Pogo, Alan presents a story of aliens, animal rights from an animal's perspective, love and longing. Shawn McManus draws this one as well, and I doubt anybody could have done a better job on this one.
The next one is a stunt when they were on a deadline and couldn't do a full 22pg issue (those were the days when each issue, irrespective of who's doing it and how long it is simply must come out on time!) when they figured out a plot and put in an old story with a new framing sequence.
In this one, Abby visits the House of Mystery and the House of Secrets in a dream whereupon Cain tells her that the current Swamp Thing is just one of many, the latest one to wield the title, and relates to her the origin of the first Swamp Thing, Alex Olsen (reprinted from House of Secrets #92). This ties in nicely, making the older stories significant, as well as relevant.
The final entry in this volume is when Abby realises her love for Swamp Thing, but at the same time, expresses that a woman needs something.....more. Swamp Thing gives her a tuber from his body so she can feel what he does. It's a very hallucinatory, beautiful trip. Again, the premier art team shines through.
I would say that out of all the volumes, due to the nature of the first and then the last three one shots, this just might be my favourite volume of Swamp Thing ever!
Oh, and just in case you want to save on the hardcover - there are no extras as such to speak of, except an introduction to each volume, but the production values are definitely worth the hardcover - the paperback edition is available as Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol 2: Love and Death
My rating: 10 / 10
Contains full covers, US$25 (hardcover), US$20 (paperback)
Artists: Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch, John Totleben & Shawn McManus
Collects: Saga of The Swamp Thing 28-30, Swamp Thing 31-34, Swamp Thing Annual 1
After reading Vol 1 (review here) , I trust all of you are here now, are you? Good, then I'll begin in earnest.
Previously, we saw how that the Swamp Thing, contrary to what he thought, was never Alec Holland....his body was a tangle of vegetation with only the consciousness of Alec Holland to guide it. The question is...what happened to the real body of Alec Holland? That question is answered in this issue, when Swamp Thing finally lays the body of Alec Holland to rest. This issue has Shawn McManus as guest artist.
The next three issues (which continue into the Annual) see the return of Anton Arcane, paired with the forces of hell, taking over the body of Matt Cable to perplex Swamp Thing & Abby. The visuals, rendered wonderfully by Stephen Bissette are unbelievable, especially for the chapter when Swamp Thing goes to Hell.
He does run into numerous characters from the annals of DC's Supernatural titles, like the Phantom Stranger, Deadman and The Spectre.
Oh, and scratch everything else! The real part of this collection begins just now. In a homage to Walt Kelly's Pogo, Alan presents a story of aliens, animal rights from an animal's perspective, love and longing. Shawn McManus draws this one as well, and I doubt anybody could have done a better job on this one.
The next one is a stunt when they were on a deadline and couldn't do a full 22pg issue (those were the days when each issue, irrespective of who's doing it and how long it is simply must come out on time!) when they figured out a plot and put in an old story with a new framing sequence.
In this one, Abby visits the House of Mystery and the House of Secrets in a dream whereupon Cain tells her that the current Swamp Thing is just one of many, the latest one to wield the title, and relates to her the origin of the first Swamp Thing, Alex Olsen (reprinted from House of Secrets #92). This ties in nicely, making the older stories significant, as well as relevant.
The final entry in this volume is when Abby realises her love for Swamp Thing, but at the same time, expresses that a woman needs something.....more. Swamp Thing gives her a tuber from his body so she can feel what he does. It's a very hallucinatory, beautiful trip. Again, the premier art team shines through.
I would say that out of all the volumes, due to the nature of the first and then the last three one shots, this just might be my favourite volume of Swamp Thing ever!
Oh, and just in case you want to save on the hardcover - there are no extras as such to speak of, except an introduction to each volume, but the production values are definitely worth the hardcover - the paperback edition is available as Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol 2: Love and Death
My rating: 10 / 10
Contains full covers, US$25 (hardcover), US$20 (paperback)
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