SWAMP THING #0

written by Scott Snyder       art by Kano  (isn't he a Mortal Kombat character?)


One of the great surprises of the New 52 for me was Swamp Thing.  I bought the comic simply because I had heard such great things about it.  Why not give it a try?  I had no prior knowledge of Swampy or Alec Holland in my head save for Brightest Day.  However, I was not too pleased with Brightest Day (but then again, maybe it deserves a re-read?).  I liked Scott Snyder cuz of his run on Batman and of course Yanick Paquette got my attention with his awesome work on Batman Inc.  I'm happy to report that I have not been displeased with the work on Swamp Thing :)

Being Zero Month this is mostly an origin issue.  But this isn't necessarily the origin of Swamp Thing or Alec Holland or his nemesis Anton Arcane - no this is the origin of their feud and their connection to the upcoming Rotworld storyline.  And what a story it is! 

Snyder does what he does best in his horror comics - he twists the story to his liking.  You may not see it coming, you may not even like it, but dammit it's gonna be gory as hell!  And that's the way Anton likes it!  Snyder is really good at getting into the character's heads and really making you see the world from their perspective.  With a creature like Arcane you can't help but for the story end quickly.

I don't mean that in a bad way.  Arcane is a wonderful villain and perfect agent of the Rot.  He embodies pure evil and darkness.  Alec Holland is given little "screen time" here but it's not necessary as we all know him well from the past year reading Swamp Thing (if you are not reading it [and don't have a weak stomach] I highly recommend). 

Kano's art on the other hand is good but not great.  He's a good substitute for Paquette but that's what he is to me - a substitute.

If I have one other complaint about this story it's that I'm not sure where exactly this fits into the timeline of the DCU.  Did Brightest Day still happen?  Had Holland never been Swamp Thing before #1 last year?  Can't be cuz that would contradict the story Snyder set up back then.  I guess we'll find out sooner or later!


Rating:

Four Bio Restorative Formulas out of Five!