It's interesting to read these comics now. Contrarywise, I'm a little sad that it was so obviously the wrong comic for me to try to start with. Looking back, it amuses me that I was lucky enough to pick up something written by Alan Moore for my first comic experience. These days, I like to consider myself fairly well-read in comics. That comic was part of Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing. I didn't pick up another comic until I was in my twenties and already in college.

I hid the comic in my toybox and tried not to think about it. I didn't understand what was going on (it wasn't the first book in a series) but there were some kids goofing around with a Ouija board, and then some sort of fucking monster appeared and killed them. So I picked one at random off the rack, took it home, and read it. I saw a rack of comics and thought to myself, 'Maybe I could buy one. Even so, I'd just never gotten into it.īut back when I was 10 or 11, I was in a convenience store with my mom.

This is a little strange, as I loved picture books. It's that the chills sneak up on you and just kind of linger riiiiight under the surface of the whole story.Īlan Moore is kinda hit or miss with me, but this was 100% a hit. I'm probably not saying that right, but what I mean is that nothing here feels gratuitous. This is a horror comic done so well you almost miss that it's a horror comic. These were excellent storylines with creepy, well-thought-out villains. Or the creepy demon monkey that Jason Blood comes to town for. And I'm sure it was even more awesome if you were reading it as it came out in single-issue form in the 80s.Īnd let's not forget the Floronic Man. The big takeaway is that Swamp Thing finds out that he isn't Alec Holland covered in moss, but that he's a sentient plant creature who was created when he absorbed the memories of Alec Holland at his death. There's really no backstory for the reader regarding any of that. You're sort of dropped into the middle of the story with Swamp Thing (Alec Holland) remembering past things, Abby running around weeping over her seemingly dead friend, and her husband just acting like a creep. Abby and her husband whatshisname were digging around in the swamp looking for Alec and talking about it cryptically.Īnd that might be the 'worse' thing about this. He was all half-dead when this opened and there were some vague references to some kind of a big battle(ish) thing that had taken place. I'm not a Swamp Thing expert (obviously) and I certainly didn't know anything about what had been going on with this character prior to Moore's incarnation.Īpparently, he'd been shot up by someone or something like that. Until the next time when I ignore your good advice b/c I'm an asshole. You guys were right and I will forever bow to the knowledge of my betters. Yes, I realize I should have listened to all of you who for years have been telling me to get off my duff and read this. I really wasn't sure what to expect but DAMN!

Saga of the swamp thing vol 1