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Swamp Thing
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Swamp Thing is a fictional character created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson for DC Comics and featured in a long-running horror-fantasy comic book series of the same name. The character is a humanoid mass of vegetable matter who fights to protect his swamp home, the environment in general, and humanity from various supernatural or terrorist threats. The series has been continued by a number of writers, including Alan Moore.
The character found perhaps his greatest popularity during the 1980s and early '90s.
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Encyclopedia
Swamp Thing is a fictional character created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson for DC Comics and featured in a long-running horror-fantasy comic book series of the same name. The character is a humanoid mass of vegetable matter who fights to protect his swamp home, the environment in general, and humanity from various supernatural or terrorist threats. The series has been continued by a number of writers, including Alan Moore.
The character found perhaps his greatest popularity during the 1980s and early '90s. Outside of an extensive comic book history, the Swamp Thing property has inspired two theatrical films, a live-action television series, and a 5-part animated series among other media.
Fictional character biography
The Swamp Thing character first appeared in House of Secrets #92 (June-July 1971), with the name Alex Olsen. The comic is set in the early 20th century, when scientist Alex Olsen is caught in a lab explosion caused by his co-worker, Damian Ridge, who intended to kill him to gain the hand of Olsen's wife Linda. Olsen is physically altered by chemicals and the forces within the swamp. He morphs into a monstrous creature who kills Ridge before the latter can murder Linda. Unable to make Linda realize his true identity, the Swamp Thing sadly ambles to his boggy home.
After the success of the short story in the House of Secrets comic, the original creators were asked to write an ongoing series, depicting a more heroic, more contemporary creature. In Swamp Thing #1 (October-November 1972) Wein and Wrightson updated the time frame to the 1970s and featured a new version character: Alec Holland, a scientist working in the Louisiana swamps on a secret bio-restorative formula "that can make forests out of deserts". Holland is killed by a bomb planted by agents of the mysterious Mr. E (Nathan Ellery), who wants the formula. Splashed with burning chemicals in the massive fire, Holland runs from the lab and falls into the muck-filled swamp, after which a creature resembling a humanoid plant appears some time later. The creature, called Swamp Thing, was originally conceived as Alec Holland mutating into a vegetable-like creature, a "muck-encrusted mockery of a man". However, under writer Alan Moore, Swamp Thing was reinvented as an elemental entity created upon the death of Alec Holland, with Holland's memory and personality intact. He is described as "a plant that thought it was Alec Holland, a plant that was trying its level best to be Alec Holland.". This was Alan Moore's second "re-invention" of a comic book character, the first being Miracleman.
The major difference between the first and second Swamp Thing is that the latter appears more muscular than shambling, and possesses the power of speech. Being able to speak only with great difficulty, Alex Olsen's speech impediment is a major reason why his wife could not recognize him. In Swamp Thing #33, Alan Moore attempted to reconcile the two versions of Swamp Thing with the revelation that there have been many previous incarnations of Swamp Thing prior to the death and "rebirth" of the Alec Holland incarnation. Three others are notable: Albert Höllerer, a pilot in World War II, appeared briefly and had his story summarized in Swamp Thing #47 (May 1986), and Aaron Hayley appeared in the Swamp Thing: Roots graphic novel (1998) set in the 1940s, and Alan Hallman, the Swamp Thing of the 1950s and 1960s, introduced in Vol. 2 #102 (December 1990) and eventually, after being corrupted by the Gray, killed by Holland. As a result, Holland is known as Swamp Thing IV by the editors of the DCU Guide. The principal two Swamp Things are also connected in that Holland's first wife is Linda Ridge, a descendant of Damian Ridge.
Publication history
The Swamp Thing has appeared in four comic book series to date, including several specials, and has crossed over into other DC titles. The first Swamp Thing series ran for 24 issues, from 1972 to 1976. Len Wein was the writer for the first 13 issues before David Michelinie and Gerry Conway finished up the series. Of particular note, famed horror artist Berni Wrightson drew the first ten issues of the series while Nestor Redondo drew a further thirteen issues, the last issue being drawn by Fred Carillo. Swamp Thing fought against evil as he sought the men who murdered his wife and caused his monstrous transformation, as well as searching for a means to transform back to human form.
Swamp Thing has since fought many villains, most notably the mad Dr. Anton Arcane. Though they only met twice during the first series, Arcane and his obsession with gaining immortality, aided by his nightmarish army of Un-Men and the tragic Patchwork Man (Arcane's brother Gregori Arcane, who after a land mine explosion was rebuilt as a Frankenstein-type creature by his brother), became Swamp Thing's archnemesis, even as Swamp Thing developed a close bond with Arcane's niece Abigail Arcane. Also involved in the conflict was Swamp Thing's close friend turned enemy Matthew Cable, a federal agent who mistakenly believed Swamp Thing responsible for the deaths of Alec and Linda Holland.
As sales figures plummeted towards the end of the series, the writers attempted to revive interest by introducing fantasy creatures, sci-fi aliens, and even Alec Holland's brother, Edward, (a plot point ignored by later writers) into the picture. In 1982, DC Comics revived the Swamp Thing series to try to capitalize on the summer 1982 release of the Wes Craven film of the same name. The title, called Saga of the Swamp Thing, featured in its first Annual the comic book adaptation of the Craven movie. Now written by Martin Pasko, the book loosely picked up after Swamp Thing's appearance in Challengers of the Unknown, with the character wandering around the swamps of Louisiana as something of an urban legend that was feared by locals. Martin Pasko's main arc depicted Swamp Thing roaming the globe, trying to stop a young girl (and possible Anti-Christ) named Karen Clancy from destroying the world.
As Swamp Thing was heading for cancellation due to low sales, DC editorial agreed to give Alan Moore free rein to revamp the title and the character as he saw fit. Moore reconfigured Swamp Thing's origin to make him a true monster as opposed to a human transformed into a monster. In his first issue, he swept aside the supporting cast Pasko had introduced in his year-and-a-half run as writer, and brought the Sunderland Corporation to the forefront, as they hunted Swamp Thing and "killed" him in a hail of bullets.
Moore would later reveal, in an attempt to connect the original one-off Swamp Thing story from House of Secrets to the main Swamp Thing canon, that there had been dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Swamp Things since the dawn of humanity, and that all versions of the creature were designated defenders of the Parliament of Trees, an elemental community also known as "the Green" that connects all plant life on Earth. Moore's Swamp Thing had a profound effect on mainstream comic books, being the first horror comic to approach the genre from a literary point of view since the EC horror comics of the 1950s, and broadened the scope of the series to include ecological and spiritual concerns while retaining its horror-fantasy roots. Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code Authority and write directly for adults.
At issue #65, regular penciler Rick Veitch began scripting the series, continuing the story in a roughly similar vein for 24 more issues. Veitch's term ended in a widely publicized creative dispute, when DC refused to publish issue #88 because of the use of Jesus as a character despite having previously approved the script, in which Swamp Thing is revealed to be the cupbearer who offers Jesus water when he calls for it from the cross. Seeking to revive interest in the series, DC brought horror writer Nancy A. Collins onboard to write the series, first with Swamp Thing Annual #6 before moving on to write Swamp Thing #110-138. Collins dramatically overhauled the series, restoring the pre-Alan Moore tone of the series as well as incorporating a new set of supporting cast members into the book. Collins resurrected Anton Arcane along with the Sunderland Corporation as foils for Swamp Thing.
With issue #140 (March 1994), the title was handed over to Grant Morrison for a four-issue arc, co-written by the then unknown Mark Millar. As Collins had destroyed the status quo of the series, Morrison sought to shake the book up with a four-part storyline which had Swamp Thing plunged into a nightmarish dream world scenario where he was split into two separate beings: Alec Holland and Swamp Thing, which was now a mindless being of pure destruction. Millar then took over from Morrison with issue #144, and launched what was initially conceived as an ambitious 25 part storyline where Swamp Thing would be forced to go upon a series of "trials" against rival elemental forces. However, the end was near for the series. Explanations for the cancellation vary, from low sales, to Millar himself having become bored with the series.
Written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Roger Petersen and Giuseppe Camuncoli in 2001, the third Swamp Thing series focused on the daughter of the Swamp Thing, Tefé Holland. Even though she was chronologically 11-12, the series had Tefe aged into the body of an 18 year old with a mindwipe in order to try and control her darker impulses, brought about by her exposure to the Parliament of Trees. Due to the circumstances under which she was conceived (Swamp Thing, possessing John Constantine, was not aware he was given a blood transfusion by a demon), she held power over both plants and flesh.
A fourth series began in 2004, with rotating writers of Andy Diggle (#1-6), Will Pfeifer (#7-8) and Joshua Dysart (#9-28). In this latest series, Swamp Thing is reverted to his plant-based Earth Elemental status after the first storyline, and he attempts to live an "eventless" life in the Louisiana swamps. Tefé, likewise, is rendered powerless and mortal. Issue #29 is the final issue of the fourth volume, which has been cancelled due to low sales numbers.
Other versions
A pre-Swamp Thing Alec Holland appears in Batman Adventures #16 in a 5-page backup set in the Batman: The Animated Series universe. He lives with the long retired Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy), as well encountering a plant doppelganger she created earlier on to keep Batman from trying to locate her.
Film
Swamp Thing's expansion into media outside of comic books began with his first eponymous film in 1982. Directed by Wes Craven, it starred actor/stuntman Dick Durock as the title character. A sequel, The Return of Swamp Thing, was produced in 1989. This was much lower in budget and met with significantly less success than its predecessor.
The aforementioned film series rejected the popular Alan Moore revision of Swamp Thing's origin and portrayed Swamp Thing with his original origin as a man turned into a plant-like entity. They also heavily featured Anton Arcane, who now became the man responsible for causing Alec Holland's transformation into Swamp Thing.
The documentary feature film The Mindscape of Alan Moore contains a psychedelic animation piece based on the "Love and Death" issue of Swamp Thing.
Television
The Swamp Thing television series would first air on USA Network from 1990 to 1993. The series was filmed in the brand-new Universal Studios Florida facilities and soundstages with Dick Durock reprising the role of Swamp Thing. The series ended short of its 100 episode schedule and reran on various networks throughout the following years. Starting in 2008, DVD collections of the episodes have been released via Shout! Factory.
DiC Entertainment's Swamp Thing animated series debuted on FOX Kids in April 1991, with Len Carlson providing the voice of the title character. Anton Arcane took the role of the main villain, along with his three Un-Men. The animation style followed a trend similar to Troma's Toxic Crusaders. The program only lasted five episodes and is often considered a mini-series.
Much like the films of the 1980s, both the live action series and animated series followed the original version of Swamp Thing rather than Alan Moore's vision. Neither of these incarnations were highly critically or commercially successful, but the live-action series developed a cult following. A moderate collection of merchandise was also produced for the animated series, including an action figure line by Kenner and video games by THQ.
In the Justice League Unlimited episode entitled "Initiation," an unknown creature aboard the Justice League Watchtower who is never identified looks remarkably similar to the Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing also has a small cameo at a cantina in the episode "Comfort and Joy," which first aired December 13, 2003. Swamp Thing can also be seen on a poster in the episode "Wake the Dead."
Video games
Swamp Thing inspired two video games based on the 1991 animated series that same year. The character is set to appear in the upcoming game DC Universe Online.
Awards
Over the years, the Swamp Thing comic has been nominated for and won several awards. The series won the Shazam Award for Best Continuing Feature in 1973. Alan Moore won the 1985 and 1986 Jack Kirby Awards for Best Writer for Swamp Thing. Alan Moore, John Totleben, and Steve Bissette won the 1985 Jack Kirby Award for Best Single Issue for Swamp Thing Annual 2. They have also won the 1985, 1986, and 1987 Jack Kirby Awards for Best Continuing Series for Swamp Thing. Berni Wrightson won the Shazam Award for Best Penciller (Dramatic Division) in 1972 for his work on Swamp Thing. Len Wein won the Shazam Award for Best Writer (Dramatic Division) for his work on Swamp Thing. Len Wein and Berni Wrightson won the Shazam Award for Best Individual Story (Dramatic) in 1972 for "Dark Genesis" in Swamp Thing #1.
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