Saga of the Swamp Thing #21-64 discussion [Alan Moore] [spoilers]

[Friday]

The post crisis issues like (is it?) the "gothic horror?" storyline. That's pretty much the centrepiece to the whole run. Moore said he wasn't that happy with how it was a bit over-ambitious and then it was like

Spoiler

A fingernail haha

. I really liked it. and the batman and gotham bit....and the blue heaven too. There's that wierd issue where he encounters some spaceship and it's all arty. didn't quite 'get' that one.

You mean the Alien sex issue. Where he gets raped by some kind of alien spaceship thing for his makeup for it to reproduce. Its odd.

But My Blue Heaven rocks.

 

[E]

I wasn't impressed with volume 4 with all of the Crisis on Infinite Earths stuff, but the subplot of Abby getting arrested after being photographed with Swamp Thing was a good one.

Thusly, volume 5 where Swamp Thing basically takes Gotham City hostage with vegetation was totally brilliant. The death scene was well done and, knowing that Moore isn't such a weak writer that he would have Swamp Thing's consciousness transferred to a scrap of lettuce under someone's show or something stupid, I had no idea where he would take the death/return. Having Swamp Thing blast his consciousness light years away? Brilliant. And My Blue Heaven is an amazing issue.

I'm started on volume 6, the last Moore volume, and a couple issues in I'm not really digging it. Hopefully it gets much better.

Some of the themes really kind of stick in your mind. Like Abby asking what that smell is and Swamp Thing telling her it's a dead muskrat he was absorbing. And that it was "almost gone."

 

[E]

I FINALLY finished vol. 6 ("Reunion") where Swamp Thing makes it back to Earth and back to Abby.

It wasn't nearly as good as the previous volumes and was probably the hardest book to finish that I've ever read. It wasn't that it was difficult reading, it was just waaaay to Moore-y. It wasn't as smart as previous books and I just couldn't make myself care about most of it.

Some day I'll give it another read - maybe I'll "get it" after reading it again, but for now I'm disappointed.

 

[ProjectX2]

I read Vol. 2: Love and Death last night. Superb. I loved the last issue with Abby eating the fruit and going on the psychedelic experience. The way he experimented with the layout is just like Promethea.

I'm hooked now. Hopefully I can get the rest of Moore's run.

 

[Ultimate Houde]

I just bought the first hardcover volume (issues 20-27) of this that came out. It includes an issue #20, which wraps up the previous person's run, and sets up for Alan Moore's run, and was written by Moore.

I like what he is doing with the character, and you can tell he is setting up alot here. I'm a sucker for setup (like in Starman and Sandman). This story seems to be just getting off the ground, and like typical Alan Moore, it's extremely heavy in imagery, from layouts to stuff in the background.

I did enjoy how he made Woodrue a genuine threat. I also enjoyed the way Superman went "Firestorm, do you know how many molecules in the air you would have to change? I could count them for you, but you still wouldn't be able to keep up."

 

[ProjectX2]

I am about halfway through Volume 5. It's really good.

 

[E]

Wait till you guys read My Blue Heaven. It will blow your mind.

Also the issue where he has "sex" with Abby was pretty amazing too. Reminds me of the Promethea issue (#10 I think) where she has sex with the old dude.

 

[ProjectX2]

Also the issue where he has "sex" with Abby was pretty amazing too. Reminds me of the Promethea issue (#10 I think) where she has sex with the old dude.

Yeah, I was thinking about Promethea the whole time I was reading that issue. It's very similar to some of the psychedelic stuff in the Immateria.

 

[ProjectX2]

I just finished it. I agree with E about Vol. 6 - it was very difficult to read. I think Moore got a bit carried away. It was still good but felt kind of disappointing compared to the previous volumes.

I loved that he was experimenting with the medium back then too, especially with writing Swamp Thing as a God. You can see how he went from this and Miracleman to writing characters like Doc Manhattan and Promethea. Alan Moore knows how to write Gods.

While not my favourite Moore work, I did enjoy a lot of it and I'm glad I read it.

 

[Bass]

I only read the first couple of issues. While I kinda enjoyed it, the art and lettering is almost illegible to me, to the point where I feel the reading experience itself requires too much effort... I dunno. Maybe print will be different.

 

[ProjectX2]

I only read the first couple of issues. While I kinda enjoyed it, the art and lettering is almost illegible to me, to the point where I feel the reading experience itself requires too much effort... I dunno. Maybe print will be different.

That is how I felt when I first tried it. I had to force myself to get into it but after that I started enjoying it.

 

[Friday]

I only read the first couple of issues. While I kinda enjoyed it, the art and lettering is almost illegible to me, to the point where I feel the reading experience itself requires too much effort... I dunno. Maybe print will be different.

You should try and find the black and white reprints they did in the UK. They look so much better than the color version. The linework is amazing in it.