Swamp Thing 1989 #3 – Rick Veitch, Writer; Tom Mandrake, Artist; Trish Mulvihill, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: This Vertigo revival – 37 years after it was originally planned – continues to be one of the most fascinating stories in recent DC memory. First of all, it’s a facsimile, and reading the 1989 previews and ads is almost as fascinating as the story itself. But the story is one of the most mind-bending tales I’ve seen in a while, with Swamp Thing taking a journey to the edge of the universe. After his trip through biblical times and beyond, he finds himself before the Big Bang, where he meets a flaming wall known only as The Source. God himself? It kind of seems like it, and this ancient being gives Swamp Thing the chance to ascend – or a long, difficult path back to his own time and his wife. He chooses that, and reincarnates into the world – as a tree, witnessing the entirety of human evolution as he takes the long way back, including bonding with a young cave boy who uses his branches as a refuge.
This fascinating story is paralleled with just how hectic things are in the present day. Constantine and Jim Corrigan are plotting to find Swamp Thing before it’s too late, and in the Louisiana swamps, Abigail Arcane prepares to give birth while desperately hoping Alec will make it back in time. At the same time, Darkseid and Metron are searching the cosmos for Swamp Thing, one of the few powers even Darkseid seems to fear somewhat. And deep in the bowels of hell, Anton Arcane’s plot to return to life and claim his granddaughter as she’s born comes to fruition. As someone who missed most of this run the first time and whose first exposure to Swamp Thing was the Saturday morning cartoon, this has been a fascinating ride. Early Vertigo was a whole different breed, when DC characters were used to tell the most surreal and mature comics around.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
