I've never been a huge Swamp Thing fan. Even the legendary Alan Moore run, while I recognize it as stellar work, doesn't do much for me. So this book, no matter how good, was unlikely to really be for me. That said, Diggle does have an intriguing opener here for fans of horror comics and especially fans of the Swamp Thing cast of characters. He's a little entrenched in the twisted, too intricate continuity of the character, especially given that the stated goal is to take the character "back to his roots," but the book isn't wholly inaccessible either. The real selling point, though, is the gorgeous artwork by Enrique and Martin Breccia, which captures all the lush beauty and harsh danger of nature, an essential component for a Swamp Thing book.
In his "On the Ledge" column found in this very issue, Diggle talks about the problem of Swamp Thing having too much history and having drifted quite a way from where he started. Unfortunately, while Diggle talks a good game about getting in on the ground floor, that's really not what Swamp Thing #1 is about. It's clear he's steering the character, as well as the character's wife and daughter, back to his more classic form, but this first issue is steeped in the continuity that has made the character unwieldy. The vast development of powers of both Swamp Thing and his daughter seems to be pretty important, and while I know it would have been difficult to quietly ignore such major developments, I did have the feeling coming in that I was missing out on some important history.
Fortunately, Diggle has wisely brought back one of the best supporting characters to serve as the reader's narrator. That's right, John Constantine plays a big role in this issue, and Diggle has captured him in all of his snarky, arrogant glory. Constantine's matter-of-fact expectations that he's going to get his way or the casual way he treats unusual things like a corpse rising from the swamp. Constantine's love of hearing himself talk also makes him a great narrator for the backstory exposition, because I have no trouble with the notion of him recounting Swamp Thing's origin to someone who probably already knows it.
By far the most impressive aspect of this new Swamp Thing, though, is the breathtaking artwork by Enrique Breccia, colored by Martin Breccia with such skill that it almost looks painted. Breccia does a great job on the creepier aspects of the story, such as the desiccated corpse that wanders around with Constantine or the feeling of being surrounded by savagery that occurs in Tefe's scenes, but he's also more than capable of the big sweeping powerful moments that are necessary to sell Swamp Thing as a force of nature. The big reveal of the mountain that Abby is climbing, or what she finds inside a cave, gives a sense of the unearthly viewpoint of the character she's seeking as well as the power currently at his disposal.
As I noted earlier, I'm no fan of this character, so any disappointment I might have comes also with a lack of surprise that even this talented creative team has failed to really engage me with these characters. However, this is an intriguing read at any rate, and for those who are fans of DC's Swamp Thing, especially those who like the more horror-edged take on the character, I suspect that this issue will be quite well received.
