Swamp Thing #20, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis | @MDWorld
May 12, 2013 Marc Fishman 0 Comments
Written by Charles Soule, Art by Kano and Alvaro Lopez
When last I wrote of Swamp Thing (and his brother book, Animal Man), I was ready quite honestly to pitch it to the wind. Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire’s epic amalgamation of the Green and Red turned out to be nothing more than a terrible buddy cop picture set in the apocalyptic wasteland. At the end of the day, Swamp Thing lost his love—Abby Arcane—and lost Scott Snyder. Charles Soule has been handed the reigns, and on this, his second issue, I am optimistic again at the possibilities of the character and the book. Such a rose has never smelled as sweet… and the one that comes back to life in the face of its own demise.
Soule’s first arc, a brief 2 issue jaunt, focuses on Swamp Thing’s next steps in the New 52. With ‘Rotworld’ a slowly dying memory, Alec Holland now deals with life moving forward. In order to restore balance to the world, Holland gave up his organic and mortal body to become one with the green as their avatar. In lesser words? He’s a plant-guy through and through. Soule accepts this, and uses it as a springboard for a new direction—one more in line with the super-heroics than the macabre. The basic gist is this: Faced with a near limitless power set, and lingering humanity, Alec arrives in Metropolis to talk to the one man who might just feel the same way. Prior to getting his one on one with the Kryptonian, Scarecrow makes a villainous appearance. Issue 20 catches us up after Dr. Crane doses Swampy with a fear toxin that actually effect poor Alec. And hilarity ensues!
The gas pushes Swamp Thing into his own mind—his physical body now lashing out throughout Metropolis like our own body might attack the flu. And there on the astral plane, Alec Holland and Swamp Thing are able to converse with one another. As we’ll learn in due time, Holland of dreamland is merely the representation of his own fears and regret. By giving away his body, is he human at all? Add in some taunting visions of family, of children, and scientific accolades, and you get one sad nightmare. Meanwhile, Superman helps his city fend off what might otherwise be called ‘Poison Ivy’s wet dream’.
Soule’s scripting is solid. What he lacks in frills and chills, he makes up with nuanced and punchy dialogue. As Holland taunts his greener self in the dream, there’s truly a few zingers worth their salt. And when Superman and Swamp Thing share a final thought with one another, it’s clear that the big blue boy scout would be in decent hands, should Charles ever be tapped to do so. While I’ll admit that the use of Scarecrow was tepid at best… Soule’s placement of him was handled with appropriate intelligence. The fact that he posed very little threat in the book makes it clear our new writer has a finger on the pulse of the power levels the book should be dealing with. And based on the flippant banter when Swamp Thing needs to take action? I’ve no doubt that we’re in good literary hands as we continue along this green and lush pathway.
Art duties are delivered by Kano and Alvaro Lopez. Kano’s angular style is quite different from Yanick Paquette, but suits the book just the same. Equal parts Neal Adams and Rags Morales, with a flavor all his own… Kano pours plenty of detail into his realistic figures. His rendering of ‘Big Green’ is lush, meaty, and perfectly monsterous. And when we dive into nightmare-land, he has no issue showing off his chops there either. Backed by a deft inking hand of Lopez, and the smart colors of Matthew Wilson, the book looks as sharp as its ever looked. And given the small-yet-still-epic scope of Soule’s script? Kano is doing some of the best work I’ve seen from him. As one of the biggest fans of his work on H.E.R.O. (penned by the under-appreciated Will Pfeifer), I’m elated to see him on a great book like Swamp Thing. Given the pedigree he joins? He sits alongside them (thus far) with ease.
Ultimately, Swamp Thing has had to evolve. Snyder’s 18 issues were mostly strong, and anchored in horror. Charles Soule’s Alec Holland is a little more heroic. A little less angsty. A little more powerful. And certainly for now… a bit more entertaining. I’m excited to see where things go from here. With our first jaunt into Metropolis done, it’s time for Big Green to spread his leafy wings further into the DC New 52. If he can no longer be “dark”… if he can no longer be saddled with Vertigo depth and maturity… if he must be a super hero…
Then this is as good as it may get for a good long while. I suggest ya’ll eat yer’ greens.