Swamp Thing has suffered from being in limbo across the DC and Vertigo universes for years, until he came back recently in Brightest Day. That turned into a muddled mess, out of this appears Swamp Thing #1 in the New 52, giving us a fresh new start for Swamp Thing. Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette bring us a Swamp Thing in a light that’s different from anything we’ve seen in a long time. This Swamp Thing is in the darker reaches of the DC Universe yet has a connection to the superheroes. This could be strange for some to see superheroes initially in Swamp Thing, but even in Alan Moore’s run Swamp Thing had Superheroes interacting with him, from Superman to Batman, he was a part of the DC Universe. There’s already a palpable tone of dread in the air as you read the issue, where events going on across the world become quite disconcerting for the heroes of this DCU.
When I saw the events mentioned in the last paragraph, my jaw dropped. These first pages give us a perfect start, making you wonder just what’s happening from the beginning. Clark Kent’s slow turn from the window of the Daily Planet and seeing birds falling from the sky. Scott Snyder’s narration was an excellent fit, as Yanick Paquette’s artwork is mind blowing, for on Swamp Thing, I’ve never seen his art look this good. From there you see similar things happening to Batman and Aquaman, you realize there’s something strange happening. With these events, you check in on the narrator of our story, Alec Holland, or better known as Swamp Thing in the DC Universe of old. Just a normal man working on a construction site, just trying to live a quiet life. Then Superman appears at his site, hinting towards events that we don’t quite know about yet. This makes me wonder about just what happened, giving us something to look forward to down the line.
Leading further into this, you see the set up of what could be the cause of the events going on across the world, this appears in a way you won’t see coming. How this comes about managed to catch me off guard. Yanick Paquette’ makes this introduction to this new villain memorable to say the least. The last page of this book leaves you on a note that, makes you wonder just how Alec Holland’s connection with Swamp Thing is going to work. Not going to dare spoil this, but I cannot wait to see how this works out. Swamp Thing is taking directions that I didn’t quite expect, there’s definitely going to be more to this series than anyone could have imagined. Scott Snyder has found his voice for this series from the start.
What an excellent first issue, from a perfect start to an ending that is surprising to say the least, this book is already off to a good start. With Snyder’s writing at the top of his game, mixing the slightest touch of superhero keeping it connected to the DC Universe, yet still being able to have an identity of its own. Yanick Paquette is doing in my opinion some of his career best artwork. This team is bringing us an old school horror series set in the confines of the New 52. If this first issue is the indication of what’s to come, next month can’t come fast enough.
