Product Description

A little-known writer was asked by DC to do his first major American work: to take over the scripting chores on their horror title Saga of the Swamp Thing. And so Alan Moore began a body of work that would radically reinvent the US comic industry's whole approach to storytelling. Many have argued that the direction and approach of a large number of today's comics -- especially DC's Vertigo line -- can be traced back to Moore's run on Swamp Thing. In this, the first of two volumes collecting his Swamp Thing stories, discover how it all began.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24860 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

Alan Moore Genius of the Green
Swamp Thing, legend of Vertigo and DC comics, but where is the best point to start reading it? Here.

Alan Moore gave Swamp Thing his humanity, by taking it away.

Swamp Thing, began as a figure of horror, and in many respects was not entirely original. A mixture of chemicals and a terrible accident created a huge green and terrifying monster with a thirst for revenge (Hulk anybody?).

Moore changed this recipe, made the Swamp Thing think, and brought in old and memorable characters from all over the place at the least likely moments. His characters were alive, and created a deep kind of story telling not often seen in the comic world. This collection lets you see where it all began, and is worth buying for those reasons alone.

Some readers may be drawn to this book, because of the revitalised Vertigo Swamp Thing version two. Whilst version 2, (Tefe's tale) is generally considered not to be as good, it may throw up some questions you need answering, such as just who was Mr Swamp Thing? Reading this will help you understand the comic's history, and let you into some of its wonder.

Maybe you jumped into the original series late, and want to know more about old Swampy's transformation from Angry to Confused to Almost Good Guy. There's a slim possibility you read the first issues that were all about horror but not much about character. In any case, this book is a good starting point.

I can't say much else about the content of this book as I would almost certainly spoil it for you. Buy it now, and show comic's finest writer your appreciation.

Epic beginning
Alan Moore takes over the Swamp Thing... and WOW! Completely rewrites the origin story, setting Swampy (and pretty much every minor demonic DC character) up for one hell of an epic story. If you get this, you really have to follow up with the next 5 Alan Moore collections (Love & Death, Curse, Murder of Crows, Earth to Earth and Reunion).

In response to the reviewer who claims this is a poor reproduction: please ignore, as they must be reviewing a different collection that they bought in a store... or their seller send the wrong book! This is the Vertigo/DC collection, volume 1, in full colour... just click to magnify the book image to confirm (top left is clearly DC/Vertigo), or check the ISBN against the Titan Books Ltd store.

Poor quality reprint
The original Swamp Thing series of full colour, high quality paperback graphic novels were produced under the DC/Vertigo Label. The Alan Moore series were numbered 1 to 6. This is a cheaply produced, monochrome copy of The Vertigo Book 4 Chapters 6, 7 and 8 and Book 5 Chapter 1. The Vertigo series is still available.