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Sep 28, 2012 By Ryan Hamm Issue #42 - The Protest Issue

Throughout its history, Swamp Thing has seen a who’s who of comic writers-Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, and Brian K. Vaughan have all worked on the title. DC has now turned over the reins to Scott Snyder, who has gone from a mostly unknown short-story writer to one of the hottest names in comics. But Snyder’s new assignment makes sense: His work on Detective Comics, Batman, and American Vampire have swiftly secured his place as one of the premier writers working in the medium. And, happily, his run on the rebooted Swamp Thing has done nothing but confirm that status.

The story seeks to keep some of Swamp Thing’s backstory while reinvigorating a character that had acquired a confusing jumble of mythologies and motives. Snyder (along with the art of the incredibly talented Yanick Paquette) has created a wonderful world where Alec Holland is a resurrected human who is meant to be the avatar of “The Green.” It sounds very otherworldly, and it is-it’s similar to Jeff Lemire’s current run on Animal Man, another series taking mundane life details and smashing them together with supernatural forces. This first collection gathers the initial run that establishes Holland as the new Swamp Thing and introduces his soul mate (and possible mortal enemy) Abby Arcane. This first book also provides the broad introductory strokes of an earthbound struggle that will impact the entire DC Universe. It’s one of the best ongoing comic books right now, and more proof that Snyder is one of the best writers in the business.

(www.dccomics.com)

Author rating: 8/10