SWAMP THING #7

SWAMP THING #7 by Craig

March 13, 2012, 8:30 pm
Filed under: Comic Reviews, DC Comics | Tags: Animal Man, DCNew52, Scott Snyder, Swamp Thing, Yanick Paquette

It’s been a while since I did a DC New 52 review – to be honest I’ve found it difficult with some books to say something different about it from the last issue. This applies to good and bad books too – Batman has been stunning every single issue, but I’m betting most people will start to get bored of my endless enthusiasm for it and books like Detective Comics or Dark Knight aren’t getting any better (and again, would probably bore people as I continually refer to Scott Snyder’s Detective Comics and Batman New 52 as being so much better). There are some books though that do bring that something new and special each week, and if you hadn’t already realised, Swamp Thing delivered big time this week.

We’ve been crescendoing to this point for six issues now, and like the good aspects of every Michael Bay movie, we’ve hit that kick-ass finale that blows everything that’s been before out of the water. Don’t get me wrong, there’s clearly more to come, but this is just the inital stages of that bad ass final fight between good and evil, where the good guy is packing his guns into the back of his trousers and storming out his house. Except replace guns for branches and you’re closer to the Swamp Thing way of doing things.

I’m pretty much a newbie when it comes to Swampy, only jumping aboard since the New 52 – however I can imagine for fans of the series, this issue is a pretty big deal. The last 4 pages alone are probably enough to wet your pants – I know I was close. I’m totally hyped up to see what comes next, but also eager to explore some of the history of Mr Thing.

It’s not only Snyder who’s doing all the heavy lifting here either – Yanick brings his A-game too, dealing out his best visuals of the series thus far. All those messed up psychedelic sequences in the previous issue, where Alec Holland is dreaming about the Green and the Parliament? It’s put up a notch this month, with most of the book filled to the brim of wonky foliage splitting panels. There’s also a fair share of the opposite side, The Rot – equally beautiful in it’s own way and as gruesome as ever.

It’s also worth pointing out here (as I keep doing everywhere I go) that as always this issue goes superbly with the issue of Animal Man also out this week. From the start these two have worked fantastically as a double feature – then add to that Red Lanterns and you’ve got a mega week of dark DC. Knowing that Animal Man and Swamp Thing will eventually cross over makes each issue all the more interesting – it’s like watching 24 on the TV where you cut between the stories in real time as each character gets a step closer to the other.

My DC list may have reduced significantly this month, but I’m glad I’ve held onto Swamp Thing. After reading this issue, I know it’ll be on my pull list for a lot longer too.

8/10

Craig @hastiecraig