Three issues in and Swamp Thing still hasn’t shown up, but you know what? That’s okay, this comic still delivers the goods.

And honestly any good Swamp Thing comic is never really about the titular character – it’s about the people, or creatures, or ghosts, or whatever that is around him. There were some classic issues of Swamp Thing were he doesn’t show up until the last few panels to save the day. Shit, Swamp Thing even died and for like 5 issues the comic dealt with the supporting characters lives and struggles.

But enough talk of the past. This is a new Swamp Thing. We are witnessing the NEW origin told to us by inventive creators who are deftly handling the cherished history of this beloved character as well as the demand to bring him into the “new”. How often to we get a brand new origin story for a decades old character?

Or sure there have been “re-tellings” of origins such as Superman’s or Batman’s, but those stories always stick to the same groundwork laid by their initial creators: Superman will always come from the doomed planet of Krypton and Batman will always see his parents gunned down in crime alley. But here, with Swamp Thing, Scott Snyder has been given the keys to the bayou and is giving us something utterly brand new.

Issue 3 continues the arc of Alec Holland and his destiny to become the elemental that humanity needs to thwart the menace that is brewing. With each issue that threat grows more and more diabolical, and here we finally meet the villain and see a sickening display of his/its powers.

Soon these two will meet and when that happens…..