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SWAMP THING #3

The forces of decay are summoning their servants, and the Green alone cannot protect Alec Holland – but one woman can! Alec may not know her, but he should!

And only he can help her before the darkness finds its key to spreading across the world unchecked.

But unfortunately for Alec’s mysterious benefactor, that “key” is part of the family…

Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art by YANICK PAQUETTE and VICTOR IBANEZ
Cover by YANICK PAQUETTE

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 34.9%

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Comments

  1. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    October 31, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    While I might not have been the biggest fan of #2, I am excited for this issue.

    Scott Snyder 4 Life!

  2. Avatar photo ghostmann says:
    October 31, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    The first week of the month is shaping up to be my favorite New Comics Week – Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Action Comics, Batwing – all good stuff.

  3. Avatar photo yyzKyle says:
    October 31, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    I don’t like this cover much but this book has been a blast to read. Very excited to continue the adventure. Between the Green and the Red, they are spinning a spectacular story.

  4. Avatar photo BCDX97 says:
    October 31, 2011 at 3:30 pm

    I still think this is just okay, but I’m looking forward to seeing the new Abby and hope it kicks up the fun this issue.

    • Avatar photo RickyStardust says:
      October 31, 2011 at 3:34 pm

      Yeah, I really liked the first issue, but didn’t enjoy the second one that much as I found it a bit boring, plus I don’t really like the whole thing with the heads spinning round; it doesn’t actually make any sense and is just there because it looks a bit freaky. Hopefully it will kick up a gear this time.

    • Avatar photo Conor Kilpatrick">Conor Kilpatrick (@cskilpatrick) says:
      October 31, 2011 at 3:40 pm

      @RickyStardust: Do the heads make more or less sense than a mystical plant creature?

    • Avatar photo KillTheG1mp says:
      October 31, 2011 at 5:35 pm

      Touché…

    • Avatar photo ghostmann says:
      October 31, 2011 at 5:43 pm

      @RickyStardust (say hi to your brother Ziggy): The backwards head thing comes from Vol 2 of Swamp Thing. I had posted this in my review of Swamp Thing #2 – perhaps it will help explain things……

      “How about a little Swamp Thing history lesson? The Brujeria were a cruel society of male witches hidden for centuries in Chilóe, in the forests of Patagonia. Ruled by the Council of the Cave, they required new initiates to cleanse themselves of Christian baptism by standing under a waterfall in the Thaiguén River for forty days and nights, catch a skull thrown by their instructors, kill their best friends and sign documents in blood. The Brujería’s waste-coats were made from the flesh of disinterred Christian corpses, and their warriors, The Invunche, had their necks and limbs disjointed at age six months (accounting for the backwards heads). Foreseeing the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the cult summoned forth great evil in order to foster a world-wide belief in the paranormal. Their goal: to call forth the Primordial Shadow, Satan himself, and destroy Heaven. (See issues 37 thru 50 of Swamp Thing Volume 2 for this awesome storyline – American Gothic)”

      So yeah, I think this is Scott Snyder’s homage to Alan Moores run in Swamp Thing and utilizing The Invunche “look” for the evil Sethe’s minons.

    • Avatar photo AmirCat says:
      October 31, 2011 at 6:13 pm

      @rickystardust @conor – I keep worrying that the backwards heads will fall off because there is no neck to support them.

    • Avatar photo RickyStardust says:
      October 31, 2011 at 6:17 pm

      @ghostmann, ah, I get it now! I have actually read volume 2 of Swamp Thing but missed the reference.
      @Conor, by not making much sense, I meant it just seemed a bit throw-away “wow, isn’t this freaky” rather than having a logical reason for being in the story.

    • Avatar photo Firevine says:
      November 2, 2011 at 10:06 am

      Thanks for that ghostmann. My knowledge of Swamp Thing is limited to the terrible movies I watched for laughs and Sarah Douglas hawtness, and just overall awareness of the character.

    • Avatar photo ghostmann says:
      November 2, 2011 at 11:17 am

      @Firevine. no problem man. You should pick up the trades of Alan Moores Run. They collect issues 21 through 63. Excellent reading. =)

  5. edward says:
    October 31, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    I’m no scientist, in fact I’m barely literate but aren’t “the forces of decay” basically micro animal and plant life? the detritus cycle just as natural as all the other hibby themes the book is about

  6. Avatar photo JNewcomb says:
    October 31, 2011 at 7:48 pm

    To be honest, Snyder’s work doesn’t do it for me like it does for many others. However, I’m sticking with this (dropping Batman) because of it’s connection to Animal Man.

    • Avatar photo Suicidalkangarooz says:
      October 31, 2011 at 8:14 pm

      That’s the only reason I’m reading it as well. I’m kind of annoyed that I am being suckered into reading this because of that connection, but this book has been really boring. Alec Holland is very boring and non-compelling. The only good that came from me reading this is that it made me check out the Alan Moore run, which I have read two hardcovers so far and it is amazing! The Alec Holland Swamp Thing copy is much more interesting than Alec Holland himself. I’m sick of the reluctant hero bit, the series is called Swamp Thing, Alec! Just accept that you’re gonna become it! It’s sad because he has more reason than most reluctant heroes because he’ll been turned into a walking plant, but it’s still uninteresting.

    • Avatar photo BCDX97 says:
      November 1, 2011 at 12:34 am

      No, you got it backwards! Batman is the awesome Snyder book (even though the 2nd issue was not as awesome as the 1st).

      Animal Man is wonderful, though, so I understand your reasoning for sticking with this.

    • Avatar photo Adamius (@adamius) says:
      November 2, 2011 at 11:57 am

      And to be honest, I’m the other way around. Love Snyder in both Batman and Swamp Thing, especially ST. And frankly was bored with Animal Man. Only reading my friends copy for the crossover and feel like its more of a chore than anything–though considering other New 52 books, that’s probably a bit harsh, but yeah.

  7. Avatar photo CaseyJustice says:
    November 1, 2011 at 12:13 am

    I think I’m out. Issue 2 was a lot of talk about thing that either don’t interest me or are inside stuff for ST fans. Good, but not for me.

  8. Avatar photo MegaPhilip says:
    November 1, 2011 at 9:38 am

    I also thought #2 was overly wordy but I love Snyder and I’m in for a few more issues and even if I drop it I’ll probably pick it back up for the Animal Man crossover.

  9. Avatar photo OttoBott says:
    November 1, 2011 at 9:53 am

    #2 was too much of an info dump, and the extra pages that were the Batman: Noel preview made the sudden end that much more disappointing (of course, that was my experience with every DC book that month). It’s still one of the best looking books of the relaunch and I’m interested enough to see what happens.

  10. Avatar photo diebenny says:
    November 1, 2011 at 10:19 am

    I’ve gotta agree with everyone saying that issue 2 was too wordy. I started falling asleep trying to get through that double page spread!

    I’m hoping we’re past all the set up and issue 3 doesn’t have nearly as many word balloons.

  11. Avatar photo zlbenson says:
    November 1, 2011 at 10:51 am

    I don’t know, the last issue was wordy yet still excited me as they explained the background of the Swamp Thing mythos (which I was mostly unaware of, having had only read the first TPB volume of the Saga of Swamp Thing), combined with the art. In fact I was almost a little sad when that info dump was over and the motorcycle girl came riding about. Either way. I am fully on board for this and Animal Man.

    • Avatar photo TurdSandwich says:
      November 1, 2011 at 11:08 am

      I agree, there was a lot of info but it was necessary to move the story forward. The Alan Moore run everyone loves had it’s fair share of words too. I think the new spin is great, and I look forward to finding out more. Plus anytime I get to stare at Paquette’s pages I am happy regardless of how many words are on them.

    • Avatar photo Adamius (@adamius) says:
      November 2, 2011 at 11:59 am

      Couldn’t agree more broski

  12. Avatar photo KillTheG1mp says:
    November 1, 2011 at 11:52 am

    Ouuuuhhh going to meet Yanick Paquette at my LCS this saturday in Montreal, yeah! 😀

  13. Avatar photo drdeeeznutz says:
    November 1, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    The reason issue two was wordy ( god I hate that reference so much now ) is because not everyone has a clear history of the character. I loved the way they explained some of the history of the Parliament of trees with Paquette amazing layouts.

    There are some really good animated books out there right now called children books but I perfer my wordy adult books.

    • Avatar photo jasonhart says:
      November 3, 2011 at 5:22 pm

      WHY YOU AM MAKE HULK READ?!?!?!

      I agree, man. I’m okay with reading some word balloons, as long as there’s some point to it. Give me heavy reading over decompression or wall-to-wall fight scenes any day. (I mean, this is also a more cerebral book. Not tights & fights exactly.)

    • Avatar photo sitara119 says:
      November 6, 2011 at 9:02 pm

      totally agree. i also perfer some of my adult books to have nudy pics….they’re awesome!

  14. Avatar photo ssnyder1835 says:
    November 1, 2011 at 10:59 pm

    Hey guys – I know there was a lot of info in 1 and 2 to straighten out cont. Thanks for bearing with us! this is the issue where things rocket ahead – promise:) Hope you enjoy. S

    • Avatar photo chadwhitley says:
      November 2, 2011 at 8:56 am

      Super-cool that you replied here, Mr. Snyder. I can’t wait for this book!

    • Avatar photo ghostmann says:
      November 2, 2011 at 11:38 am

      Scott, you are doing a superb job on Swamp Thing (I didn’t mind all those pesky words in issue 2). You are creating a prefect balance of character development, evil threat looming, and history.

      Reading your work one thing is crystal clear to me – you respect the art of storytelling in comic book form and believe in what you saying. And in turn, we believe.

      “Artists use lies to tell the truth. Yes, I created a lie. But because you believed it, you found something true about yourself.”
      ― V for Vendetta

  15. Avatar photo Multihuller says:
    November 1, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    This feels like a slow burn, and I’m ok with that. I’m willing to see where Snyder goes with this. I’m also enjoying Yanick Paquette’s layouts, and I am looking forward to seeing what Francesco Francavilla does on this book in a few issues.

    • Avatar photo KenOchalek says:
      November 2, 2011 at 7:15 am

      YES! I forgot that Francavilla was part of this title. I’m really enjoying Paquette’s art, but Francavilla is great. I think it’s the way he colors himself — I feel like he’s got the color in mind before he even starts drawing, so the finished page feels very cohesive.

  16. Avatar photo JNewcomb says:
    November 2, 2011 at 10:41 am

    Much better this time around. Less info-dumpy and more plot and lore building oriented. I liked it. Still, not turned on by Snyder’s often redundant dialogue style.

  17. Avatar photo JudgeJoyce says:
    November 2, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    I loved it. The dialogue, the pacing, the panels, the art. This is 22 pages of greatness. I read this first from my stack. I think that might have been a bad idea now.

  18. Avatar photo JaqueNargg says:
    November 2, 2011 at 4:39 pm

    was the single page image of a skeleton girl apart of this story or a teaser of some kind. It’s hard to say how it fit in with the story.
    Great stuff all around

    • Avatar photo JNewcomb says:
      November 2, 2011 at 6:11 pm

      Good question.

    • Avatar photo Neeks says:
      November 2, 2011 at 8:04 pm

      Ya that threw me off but made me very curious

    • Avatar photo ghostmann says:
      November 3, 2011 at 1:32 am

      That page does show up in issue 3 and it’s still a head scratcher – albeit an awesome looking head-scratcher.

      My guess: it is Alec having a vision of Abby – as she is seen by the elemental that resides inside him. It is a vision of death.

    • Avatar photo jasonhart says:
      November 3, 2011 at 5:26 pm

      Yeah, I think that jarring image was at the mercy of the endless ads all around it. Was it just me or was there a metric shit-ton of ads in this? For like 6 pages, there was an ad on every left-hand page. I can usually ignore them just fine, but that really took me out of an otherwise very good issue. Repeatedly.

    • Avatar photo jasonhart says:
      November 3, 2011 at 5:29 pm

      Oh, & it was an in-Alec’s-mind’s-eye momentary flash of imagery, an abstract symbol of what Abby was or will be to him. That’s how I took it, at least.

    • Avatar photo ghostmann says:
      November 3, 2011 at 5:34 pm

      @jasonhart. I agree, that ad right before the abby-skeleton page was completely misplaced and took me right out of the story.

      I read Kelly Thompson’s blog “She Has No Head” where she gave out different issues of the New 52 to people that pretty much knew nothing about comics and got their opinions on them. One of the things that a lot of the people brought up was the AD’s and how they felt out of place.

      You can check out the blog here. It’s pretty good reading:
      http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/09/19/she-has-no-head-the-comics-project/

  19. Avatar photo MegaPhilip says:
    November 2, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    That’s what I’m talking about! Great tension and even though I haven’t read Moore’s run, I feel like I get everything that’s going on. I really loved the role reversal with the bully, I was wanting him to get taken care of but when it happened I was horrified. Scott’s background as a prose writer is apparent in the set up (scuba conversation) but the payoff was pure comic gold. Anxiously awaiting #4 🙂

  20. Avatar photo tripleneck (@tripleneck) says:
    November 2, 2011 at 6:27 pm

    Jeez, Paquette only drew 8 pages in this, but the other artist still didn’t get a cover credit. I knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep up with a monthly schedule.

  21. Avatar photo adrianrigter says:
    November 2, 2011 at 10:05 pm

    This issue knocked my teeth out. pick of the week.

  22. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    November 2, 2011 at 10:10 pm

    Great issue. A lot of fun to read but also terrifying at the same time….Just like any Scott Snyder book! Plus the fact that two artists were used here didn’t hinder the book at all. (Why not use Victor Ibanez more for this series?)

    4.5/5

    • Avatar photo JaqueNargg says:
      November 3, 2011 at 6:40 am

      Isn’t Ibanez scheduled to fill in on issue 4 or 5 or something? I remember seeing a fill in with an unfamiliar name. I agree that he did a great job, this was seamless.

  23. edward says:
    November 3, 2011 at 7:05 am

    where the fuck is swamp thing? and why isn’t he giving drugs to people like he did in the days? nah, just kidding, this issue was solid. bubble boys are creepy

  24. Avatar photo Neeks says:
    November 3, 2011 at 8:08 am

    That part when the kid smushed his face into the plastic and was holding the fork was freaky as fuck

  25. Avatar photo cutty says:
    November 3, 2011 at 8:36 am

    Solid 4/5 for me and my favorite issue yet.

    Is the Alan Moore run THAT good? I saw it near the top of a retro top 10 list from the 80’s

    • Avatar photo jasonhart says:
      November 3, 2011 at 5:32 pm

      Haven’t read all of it, but yeah, Moore’s really was that good.

      This issue actually made me really want to go back & read that stuff again.

    • Avatar photo spawn says:
      November 7, 2011 at 5:16 am

      Yeah, I think its easy to see Moore as overhyped, until you actually settle down and read the stuff….then you come to realise he deserves all the respect he’s given (granted that is a lot). Still his Swamp Thing run was a work of trippy, horrorific genius, one of my absolute favourite runs in all of comics. Can’t overstate just how good it is, if you haven’t do read it. Its creepy, smart, wonderfully written, full of likeable characters, doesn’t seem dated, and has some great retro art.

  26. Avatar photo party says:
    November 3, 2011 at 1:49 pm

    I’m loving this way more than Alan Moore’s run. I actually love a Swamp Thing comic now. It’s a strange feeling. The bubble boy is wonderfully creepy.

  27. Avatar photo Flash923 says:
    November 3, 2011 at 3:45 pm

    4 for sure, the bubble boy getting free with the scuba gear is creepy!

    Just sayin’,

    K

  28. Avatar photo sitara119 says:
    November 3, 2011 at 10:03 pm

    the talking fish reminded me of those mounted,singing fish that were so popular in the 90’s. i think one could still buy those from wal-mart if one were so inclined. funny yet horrorifying. this party is pickn up. make mine snyder!

  29. elasticviper says:
    November 3, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    I’m sure ive seen worse in comics, but death by bone marrow really takes the cake in the new 52.

  30. Avatar photo Skyfire124 says:
    November 4, 2011 at 6:21 am

    Loved this whole issue….loved that the doctor’s name was D. Durock…a nod to the actor who played in the admittedly awful Swamp Thing series. Thinking about Animal Man’s Maxine…. and the old Swamp Thing’s Tefe (who may or may not matter in this universe) and this half-brother child for Abby belonging to the Rot….Love the symmetry, here!

  31. Avatar photo Kelly (@annaluna) says:
    November 4, 2011 at 9:47 am

    Even if it wasn’t the only thing I picked up this week, I think this would have been my Pick. My only complaint is that it was over too quickly. Not that I don’t think i got my money’s worth, i just think that the storytelling is so effective I didn’t notice how many pages i’d read by the time i reached the last one.

    Also, Abigail is 4 or 5 of my favorite tropes wrapped up into a single character. it’s like they made her for me 🙂

  32. Avatar photo WheelHands says:
    November 4, 2011 at 4:53 pm

    I’ve really been sucked into this series. A year or two ago, I would’ve laughed if someone had told me how excited I would be for a monthly Swamp Thing title. Ahh, the magic of comic books.

    Abigail could very easily become one of my favorite gals in the DCU. All the bits in the hospital were sufficiently creepy. And the handoffs between artists flowed pretty smoothly.

    Keep it up, Scott!

  33. Avatar photo conallgil says:
    November 4, 2011 at 9:00 pm

    Loved this book!
    Had so many good backs to the alan moore run that serviced the story and didn’t hinder it.
    although thought it was a bit weird that Dr.Cox from scrubs showed up for the opening of the book,
    the art changes were seemless I only realised that there were 2 artists when reading through the credits
    5/5

  34. Avatar photo SmoManCometh says:
    November 4, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    Another fantastic issue. Not sure what the skeleton girl was exactly, but it was gorgeous.

  35. Smitty2013 says:
    November 5, 2011 at 3:35 am

    Really loved Swamp Thing with Animal Man running close behind. I enjoy my other comics, but these two make my week!

  36. Avatar photo xrcst says:
    November 5, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    I liked it better than the last two, probably not pick of the week good, but good enough to keep me buying.

  37. Avatar photo martinNL says:
    November 6, 2011 at 9:16 am

    Totally loved this issue. The skeleton girl looks creepy as. Just stared at the page for a few moments there. The bubble kid is scary too. Isn’t he on the cover of next issue?

  38. Avatar photo KeMo says:
    November 6, 2011 at 3:11 pm

    One word…..BORRRIINNGGG!!!!

  39. Kmanifesto says:
    November 6, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    What a great issue! A lot of good stuff going on in this series. Snyder’s writing is so polished. What a gem to the craft he has become. The shared art duty between Paquette and Ibanez was like getting three great artists in one book.
    Can’t wait to see more about the rot and how it plays along the gree and red (Animal Man)!

    Worth the 3 bucks!

  40. Avatar photo spawn says:
    November 7, 2011 at 5:17 am

    Yeaaaah, tbh, I adored this. I love the bubble boy, the scene with the guy choking on his own lung made me feel sick, but in a totally good way. I cant wait to see where this goes.

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