Unless you don’t have the computer (if that’s the case then how are you reading this!?) then you know all about Scott Snyder’s love of Swamp Thing. Well that and his continuation on Batman, but like that he had an epic Twitter ‘rant’ about his goals and expectations for Swamp Thing. Now, unlike Animal Man, I’ve read a lot of Swamp Thing comics so I definitely know the backstory for the character. Also, I’m not gonna try and compare Snyder’s first issue with Alan Moore’s run because that would be a disservice to Scott. It’s a bit risky to do a Swamp Thing comic though, in that I can’t imagine a lot of today’s readers know who or what Swamp Thing is. But hey that’s the point of this comic and clearly Snyder has the entire universe to make this his own baby.

And what a baby this comic is. Boy I was a bit worried about this comic especially after reading the disappointing first issue of Animal Man. Here though Snyder is able to not only give us a sizeable history lesson of Swamp Thing, but he’s able to make it entertaining too. I’m not lying when I say there is a lot of exposition in here; Snyder basically has to give us the entire history of the character (or the sparknotes anyways) in the span of twenty pages. It’s no easy feat but he’s able to accomplish this. First he does it by making Alec Holland a pretty interesting character. He obviously did his research with botany and has made Holland a smart character in the world of plants. He also gives us a pretty interesting conversation with Holland and Superman; and with this being his first ever stab at Superman he does a pretty good job. Finally he brings the ‘fucked up’ or ‘disturbing’ elements towards the very end with some….creature. He only gives us a glimpse of what this thing is but not only is it disturbing but I know I can never see a fly the same way again.

What could’ve been the deal break for me in this issue is surprisingly a real high point for me. Yanick Paquette on Batman Incorporated was not the strongest in my opinion. A lot had to do with his inking because he inks himself and sometimes the lines he makes can be too thick. When I first opened the book I was pissed because I saw that same problem and I was prepared to see it for the rest of the issue. But give credit where credit is due; Paquette immediately stops this after the first page. Even if most of the issue is talking heads he is able to make the characters look visually interesting and not have any inking problems. You then have pages like the opening two page spread or the reveal of that ‘thing’ and it balances the issue with visually interesting moments. Nathan Fairburn’s colors can be a bit too muted at times but I think it fits with the overall ‘dread’ feeling of the book. However the thing I will nitpick on is the panel layouts. At times they can be a bit confusing to follow. The one sequence where the flies are attacking the people (don’t ask, read it) I couldn’t tell how to follow it. It doesn’t happen to often but in the one critical moment of the book it was a shame it happened there.

So count me in for this new run on Swamp Thing. Scott Snyder’s epic Twitter rant has, so far, lived up to expectations. He clearly has a great voice for Alec Holland and he’s done his research for the character. Paquette’s pencils are really good too with no real inking problems to speak of but there is a layout problem towards the end that hampers the issue a bit. On the whole though this is a very good debut issue for the two and I can’t wait on where Snyder is gonna take us. I will say one thing: he’s made me scared of flies…