The Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder is an attempt to face the mythology of one of the most interesting characters in the DC universe. Was this attempt successful this time?
Alan Moore, in his famous Saga of the Swamp Thing, gave the readers almost everything that can be said about Swamp Thing, in addition, greatly deepening the reception of the characters. From this perspective, every creator who takes the DC hero to the workshop will have to face the predecessor's legend. It is no different in the case of Scott Snyder, who decided to add another chapter to the mythology of the Swamp Thing as part of New DC Comics. It must be emphasized at this point that we are dealing here with a scriptwriter who, during the same publishing cycle, was really good at creating the Batman world. If we take into account the many praises from American critics and the release of the volume on the Polish market in the prestigious DC Deluxe line, Polish audiences could blindly assume that the new Swamp Thing is a work not only important for the comic book giant's universe, but also excellent in the plot. I play the role of the messenger of the storm, who must cool your enthusiasm: Snyder's story is not an album that will appeal to all readers. It works well in every intimate element of the story, but it fails where creative sensitivity gives way to a superhero carnage.
Since the dawn of time, one of the fundamental principles governing the DC universe has been the balance of three forces: Green, embodying the vegetation, referring to the animal power of Red, and prophesying the death of Rotten - the latter constantly striving for the final triumph over the other two. Green, in turn, does what it can to survive, choosing its protector avatar in each generation. The problems begin when the current vegetation protector, Alec Holland, rejects his assigned function, gradually demonstrating a growing reluctance to uphold the order drawn centuries ago. As a consequence of these events, Rotten is spreading more and more territory, and its final victory seems closer than ever. The key to rebalancing seems to be the true protagonist of the story, Abigail Arcane, who has to grapple with the dark secrets of her family at the same time. However, this is only a fictional introduction to the volume of over
500 pages, which tries to neatly combine the spirit of Moore's work with a modern approach to heroes.
The kind of stitching of two perspectives is best for Snyder when he focuses on the emotions of individual characters - I am almost convinced that the intimate dimension of the story will affect and seduce at least some of the audience. The scriptwriter also efficiently follows the convention of horror characteristic of Swamp Thing, systematically wrapping it in newer characters, including members of the Justice League, Poison Ivy or Animal Man. The more saddening is the fact that when the author comes to the stage of exposing more-than-life battles, these are admittedly impressive, but also repel them with a completely unnatural extension on the pages of the comic. The closer to the finale, the more often the lack of creative consistency creeps into Snyder's fictional endeavors - sometimes the scriptwriter tells the readers too much to be too economical in the same field a moment later. In the end, however, the author defends himself with the atmosphere that he spread over his story from its beginning to the end. This value is difficult to clearly classify or describe properly, as if he wanted to elude the recipient, focusing somewhere within the extrasensory experience. Some will say that this is just a coincidence. Others say that the magic of comics in its purest form.
Yanick Paquette, who is responsible for the visual layer, is doing better, as he skillfully implements ideas born in his head. Especially the refreshed appearance of the title character looks great, but also the perfect balance between the exposition of the blooming world and its overwhelming version, devoid of vegetation. One must also appreciate the way in which the cartoonist uses perspective or divides individual frames, always remembering that a given procedure should be in line with the poetics of horror. This is why, whenever Rot appears on the boards, Paquette doubles and troubles to bring it to the reader's eyes with another copy of deliberately exaggerated ugliness.
Scott Snyder's interpretation of the Swamp Thing is not a memorable work, whose universal message will affect the next generations of recipients - I bet that the story about the same hero, created much earlier by Alan Moore, will survive the test of time better. However, this does not change the fact that Polish comic book fans have relatively few opportunities to meet such an endlessly intriguing character like Swamp Thing, which is why Snyder's vision may inevitably turn out to be an important point on the superhero map for them. After all, this is another proof that the mythology of individual heroes must be constantly updated so that the legend will never end. By the way, Repetition from the Swamp testifies that the New DC Comics period was not as terrible as some people want to portray it..
