An attempt to save Swamp Thing during the Superhero craze (DC, 1976)

Make no doubt about it, the first Swamp Thing series featured a ten-issue run of wonderfully detailed artwork by the brilliant Bernie Wrightson. But when Wrightson and writer Len Wein left to pursue other projects, the series faltered and sales plummeted. At one point writer Gerry Conway took over for two issues, (#19 and #20) featuring a monster that had grown from the Swamp Thing's previously cut-off arm.

Those two issues provided a spark with readers, and in an attempt to save the series, DC asked Conway to return and introduced a new logo, calling it the "All-New!" Swamp Thing. Why destroy an iconic logo for this new one? It's simple. DC wanted the title to catch reader's eyes in the midst of the superhero craze. By 1976, traditional horror was on it's way out.

Titled "Rebirth and Nightmare", issue #23 introduced the "new" Swamp Thing as well as a new villain: Sabre. Once known as Commander John Zero, Sabre blames the Swamp Thing for losing his hand during an accident (now replaced by an actual Sabre), and thus his career. He now works for the Colossus Organization, who wants to capture Swamp Thing and try to revert him back to Dr. Alec Holland for his Bio-Restoration formula.

More new characters are introduced as the Swamp Thing heads back home to seek the help of his brother, Edward Holland. He is met by Edward's stunned girlfriend Ruth, who faints at Alec's grotesque sight.

Edward arrives soon after and tries to attack the monster. Alec lifts Edward by the fist, and makes a painful announcement:

Now I can't be sure, but I believe this is the first time the Swamp Thing actually talks. Conway explains that the Swamp Thing's vocal cords are not accustomed to human sound, and talking is very painful for him. Edward and Ruth listen in as Alec reveals what had happened to him.

Edward searches and eventually finds a cure for the Swamp Thing in this nice splash page by Nestor Redondo:

The cure involves another bomb similar to the one that changed Alec into the Swamp Thing. As the bomb explodes, Sabre attacks out of nowhere. He tracked Swamp Thing using a hidden tracking device on the monster.

Swamp Thing fights off Sabre, but the bomb cure worked...he is now changing back to Alec Holland! Now weak, he is unable to fend off Sabre's attack until the sight of an injured Ruth sets him off, and the fight ends as the flames engulf both Alec and Sabre.

A cured Alec Holland emerges from the lingering flames as the issue comes to an end.

The story continues in issue #24, titled "The Earth Below". Although David Anthony Kraft took over writing duties, Gerry Conway is credited for the plot.

A cured Alec Holland is now plagued by nightmares as Ruth attempts to comfort him:

Meanwhile, Thrudvang the Earth-Master, another bad guy working for the Colossus Organization, is on a rampage nearby.

Thrudvang is able to track down Alec, since he still has the tracking device embedded into his shoulder. What happens next probably should have been a horror story straight out of a Red Asphalt video. But since this is a comic, Alec escapes relatively unscathed.

Alec can only imagine what he could have done to Thrudvang if he were still the Swamp Thing, and finds an unconscious Ruth nearby.

A battered and bruised Alec Holland is somehow able to escape Thrudvang's wrath while holding Ruth over his shoulder.

Ruth wakes up and rewards Alec's efforts with a kiss...but wait! Isn't she Edward's girlfriend, Alec's own brother? WTF? In any case, the moment is squashed as Thrudvang appears yet again!

Alec lures the Earth-Master onto a rope bridge, and cuts the ropes just in time to see Thrudvang fall to his doom. Why Alec didn't fall with him, we'll never know. The issue ends as Alec embraces Ruth and wonders how he will survive now that he is not the Swamp Thing. He really should be thinking about that explanation to Edward that he just stole his girlfriend, but anyways...

And that was it, the series was kaput. I would have liked to see how that Hawkman vs. Swamp Thing battle would have played out. Did it appear in another comic? If anyone has that answer, please let me know. Swamp Thing would not be heard from for another six years until The Saga of the Swamp Thing in 1982. The iconic and original logo returned.

The second series was created by an entirely different team who completely ignored the story-line seen in these two issues. In fact, these issues have essentially become retconned, as it has since been established that Holland and the Swamp Thing are actually two physically separate entities. Also, Alec Holland never had a brother who was a professor, so Edward no longer exists. So I suppose that explains why Alec put the moves on Ruth.

It was interesting to see what kind of plot twists the assigned writers did to try to save this series during the final issues of it's first run. From aliens teleporting the Swamp Thing to another planet, to old people possessed by demons, to evil robot dogs, to the issues seen in this post...they tried everything.

I admit it's not easy to make a muck-encrusted monster fit into a normal comic book genre, so they get credit for trying. It wouldn't be until Alan Moore's debut as writer for Swamp Thing #20 in 1984 that the series would finally take off. That run is well worth reading for sure. Moore nailed it.

Adventure Into Fear with Man-Thing #19 (Marvel December, 1973)

 

There were comics during the Bronze Age that you just won't see in any other era. Usually they were the kind where you wondered what kind of acid-trip the writer (or artist, for that matter) might be on. From reality-bending alternate universes, to barbarians made out of peanut butter (that fought Muck-Monsters), to scantily-clad sorceresses and whacked out wizards, to a talking, smoking Duck...this one had it all.

Steve Gerber was king when it came to writing these kinds of wild, trippy stories. And nine issues into his Man-Thing run, he created one of the best in Adventure Into Fear #19. The story begins as Man-Thing finds himself in a world outside of reality, where American soldiers are in war against savage barbarians, and old biplanes fight against futuristic spaceships while a giant, golden castle floats overhead.

A sorceress descends from the castle. It is Jennifer Kale, a woman who previously had shared a psychic-bond with the Man-Thing but now embodies the spirit of an ancient sorceress named Zhered-Na. She beckons for the Man-Thing to follow her, but earns the attention of an angry Barbarian named Korrek that believes she is a thieving witch and wants to kill her.

 

But it is all just a dream! Or was it? Jennifer wakes up screaming as her grandfather Joshua attempts to console her...sort of.

Jennifer's brother Andrew can't sleep because of the screaming and helps himself to some peanut butter. Note that it's "Carlin Peanut Butter" which I bet is a homage to comedian George Carlin (a classic Carlinism: "If peanut butter cookies are made out of peanut butter, then what are Girl Scout cookies made of?") 

And then something crazy yet spectacular occurs as the greatest Barbarian to ever emerge out of a jar of Peanut Butter appears. It's Korrek! And he has returned to kill Jennifer!

Jennifer narrowly avoids the mystical fire of Korrek's blade as she screams for help, which summons Joshua and Andrew. A delusional Korrek mistakes them for wizards, and jumps out the window!

Before anyone can blink, a real wizard appears...it's Dakimh the Enchanter! He explains that these strange events are happening because the universe has become discombobulated by a dimensional imbalance...all caused because a construction crew wants to drain the Man-Thing's swamp to build, of all things evil, an airport. Look closely in the third panel below...it's the first ever appearance of Howard the Duck!

Dakimh would like Jennifer to become his apprentice in hopes that she can help restore balance to the alternate dimensions, and off they go to try and save the world. Meanwhile, Korrek starts to lose it as he gets lost in the swamp.

The Man-Thing appears, and Korrek recognizes the beast from their earlier encounter and attacks!

But Korrek's onslaught against Man-Thing is all for naught as his sword of mystical fire simply does no damage to the creature. Giving up, Korrek is ready to die...but not before another strange creature enters the fray: it's Howard the Duck!

Through Howard, Korrek learns that their dimensions have become imbalanced and they must work together to find a way back to their own worlds. Suddenly they hear screams in the swamp and follow them to the airport construction site, only to find an army of hideous demons!

The story abruptly ends as a horde encloses upon the Man-Thing, or as Gerber describes it: "Cosmic Butchers craving Murkish Flesh!"

This comic has since become a one-sided affair from readers, who either love it or hate it. Those that dislike it tend to write it off as a pointless and confusing mess that had little to do with the Man-Thing, while never settling on just exactly who the protagonist was. Others simply did not like Val Mayerik's artwork. 

Another problem was that, since this was Man-Thing's last appearance in Fear, the story would be continued in Man-Thing #1. So if you happened to pick up the first issue of Man-Thing without having read Gerber's stuff in Fear...you would be left thoroughly confused, without a doubt. 

But I love this issue, and it was the story that solidified me as a fan for Steve Gerber's work. After Man-Thing #1, the group of Man-Thing, Jennifer Kale, Howard the Duck, Korrek and Dakimh would meet again in Giant Sized Man-Thing #3 and then again in Man-Thing #22, which was the last issue of the first series. They would later meet once again in Howard the Duck #22-23. Jennifer Kale would go on to be known as a cousin to Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch (the Ghost Riders) and became a founding member of the Legion of Night.