Swamp Thing #28

By Charles Soule, Javier Pina & Matthew Wilson

Along with Batman and Green Arrow, Swamp Thing is one of the better titles in The New 52 at the moment and at least as it stands, Charles Soule can do no wrong. He’s a prolific writer behind Superman/Wonder Woman, Red Lanterns and Swamp Thing alone for DC Comics – with Thunderbolts and the upcoming She-Hulk for Marvel with Letter 44 being among his indie releases. It’s fair to say that Soule is probably the most prolific writer in comics following Johns’ scaling back on the titles that he has covered to just Justice League and Forever as of now, and to Soule’s credit, every title that he’s putting out is amazing.

Following the wrap up of the Seeder arc, Swamp Thing is now the sole voice of the Green following his destruction of the Parliament of Trees. Alec Holland now lacks any challengers. The decision that he made last issue gives the story another shakeup in the status quo, and now we open with three former Avatars of the Green having been reborn as humans. This is where one of the more humorous elements of the book come into play – we’ve seen in the past that Soule can pull off humour well in Red Lanterns and it serves as a great way to get the readers more invested in them. However, Soule doesn’t stop there – and the portion that he spends within New Orleans isn’t even most of the book, as the main bulk of the series explores Capucine as a character, with a tragic origin story that’s pulled off very well. It doesn’t feel cliched or weak and allows to bring the fantasy elements of the book into play,  and the result is pulled off very well.

The pacing is solid and the switch between the New Orleans/Capucine stories doesn’t feel too jarring, with the book building up to an interesting cliffhanger that will leave readers waiting to find out what happens next – Soule has found a way of not putting characters on the verge of death or even relying on death and destruction to keep them really looking forward to next issue, with the cliffhanger being simple and effective. Regardless, it’s enough to make the month wait seem very long indeed.

On artistic duties, we have Javier Pina as opposed to Jesus Siaz. I loved Jesus Siaz’s artwork on the previous issues of Swamp Thing but the switch to Javier Pina was pulled off pretty well indeed – continuing an impressive display of visuals that has been common throughout the entirety of Soule’s run. His panels don’t look too jarring and the switch between Siaz and Pina is easy to make and unlike other series involving artistic changes there isn’t any adjustment period. Pina’s artwork, especially when enhanced by Matthew Wilson’s lavish colours, is very solid and to see both of these talents sticking around for future issues is something that will be more than welcomed.