This past winter I posted about my affection for the DC Comics character Swamp Thing, particularly Alan Moore’s writing of the character from 1984-87.
Of the number of recurring broad themes running throughout Swamp Thing’s fifty-year publication history, that of ‘Humanity’ is perhaps most character defining. What does it mean to be human? What desires and actions make us human? Where within does one’s sense of humanity reside?
In the 1970s, writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson established that Swamp Thing was Alec Holland, a good man destroyed by the greed of others, but reborn from the Louisiana swamps as “a muck-encrusted mockery of a man.” Nonetheless, running through the gothic romance of those early issues was the story of a brave individual trapped in the body of a monster. Alec Holland may have looked like a monster but he held tenaciously to his humanity through his choices and actions.
Panel from page 18, issue 5, vol. 1 of Swamp Thing, 1973. Story by Len Wein. Pencils and inks by Bernie Wrightson. Copyright owned by DC Comics.
The ten ground breaking issues that Wein and Wrightson gave us in that first series focused on Swamp Thing’s humanity by continually reminding the reader that there was a man underneath the muck. All the frailty and wonder of being human was locked in the form of a monster and even though Alec Holland did give himself over to fits of despair, he never relinquished his humanity or the hope he might someday revert to human form.
In 1984 Alan Moore took over writing chores on the 1982 series Saga of the Swamp Thing with issue #20. Here Moore quickly and effectively wrapped up an unfinished story arc by writer Martin Pasko, and the reader was treated to a scene where ‘Alec’ seems to expresses some resignation about his place in the world as a ‘monster.’
Panel from page 8, issue 20, vol. 2 of Saga of the Swamp Thing, 1984. Story by Alan Moore. Pencils by Dan Day and inks by John Totleben. Copyright owned by DC Comics.
What follows in issue #21 is Alan Moore’s famous “Anatomy Lesson” story which offer’s a ingenious but devastating reinterpretation of Swamp Thing’s origin. For those who haven’t read “Anatomy Lesson,” I’ll try not to discuss too many details relating to this landmark story, but the crux of issue #21 is common knowledge, namely that …
spoilers …
spoilers …
spoilers …
Alec Holland died that night in the Louisiana swamps and what emerged from the those fetid waters was a creature that has absorbed Alec Holland’s memories and therefore believed itself to be Alec Holland. Needless to say it took a few issues for Alec/Swamp Thing to work through the psychological trauma of such a revelation.
end of spoilers …
Following Moore’s “Anatomy Lesson,” the theme of Humanity takes on a prominent yet poignant significance in future issues of Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing refuses to relinquish his sense of humanity and instead continues to use it as a template for future choices and actions. There may be an irony to Swamp Thing’s quest to preserve his humanity after the events of Moore’s “Anatomy Lesson,” but all subsequent writers on the second series of Swamp Thing (Veitch, Wheeler, Collins, Millar), continued to explore what it meant to be human in the midst of the monstrous within. There are issues where the writers seemed to mock Alec’s insistence to holding onto the the external trappings of humanity. Swamp Thing’s continued use of the name ‘Alec,’ his desire to have wife, a child, and a home with friends all seemed to be a human mask overtop a monster’s face.
Which brings me to the ink sketch at the top of this post.
In the spring of 2022 I submitted the sketch to the Swamp Thing fanzine Holland Files. Holland Files is edited and published by artist/designer and Guinness World Record holder, John Boylan. The sketch–titled “The Mask”–depicts Swamp Thing holding a Wrightson-esque style mask of Alec Holland’s face.
Thank you for stopping by.
Robert
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