Swamp Thing #32 – Review

By: Charles Soule (story), Jesus Saiz (art), Matthew Wilson (colors)

The Story: Alec channels his inner Jacques Cousteau.

The Review: I may not be reading Red Lanterns or Inhumans or the other umpteen comics Soule’s writing now, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and declare that he’s doing his most inspired work on Swamp Thing. The degree of imagination here definitely surpasses anything he’s doing Superman/Wonder Woman, She-Hulk, or even his creator-owned Letter 44. We may reach a point where the mythos of the mainstream Swamp Thing becomes as rich as its Vertigo ancestor.

Maybe even richer. As Alec takes on a sea-plant body and experiences the sensation of diffusing oxygen underwater, he marvels, “I can’t believe I haven’t tried this yet.” Me neither! It’s not lost on either Soule or Alec that there’s an entire other world of plant life he has yet to discover: “I need to spend more time down here. I should understand this. Just explore. Maybe even do a little science. For a change.” That would be a great change, though the resulting series wouldn’t be very much like your typical superhero book—which is no failing in my eyes, frankly.