Swamp Thing 24
Charles Soule, Andrei Bressan
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
The series I wanted to hate but couldn’t because Scott Snyder made so great and Charles Soule made even better continues to surprise me month after month. This issue, written by Soule with art by Andrei Bressan, was no exception to that gold standard. The saga of the Seeder shouldn’t be interesting, but for some strange reason, I find myself utterly engrossed in the words and the worlds created by Soule and his various rotating series of artists.
The issue starts with a flashback, showing the Seeder and finding out that Alec Holland (the current host for the Green, known as Swamp Thing) has been undoing his work throughout the last several months. Then we flash forward to present day, where Alec and Capucine trying to recover from their last nearly deadly encounter with the mysterious Seeder, only to be ambushed by him yet again, for an unexpected immediate rematch. And that’s when the story takes a genuine twist and fantastic turn by revealing the true identity of Swamp Thing’s newest villain. The Seeder is, as it turns out, none other than Dr. Jason Woodrue. (Formerly known in the pre-New 52 timeline as the Floronic Man, which is probably the single most ridiculous name in super-villain history.) Definitely a not only a name upgrade, but a power enhancement and really a character advancement in general, if you ask me. So then we see the smack down between Alec and Jason, only to be shocked yet again in the cliffhanger ending when we find out that they are actually being pit against one another by the Parliament of Trees. They are going to have learn how to master their abilities and then, in this month’s Swamp Thing Annual 2, fight it out and see who is truly worthy of the title protector of the Green.
So things are heating up, quite literally, as this story rockets toward its whirlwind conclusion. Soule is proving that he not only knows how to weave an expertly clever story, but also work with multiple creators throughout a single story arc. Ever since he took over the book, it has slowly but consistently become not only one of the better DC books in their line, but toward the top of my stack of monthly comics in terms of sheer entertainment value. It is, in all honesty, one of the most enjoyable reads each and every month. And what luck! We get two issues this month! I can’t wait for the soon to be classic annual later this October.
My Rating: 5/5
