The Swamp Thing #1 Review

by Carlos R. on March 02, 2021

The Swamp Thing #1 Cover Image
Written by: Ram V
Art by: Mike Perkins
Colors by: Mike Spicer
Lettered by: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: DC Comics

Swamp Thing is back!

*air horn noises*

This series is off to a great start: tons of mystery, great dialogue, and phenomenal art.

Levi Kamei is the next Guardian of the Green, but as is true with most new superbeings, he’s unable to control his transformations. These devastating powers send him on the trail of gruesome murders that appear to have been committed by a legend of the desert. This being will push Levi to the brink and test him on his journey to become the Swamp Thing.

If there’s anything I’ve learned in my time reviewing, it’s that if you see Ram V’s name attached to a book, you need to give it a read, especially if you’re a horror fan. This book is fantastic and creepy and everything you could want from a Swamp Thing book. The dialogue in the opening sequence feels authentic and terrifying, the legend of the Pale Wanderer just has that fabled, urban legend vibe that makes you question reality. Levi reads like a haunted character, underlined with the uneasiness of flying, the reader can feel Levi’s stress and confusion.

Perkins, Spicer, and Bidikar have done amazing work on this book. There’s so much attention to detail, from the faint green of Levi’s text boxes to portray his uncertainty with the Green to harsh shifts in color to change perspectives and ideologies of these spiritual beings. The opening pages are great and have that feeling of a dark scene in a movie transitioning to a brilliant color enveloping the audience when we get to the title page and see the vast desert. The transformation into Swamp Thing is horrifying and everything it should be. The first time we see it, we understand just how afraid Levi is of this power and his inability to control it. The vines make up the frames of the panels and just tear through each gruesome scene.

This book is wonderful in every horrific way a Swamp Thing book should be.
 

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside