My fanboyishness is showing.
I keep getting e-mails (and at least one comment!) about this interview with DC Comics’ Dan DiDio. In particular, this bit of business discussing the impending Solomon Grundy series:
“People will ask, ‘Where’s Swamp Thing in the DCU?’ and one of the things that we thought we could do with Solomon Grundy that can be interesting, that can be part of the DCU, and maybe fill that need that people are looking for in a more brute-like character such as Swamp Thing. I’m not saying, mind you, that Solomon Grundy will be like Swamp Thing in this miniseries, but that he’s a type of character that’s similar to Swamp Thing.”
Huh.
Whenever the topic’s come up before regarding Swamp Thing returning to the regular DC Universe from the mature-readers Vertigo imprint, the answer has generally been “Vertigo won’t let him go.” Which, I guess, is understandable, since Swamp Thing is one of the most well-known properties in under Vertigo’s umbrella, though perhaps more for the movies than for any of the comics.
So what appears to be said here is that what the audience is looking for is that niche of…well, let’s set aside the description of “brute-like” since that’s bit of an oversimplification of Swamp Thing’s appeal. Let’s go with the “man trapped in a monster’s body” niche, since that appears to be the direction they’re going in, based on that Faces of Evil: Grundy comic that came out last Wednesday. Anyway, so DiDio’s saying that what the audience wants is that niche filled, and since they can’t get Swamp Thing, Solomon Grundy will do.
And I can see what he’s saying. You’ve got the man stuck in a monster’s body, you’ve got the (sorta) fresh take on the regular DCU as seen though the horror genre filter, and you’ve got a character that’s still firmly in the DCU, and not co-opted by the mature-readers imprint.
But I think the premise established here is wrong. I don’t think the people who want Swamp Thing back in the DCU so that particular character type is present in the shared superhero universe. I think it’s simply because they* like Swamp Thing, and would like to see the character again. Not a similar character, but that specific character. And, if I can explain my personal reasoning, the last couple of Vertigo Swamp Thing series didn’t last very long, and maybe getting the character back in the DCU may help in generating some fresh interest in the character with, you know, crossovers and such. Yes, I want my Swamp Thing versus the Teen Titans comic…what of it?
Not saying I wouldn’t enjoy a good Solomon Grundy comic, though I was a tad annoyed that the Faces of Evil one-shot didn’t have an ending, but a lead-in to the forthcoming series. I still liked it well enough.
But it ain’t no Swamp Thing.
[…] if true, I suppose having Solomon Grundy fill the Swamp Thing role didn’t work out as planned (even though that recent Grundy series was pretty good). Maybe we […]