And now, the best use of that “Super Powers” logo ever.

§ December 3rd, 2012 § Filed under hulk, swamp thing § 9 Comments

So you may remember my brief lamentation regarding my girlfriend not spotting any copies of Swamp Thing during her most recent trip to Mexico. To assuage my despair, longtime reader, and resident of Spain, John P. informed me that he had an item or two that might be of interest. And one internationally-shipped package later, BEHOLD:


That is Super Powers #6, a digest-sized comic published in Portugal in 1987. It reprints, in color, issues #29-#31 of Saga of the Swamp Thing from 1984, comprising Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben, and Rick Veitch’s Arcane trilogy. Leaves out the annual that wraps up the storyline, however.

That’s okay, though, as the comic does feature fan art:


That wasn’t bad, I thought. (And before you ask, no, it’s not autographed…that signature is printed on the page.

This next item is the newest of the bunch that John P. was good enough to send – this is the first issue of the New 52 Swamp Thing series, as issued in Spain:


It’s a squarebound book, presenting the first four issues (and cover images) of the Scott Snyder/Yanick Paquette/et al. series, on nice slick paper with no ads (except some house ads inside the covers).

Here’s an earlier La Cosa Del Pantano, dating from 1988:


It’s 48 pages, staplebound, also adless save for house ads and a couple of pages of editorial matter at the back. It reprints Saga of the Swamp Thing #21 (1984), with Moore, Bissette and Totleben’s revision of Swampy’s origin, followed by the first chapter of the Nukeface story from issue #35 (1985).

The fourth and final item John P. sent me was another digest from Portugal, Batman Ano Um #1 (1987):


It reprints, as you might have guessed, or perhaps divined by looking at the scan above, the first chapter of “Batman: Year One” by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, and has as its back-up story the Moore and Shawn McManus story from Saga of the Swamp Thing #28:


There’s also a Marv Wolfman/Don Newton Vigilante story in there, too. An interesting mix of material, I thought. Also of note, there’s a one-page of biography for Batman’s cocreator Bob Kane…and another biography on the facing page for the usually-overlooked Bill Finger.

The Portuguese comics also include this ad for the publisher’s Hulk comic:


…also featuring Sub-Mariner and Rom.

Since my Portuguese is a little rusty, I typed part of this ad into the ol’ Google translator to see what they were saying about our Incredible friend:

“The hate comes up – Hulk loses control

“With terrible nightmares that lead to irreversible abyss of madness, Hulk becomes a savage monster that brutally destroys everything in its path. Read this fantastic story. And much more!”

Also: “Rom the Space Knight” is okay, “Rom, o Cavaleiro do Espaço” is fantástico.

Anyway, a big thanks to John P. for sending these my way. They’re great, and I really appreciate them! The Swamp Thing Shrine grows ever larger.

9 Responses to “And now, the best use of that “Super Powers” logo ever.”

  • Snark Shark says:

    ROM THE FANTASTICO!!!!

  • Bruno says:

    Just a quick correction, those comics in Portuguese were actually published in Brazil, not Portugal, we just imported them from there back in the day.
    And yeah, those digests had such a weird mix of comics sometimes, made for a lot of eclectic fans in both countries!

  • Greg says:

    Seeing these got me thinking about Swamp Thing’s teeth. What are they made of? Does he ever use them, or are they just for looks? How does he keep them so white?

    Mike, I think I’m gonna need an extensive article about Swamp Thing’s teeth.

  • swamp mark says:

    If you say it in a deep spooky voice,”La Cosa Del Pantano” sounds way more badass than “Swamp Thing”.
    There’s one of those “reliable rumours” going around that Snyder is leaving Swampy to work on his new Superman series.Can’t blame him,I guess,but I was hoping to see more than one storyline from him.Twenty issues of Rot and he’s gone.Ah,well.Wouldn’t it be sweet if they replaced him with Len Wein?And then got Wrightson to do the Annual?I’m getting too worked up again.Sorry.Time for a relaxing mudbath.

  • J.W.Rollins says:

    I think Swamp Thing should wear that Super Powers emblem on his forehead all the time. It suits him.

  • Giancarlo Lima says:

    The translation of the Hulk ad is spot on, the issue in question is a reprint of Hulk #300, so you can see how his rage coming back is an special event.

  • Darren H says:

    So in that Super Powers #6, Abby dies at the end. End of story. What a bummer.

  • caleb says:

    What does that translate to, “The Thing of the Swamp”…?

    Also: Awesome.

  • John Parker says:

    How interesting ! I had no idea those digests were printed in Brazil. Glad you enjoyed all the items,Mike and it was nice to see them highlighted here.