There may be some postings about Swamp Thing in the near future.
So I was reading some of the more recent Swamp Thing comics the other evening, for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with Swamp Thing’s theoretical current involvement in the DC Universe which there absolutely isn’t and surely you can’t consider this a spoiler, when I glanced through Vertigo Secret Files and Origins: Swamp Thing (Nov. 2000) and spotted this:
Okay, the obvious bit is that “Holland” in “Abigail Holland” seems to be missing an “L.” Also, the characters’ first appearances (along with Matt Cable and Arcane) are noted as being in Saga of the Swamp Thing, which was the title of the second series which started in the early 1980s, and not the 1970s series where the characters actually first appeared. Also, Abby’s first appearance is given as issue #2, which is incorrect whether Saga of the Swamp Thing or the ’70s Swamp Thing was meant. It’s issue #3 of the original series, which Wikipedia (as of this writing) and some other online sources also get wrong. I mean, I went through that #2 about a half-dozen times just now, and didn’t spot her. Am I overlooking something? (EDIT: Just now fixed the Wiki entry. Let’s see how long it takes before it’s reverted back to the incorrect information!)
Also, I should note, because someone’s gonna say something about it, that #1 of the ’70s series is the first appearance of the Alec Holland version of Swamp Thing, as House of Secrets #92 featured, of course, Alex Olsen. But surely most of you knew that, what with the dozen or so different reprintings of that issue all of you own. I mean, it’s not just me that has them, right? …Right?
Anyway, I really don’t remember noticing those mistakes before, though it has been over a decade since it was released. Much like the terrible Superman art I’ve discussed, did I just gloss over the mistakes at the time, pausing briefly for a quiet sigh? Or am I simply more actively aware of these things now because I’m always looking for stuff to talk about on this here internet thingie? The world may never know.
Also, I completely forgot about my terrible Swamp Thing limerick, so if any of you missed it the first time, there it is again.
Most online sources are totally unreliable. Haven’t looked at Wicked-pedia for five years since they went corrupt and started reverting ALL our edits and wrongfully banning all of us when we resisted or spoke up. Sheesh. Guess it still exists solely for advertising purposes????
Anyway, here’s the correct list (for this site, anyway):
HOS #92 1st Alex Olsen (Swamp Thing), Linda Olsen-Ridge, Damian Ridge.
ST #1: 1st Alec Holland (Swamp Thing), Linda Holland, Matt Cable, Ferrett, Bruno, Unknown Dynamite Man (Constantine???), Mutt, Louisiana Blue, Nathan Ellery (Mr. E.), Ellery’s Ape, Anton Arcane, Un-Men.
ST #2: Lots more Un-Men (including Cranius and Ophidian), DDI Agents, Patchwork Man.
ST #3: Transylvanians, Abby Arcane.
I, for one, welcome all future swamp thing postings.
For good or bad, I’m psyched to see him back on the radar. Maybe they’ll finally finish the trade run.
That Secret Origins issue had a number of continuity errors in it.
I thinks its the Internet that makes people lazy nowadays, not the people writing the content. Was there a lot of info out there back in 2000? (Of course, the editor needs to get slapped when Holand with one L goes by his/her desk.) Whether its Wiki or not, odds are someone will get information from a site that already has it wrong because the info either came from A/the writer’s flawed memory or B/that info is just repeated from another site that was wrong first.
I had to write an essay on Morrison’s Animal Man for a textbook on Graphic Novels. I had to list seven sources and so I had to use the ubernet for several entries. I wrote on index cards and in several cases, the same typo or mistake followed from one site to another.
what was the title of the reprint series that DC did in the late 70s? that reprinted two issues at a time, I believe, so issue #3 of the original series would have been in issue #2 of the reprint series. If those were the issues available in the reference library for whomever collated that data, that could explain the mistake.
Jim might be on to something. The reprints are titled “The Original Swamp Thing Saga” on the covers, so that might be why. The only trouble is that none of them carry issues numbers. They were part of the DC Special Series line, so their numbering ties into that non-series series which I won’t even attempt to explain.