Still crossing my fingers for that Hex collection.
So Twitter pal BobH pointed this out to me just the other day…a listing for the forthcoming second Roots of the Swamp Thing hardcover (also on Amazon).
Now this hasn’t turned up in Diamond’s system yet, so I don’t have specific details, but from the description it sounds like it’ll be reprinting the balance of the original 1970s Swamp Thing series past the first thirteen issues presented in volume one. My dream reprint project (as noted here) a reality at last! Finally the rest of those great Nestor Redondo-illustrated issues (plus the oddball Ernie Chan/Fred Carrillo story at the end) presented with (hopefully) decent paper and printing.
Assuming the book just reprints the remaining 11 issues in that original Swamp Thing run, this will be a bit shorter than the previous volume. I don’t have an actual page count yet, but it would be nice if they could include whatever pages exist of the unpublished #25.
Less likely would be the inclusion of the interim Swampy stories between the end of the original series and the 1980s relaunch (which were only six years apart, which seems really weird to me). There weren’t really that many Swamp Thing stories in that period…a couple of Brave and the Bold appearances, the DC Comics Presents, those Challengers of the Unknown guest-starring Swampy and Deadman…. Actually, a third volume reprinting all these together wouldn’t be too bad, though the Challengers stories, while wrapping up a plotline or two from the end of the ’70s Swamp Thing comic, don’t quite have the legendary funnybook cachet of the Wein/Wrightson/Redondo era and are probably way low on the reprint priority list.
As I said at that Trouble with Comics link, maybe this will someday lead to a collection of the Marty Pasko/Tom Yeates collaboration in the early issues of the releaunch. That could also stand being on nice paper under one cover, not to mention the possibility of being discovered by a new audience after populating dollar boxes and whatnot for so long.
I know – it seems crazy that it was only six years. and during that interim, DC did reprint the original Wein/Wrightson issues in their DC Special reprint series – that’s how I read them.
I have a soft spot for those Challenger issues. Not so much for the Swamp Thing element as much as it was such a “gather up lots of cancelled series characters and throw them into one story” situation. Rip Hunter, the Challs, Swamp Thing, Deadman – and all in the very limited 17 story pages that new comics had at that time. It was an attempted epic in 17 page chunks and released bi-monthly. The kids today have no idea how patient we had to be back then as comics readers…
I beg to differ, Jim. today’s kids need the patience to wait for years in some cases for the “epic” they’re reading to end. and even then it usually just leads into the next “epic”. that would have driven me nuts as a kid!
mike…none of the links to Rich Handley’s amazing Swampy site work anymore. any idea how he’s doing?
Mike, I have several pages of Swamp Thing #25, including the cover. If you want scans, let me know!
he does! LOL
Those Challengers issues were reprinted in the recent run of Deadman TPBs so DC are obviously not totally against the concept of reprinting them. Sadly they run over two different volumes of the run just to force people like Mike to buy both.
Buckler & Rubinstien’s Swamp Thing on Challengers 83 always makes me giggle. That lower stomach/gut area is a little odd.
I used to have that CHALLS issue! That CHULTHU-like cave monster just kept popping up!
“Marty Pasko/Tom Yeates”
Those were decent books!