I could make a tortured Woodrue Morgue joke but only I would think it’s funny.

§ August 24th, 2016 § Filed under swamp thing, this week's comics § 7 Comments

So you Swamp Thing fans out there, of which there are at least one or two I’m pretty sure, should keep a lookout for this edition of the British Canadian horror magazine Rue Morgue:

ruemorgue169
…that’s issue #169, and I normally just get a copy in that shop for a pull list customer, but of course once I saw what was being featured I had to get my mitts on one myself. I like the cover, which of course incorporates Steve Bissette’s cover from Swamp Thing #51. It’s a nice seven-page chunk of the mag in full color, featuring interviews with cocreator Len Wein, artist of the recent mini-series Kelley Jones, and writer of the back half of the New 52 series, Charles Soule. There’s a brief overview of Swampy’s history, and a review of the aforementioned mini. It’s a welome addition to the ol’ Swamp collection.

Checking with my distributor, it appears to be no longer available through them (and any other retailers checking there themselves should note they have a different cover attached to the item information for this issue). However, it appears you can mail order a physical copy from the official site for the magazine, or even get a digital copy, if that’s the way you swing.

And speaking of swinging…er, I mean, of Swamp Thing:

thehellblazer1rb
…there he is, palling around with his old chum John Constantine in the first issue (as opposed to the Rebirth one-shot that came out a month ago…thanks for making me have to explain the “two number ones” thing to every customer, DC) of The Hellblazer, which is different from the other Constantine series called Hellblazer in that there’s a “The” there in the title now.

Inside the comic, Swamp Thing needs John’s help with something-or-other, and the two trade quips and barbs and it kinda feels like the Good Old Days in case you read that previously-noted one-shot and didn’t care for it (as some of my customers expressed to me). There is an odd continuity thing, which…well, to catch you folks up:

1. Lab explodes, and Alec Holland’s burning body plunges into the swamp.

2. The chemicals Alec was working on merge with the swamp and with Alec’s body, and out pops Swamp Thing.

3. Swamp Thing believes he is Alec Holland, mutated by science gone awry.

4. It is revealed that isn’t the case, that Alec did in fact die in the explosion, and the plant elemental that arose used Alec’s memories as a template for itself.

5. That Swamp Thing hangs around for a long time, before eventually going away.

6. Alec is returned from the dead, and this time he actually is turned into Swamp Thing to replace the previous one.

As per what seems to exist in New 52/Rebirth continuity, that Thinks-It’s-Alec-Holland Swamp Thing still happened, and in one issue Actually-Is-Alec-Holland Swamp Thing meets Thinks-It’s-Alec-Holland Swamp Thing. What of the published stories is still in continuity is anyone’s guess, especially since a major thing that happened to a supporting character during the Alan Moore/Bissette/John Totleben era seems to Have Never Happened now.

In The Hellblazer #1, we get a discussion referring to a specific something that happened during the Not-Holland-Swampy’s tenure, with John chiding Current Alec-Swampy for it. Now it could be that maybe Alec-Swampy did a similar thing off-panel and this is the first we’re hearing about it, or that John somehow forgot these are two different Swamp Things, or that the previous Swamp Thing merged with the current Swamp Thing somehow and they’re basically the same being, or it’s a complicated Rebirth re-fiddling with the continuity thing, or this was all explained somewhere and I missed or forgot it because I don’t reread every issue multiple times anymore, or maybe I’m just thinking too much about it.

Anyway, it’s just a very minor point in this issue and only some crazy person who’s been reading Swamp Thing for the better part of four decades and also has a blog would really bring it up.

7 Responses to “I could make a tortured Woodrue Morgue joke but only I would think it’s funny.”

  • I, Warren says:

    Hi Mike,

    Rue Morgue is actually from Toronto, not the UK! Sure, we both have the Queen on our currencies….

  • ADD says:

    I think that’s young Alan Moore weeping behind Swampy, there.

  • Mikester says:

    I, Warren – I swear I knew that. Chalk it up to an aging brain, I guess. Anyway, thanks for the correction…fixed now!

  • Paul Di Filippo says:

    Just blame all REBIRTH continuity problems on Rorshach.

  • Jacob T. Levy says:

    I’ve just reluctantly accepted that there’s no such thing as DC continuity anymore. The DC answer to the question “but did x happen or not?” is always “who cares?” unless x is the Killing Joke.

    I had the same reaction about how the thing mentioned in The Hellblazer didn’t jibe with the world we saw in that weird Wein-Jones mini… and then my brain said “Forget it, Jacob, it’s Chinatown.” Really I think we’ll be better off forgetting that Wein-Jones mini altogether, sad to say.

    I’m not sure it strictly falls within the boundaries of your compulsion, er, hobby, but have a look at the new Section 8 comic. There’s… overlap with your areas of interest.

  • King of the Moon says:

    Everything is Elseworlds now.

  • Dan says:

    You probably already know this, but just in case you don’t – the digital subchannel Heroes & Icons will be running the “Swamp Thing” TV series starting on Saturday September 10.