Sometimes I wonder about the first three demoncats.
It’s that weird time between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when all crime is legal, so I’m gonna hold off on Wolverine Talk for a tiny bit. Do I have more to say about Wolverine comics? Oh yes indeedy I do.
I also wanted to remind everyone that I’m looking for your comics industry predictions for 2025! I haven’t been hitting the reminders too hard either here or on social media, so I don’t have much of a turnout yet. Hopefully I’ll get a few more submissions, especially once I start reviewing the predictions from last year…that always seems to goose the numbers.
Now let’s go ahead and wrap up the last couple of inquiries from the most recent Question Time post:
Bob Stec goes this way with
“What is Swamp Thing’s middle name?”
Leonard. Or Bernard. Or both. “Swamp Leonard Bernard Thing, Esq.” So sayeth me, Michael Ricardo Anatoly Sterling!
And wrapping up that Question Time post is demoncat_4, with another Swamp Thing question
“if dc ever finaly mostly as a tie in to james gunn future swamp thing film finaly publishes the infamous swamp thing meets jesus issue swamp thing 88 how many issues will you order for your store and how many for your self.”
That…is an interesting question, actually. The art, by the late Michael Zulli, is pretty much done (judging by some photocopies I may or may not have seen, I admit nothing). And given some of the shenanigans DC has published in the interim (including Preacher, where the main antagonist is, well, God), the relatively reverent Swamp Thing meets Jesus story would hardly cause a ripple now, I think.
At the time the comic was supposed to be published, in the late ’80s, the industry was in the midst of getting more attention from the general public, laying the groundwork for the ’90s boom. That meant more sales and more presence in “real world” media…both good and bad. And DC, with a Bat-movie in hand and possibly more on the way, and with plenty of zealots and blame-placers ready to find simple reasons for their kids being assholes, comics became a real target.
Not saying it doesn’t happen now, but with your comic readership being, on average, about equal to the number of people who read my grocery lists (and stop doing that, you weirdos), the Usual Suspects have moved on to new targets that will get them more publicity. And this planned cover for the issue might have raised an eyebrow or two from the naysayers then:
…I suspect it would fly more under the radar now. (If the story gets mixed in with other reprints in a trade paperback, it’ll definitely slide on by, but let’s contiue assuming a single-issue release.)
Let’s say DC said “okay, the time is nigh for us to finally publish this comic” and they put out a “facsimile” of a comic that never was, Swamp Thing #87, The Tale Too Hot for TV. Who would buy this now, about 35 years on.
Well, if they go with this cover:
…I suspect they’d fly off the shelves, and not just into the hands of elderly Swamp Thing fans, such as myself. So, yeah, I’d probably order a pretty good number of these for the shop.
And speaking of me, as I so rarely do here…how many would I buy? Well, one of each cover, natch…the regular cover, the foil cover, the 1 in 25 variant cover. That would suffice.
And that’s that! I’ll be back to Wolverine Talk next week, probably, and in the meantime…give me more predictions!
Please define “dsskkdsd sdb kkksssdsdddddddcomic”. And have a very happy New Year!
Leaving aside the inherent problems of combining an established superhero-verse with Christian theology, what I’ve seen of Veitch & Zulli’s infamous issue leads me to believe that it’d work much better without any dialogue or narration at all. (Yes, I’m saying that Veitch’s typically overwrought speech is a distraction in this instance.)
I showed my college roommate an issue of Preacher featuring the descendent of Jesus who was cognitively impaired, and he was shocked such a thing was published. Not personally offended, but it was way outside any popular media he’d been exposed to. If the character had appeared on the cover with a blurb stating he was the last son of God, it might have caused a stir. That Swamp Thing cover is so direct and to the point, however, that I think it might have led to the reaction DC feared. That said, I still think it should have been published.
cool of mike to not only answer my swamp thing question if dc ever does publish the infamous issue as rick veitch himself revealed they and have actully been trying to do but also being mentioned as a title of his post i am so honored
There are two precedents to look at when deciding if DC would ever publish this issue of Swamp Thing:
On the positive side, Vertigo did finally publish the unpublished issue of Hellblazer, “Shoot”. Granted, that had a very different reason for DC refusing to publish it than the potential religious controversy.
So, on the negative side, Vertigo decided to refuse to publish the more similar of theme Second Coming by Mark Russell in more recent years.
Which makes me side with the negative in feeling that DC won’t publish that Swamp Thing story.
Given that DC has done so many omnibus books, it has always surprised me that they never published a Rick Veitch Swamp Thing Omnibus. This “never! before! published! story! would slide in nicely there… And even I would buy it…
Oliver:
“Leaving aside the inherent problems of combining an established superhero-verse with Christian theology”
The Spectre has been part of the DCU for 80-odd years. I think that ship sailed a long time ago.
Ben:
“Given that DC has done so many omnibus books, it has always surprised me that they never published a Rick Veitch Swamp Thing Omnibus. This “never! before! published! story! would slide in nicely there… And even I would buy it…”
DC did three trades collecting most of Veitch’s run in the early-to-mid 00s when the trade market was really starting to explode. There was supposed to be a fourth, with #87 finally printed, but DC got cold feet again. This year, they printed a new edition of the beginning of his run. If we’re lucky, it’ll keep going and finish it properly this time.
Ozma G. – it’s like “fnord,” only the special elite can see it!
(Honestly, I think I was leaning on my keys or something while distracted and didn’t notice.)
I think recently publishing the first volume of Swamp Thing by Rick Veitch is leading up to the issue being published if the series continues.
@Mike Loughlin
There’s an old (1966) Michael Moorcock story, “Behold The Man,” where a time traveler goes back to the time of the crucifixion and finds that Jesus of Nazareth is severely cognitively disabled.
If I recall correctly the guy feels compelled to emulate Jesus’ role in the Christ narrative and gets crucified.
If I’m not mistaken (and I could be) the as-conceived SW #87 would have come out near the same time as the outcry over The Last Temptation of Christ and the stink over Pisschrist. I think DC made a bad, but understandable, call.
Demoncats: A Quick Guide
Demoncat 1 – Golden Age
Demoncat 2 – Myron Fass rip-off character riding on the coattails of the original, related in name only
Demoncat 3 – New character with no relation to the first – Drawn by the great (but past their prime) Wally Wood and Mike Sekowsky in a few issues of Adventure Comics in the 70’s
Hope that helps!
Apologies if I have misrepresented any of your history demoncat_4. Congratulations on the name check! : )
@Jon H- thanks for the info. I’ve read very little Moorcock, but I’m curious enough to track that down.
@LouReedRichards- BWAH-HA-HA!
@Mike (Sterling, that is) – I thought the random letters and numbers were what goes through the mind when people have to discuss (ugh) comic book readers.
“What is Swamp Thing’s middle name?”
A.
Swamp A Thing!
“swamp thing 88”
It would be nice to finally finish a story from, what, THIRTY years ago!
“the regular cover, the foil cover, the 1 in 25 variant cover”.
Holographic Ghost of Swamp Thing Cover.
“The Spectre has been part of the DCU for 80-odd years. I think that ship sailed a long time ago”.
True! Spectre serves the Angry, Old Testament God. Also, I… Vampire drank the blood of Christ in an issue of Dr. Fate, or something.
“it’s like “fnord,” only the special elite can see it!”
Well, Fnuck that!
“I’ve read very little Moorcock”.
I’d bet a person would be sensitive about their Little Moorcock.
@ Mike Loughlin
Re: Michael Moorcock, this trailer for “The Final Programme” aka “The Last Days of Man on Earth” looks intriguing. I have been meaning to track the book down. It seems like it would be cool as a graphic novel adaptation, unless it already has been done as a graphic novel.
https://youtu.be/Uemp_RDmgi0?si=w_auZFwpSbTU5N1b
@Sean
I keep meaning to watch that movie, inevitably something happens and I forget all about it. Thanks for the reminder; it looks trippy, pretentious, and ponderous as hell. Sterling Hayden’s beard may make the whole thing worth it though.
The Flop House (one of the best podcasts ever!) covered it with guest Joel MST3K Hodgson. Honestly, probably not one of their very best episodes, but still well worth a listen.
https://www.flophousepodcast.com/2021/04/the-flop-house-episode-340-the-final-programme-with-joel-hodgson-and-matt-mcginnis/
@Sean,
Wow, I haven’t seen that particular slice of ‘70s cheese and/or mindscrewry. Looks like something I’ll enjoy on some level.
Marvel did an adaptaion of BEHOLD THE MAN in the 1970s in Unknown Worlds Of Science Fiction # 6 – nice cover too!
https://www.comics.org/issue/29244/
“https://www.comics.org/issue/29244/”
I had that one. It was just OK, honestly.