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Swamp Thing (Black & White Edition) #6
Swamp Thing Book 6
- GenresGraphic Novels
80 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1988
About the author
Alan Moore
1,632 books22.4k followersAlan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
October 15, 2013
With the three stories here (a 2-parter and 2 stand-alones) we get a great one, a 24 carat gold classic and one that's a little more pedestrian...
First up, Southern Change/ Strange Fruit is great. Moore tackles racism, in particular the friction between America's past history of slavery and the difficulties that it still raises today. Story and character have to stand up to bear the weight of the social commentary and here is where Moore shows his remarkable skills.
Telling the story through the cast and crew of a slavery-era TV show being shot in a genuine slavery era location (with accompanying ghosts and risen dead) allows us to see the shocking cruelties of the time-period and shoving it into the face of our modern, and possibly inadequate attitudes.
The solid gold classic comes with "Windfall", where we see the effects of Swamp Thing's psychedelic tubers on different people. Like most of Moore's best work, the story works on many levels - it's a beautiful and sad exploration of love, it's a horror-drenched drug trip and it's a mediation on how the beauty, or ugliness of our souls interpret the world around us.
And finally, "Bogeymen" is where the standard slips a little. Maybe it's because I've reached an age where I've seen so much of this stuff, but serial killers are no longer the grim glimpse into darkness that they were when I was, say, 18. Instead, they are just tedious people who don't deserve glorification. Moore's story doesn't glorify murder and it is a well written and drawn slice of horror. But this is still the kind of story that seems really deep and insightful to an adolescent but loses its appeal to those of us who have (finally) grown up.
First up, Southern Change/ Strange Fruit is great. Moore tackles racism, in particular the friction between America's past history of slavery and the difficulties that it still raises today. Story and character have to stand up to bear the weight of the social commentary and here is where Moore shows his remarkable skills.
Telling the story through the cast and crew of a slavery-era TV show being shot in a genuine slavery era location (with accompanying ghosts and risen dead) allows us to see the shocking cruelties of the time-period and shoving it into the face of our modern, and possibly inadequate attitudes.
The solid gold classic comes with "Windfall", where we see the effects of Swamp Thing's psychedelic tubers on different people. Like most of Moore's best work, the story works on many levels - it's a beautiful and sad exploration of love, it's a horror-drenched drug trip and it's a mediation on how the beauty, or ugliness of our souls interpret the world around us.
And finally, "Bogeymen" is where the standard slips a little. Maybe it's because I've reached an age where I've seen so much of this stuff, but serial killers are no longer the grim glimpse into darkness that they were when I was, say, 18. Instead, they are just tedious people who don't deserve glorification. Moore's story doesn't glorify murder and it is a well written and drawn slice of horror. But this is still the kind of story that seems really deep and insightful to an adolescent but loses its appeal to those of us who have (finally) grown up.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review