Written by: Charles Soule
Art by: Jesus Saiz
Publisher: DC
It really is a bummer that just as Charles Soule produces the best single issue of his fairly short career at one company that the other swoops in and gets him to sign an exclusivity contract. Really, that’s an entirely different topic than Swamp Thing’s Future’s End one shot which, as I said, is probably Soule’s best single issue. It may very well be the best single issue of Swamp Thing ever written. That may be a lofty claim to be making, especially considering that the likes of Scott Snyder, Alan Moore, and Brian K Vaughan have written amazing Swamp Thing content. But Soule easily stands with the likes of those three, especially with this particular issue of the series.
Really, this one shot has nothing to do with Future’s End. Sure, it’s obvious that it occurs in the future, as there are two new kingdoms added, in addition to the Green, the Red, the Rot: Machines and Division, each with their own Avatar. This issue is probably the least tied up in the aftermath of the war between the worlds, at least of the ones that I have read. In fact, that event is only mentioned in a single line of dialogue in order to explain a particular plot point. For that reason, this issue feels like it could fit in as a one and done story in the main Swamp thing book, maybe something that comes between one story arc and the next.
Really, this story is a study of why Swamp Thing really is one of the DC Universe’s greatest heroes. The last two pages sum it up perfectly, and going back through the issue, Soule lays the seeds for the ending within the first couple of pages of the book. It’s masterful story telling. But really, there’s far more to this issue than just the story. The themes of heroics and finding one’s humanity transcend this one story that Soule is telling, and yet, it applies especially well to this story. The emotional resonance that the theme has is great, and every other page offers up a moment that resonated heavily with me.
What it comes down to is that Soule just gets Swamp Thing’s character. He understands what makes the character work on every level. He can give fans the surface level stuff that they appreciate, but at the same time, he can dig deep into Swamp Thing’s psyche, and extract the ideas behind the character. It’s for this reason that this issue succeeds at the level that it does. Everything about it works like a fine tuned machine, from the plot, to the characters, to the narration. In fact, the narration is a great change from how Soule normally does narration. Rather than have Alec narrate the story, an omniscient observer narrates the events. The narration is impeccably well written, and a great example of solid story telling.
I guess that what I’m getting at is that this issue of Swamp Thing is pretty much perfect. Sure, there are some minor nitpicks that could be made, but none of them really have any impact on the overall quality of the story. Even if this isn’t the best Swamp Thing issue ever, it definitely has to be up there.
