Swamp Thing - Best Horror Comic Stories Ever

“Swamp Thing”
Originally Published: “House of Secrets”, issue 92, DC Comics, July 1971
Writer: Len Wein
Art: Bernie “Berni” Wrightson
Editor: Joe Orlando
Submitted by: E.M. Tonner
Preface
DC’s “House of Secrets” issue 92 is one of the most valuable horror comics ever published; a near
mint copy today would fetch one thousand dollars. Why? Simply because of the 8-page story that
follows. It was the first appearance of the character Swamp Thing. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
That little 8-page story leads to its own title, “Swamp Thing” which leads to a 1982 Wes Craven
movie (starring Adrienne Barbeau by the way). The movie sparks the resurrection of the character
in comics once again. “Saga of the Swamp Thing” leads to Alan Moore’s debut in American
comics. Alan Moore rocks the entire mythos with issue 21 “The Body”. Sixteen issues later in
issue 37, John Constantine is introduced and later gets his own series, “Hellblazer”, which is still
going. That’s an amazing impact in the world of horror comics.
The art is stunning. Wrightson’s ink work is the best in the business and the angles are perfect.
The slim panels that seem to dissect the creature during his heartbreak and the small silhouette in
the final panel as he shambles away… This is great work. Len Wein also does a fine job of the
narrative, switching from the creature to Linda Olsen Ridge to convey the back-story of love,
jealousy, betrayal, revenge and loss. If Shakespeare were to write ‘Frankenstein’, this would
surely be the abridged version.
Warning:
The following content contains scenes that may be considered the slightest, tiniest bit
frightening. Pretty harmless actually.
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Afterword
This story resonates with us. It’s a story of transformation and love lost on a tragic scale. Again,
the role of ‘monster’ is reversed. It’s obvious that Damian Ridge is the true villain of the tale,
having engineered Alex Holland’s demise and then taking Linda Olsen as a bride. Damian’s final
act of villainy comes as he intends to take Linda’s life, and is strangled by the creature Alex
Holland has become. What’s interesting is that this is not so much a tale of revenge as a tragic
love story. The swamp thing acts to save Linda’s life instead of revenge on Damian Ridge.
While not terribly frightening, “Swamp Thing” must be considered amongst the greatest works of
horror comics ever due to its sheer impact on the field. Beyond the later titles, movies and spinoff characters, Swamp Thing was at the forefront of a new direction of horror comics in the
seventies, the title character. Until the seventies, horror comics had been primarily anthologies
with the ghastly hosts and narrators the only recurring characters. In the seventies, titles such as
‘Swamp Thing’, ‘Man-Thing’, ‘Werewolf By Night’, ‘Tomb of Dracula’ and ‘Ghost Rider’ began
to hit the shelves as the Code relaxed its restrictions on the portrayal of the supernatural.
Little Known Fact:
Louise Simonson was the model Wrightson used for the cover of House of Secrets 92.
Yes, that Louise Simonson.
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Reprinted In:
•
House Of Secrets 92 is reprinted in its entirety in DC Silver Age Classics: House of
Secrets #92. This is where the scan was taken from.
•
Swamp Thing is also reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #9, Roots of the Swamp
Thing #5 and Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis.