Swamp Thing Giveaway

Published on by Roots of the Swamp Thing

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving and giving is what I plan to do. As a thank you to my readers, those that use RootsOfTheSwampThing.com as a reference tool and those in the Swamp Thing/comics community, I’d like to show my appreciation. To enter to win a box full of Swamp Thing books and collectibles, simply answer the following questions.

What comic book character first ignited your love for comics, why and at what age?

Leave your answer in the comments section below. The entry deadline is November 15th. Spread the word of the giveaway, tell your friends to increase your chances of winning and thank you so much for visiting RootsOfTheSwampThing.com.
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48 thoughts on “Swamp Thing Giveaway”

  1. When I was 7 my dad introduced me to Wolverine,and Wolverine was a character we ended up bonding over. He had a lot of x men and wolverine comics that I got to read,and from there I moved to Batman and Spiderman,and then any comic I could get my hands on.

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  2. When I was 3 years old I saw batman 89 and my life was changed forever. Not long after that I watched return of swamp thing and my mind was blown great movie totally under rated.

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  3. jquinndiaz- Spidey was the first comic I got into at age 8! At first it was just because I liked his powers and the idea of swinging around NYC seemed amazing! But I eventually found the stories and art to be the greatest part of any comic book experience.

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  4. At the age of 3 I saw SPIDER-MAN on a show called the electric company and I was pretty much obsessed with him , so I’m parents and family started buying me spidey comics and the rest is history . I have been reading and collecting Spider-Man ever since. And along the way I discovered all the other awesome heroes like SWAMP THING .

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  5. IG: Maxpower044

    It’s Punisher, I was around 9 and it was because my older brother was taking me to the comic book shop, and I wanted to like what he likes.

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  6. Spider-man was my first love when I was like 6-7 years old. I just thought he was the coolest person ever. I loved how he could shoot webs out of his hands and he always had good jokes.

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  7. I’ve litterally been around comics my entire life because my uncle was an avid collector & he would let me look at his books. He was big into X-Men, Fantastic Four, Batman, Superman …….
    So when I was 8 he took me to Comic Book World and let me buy a comic from the $.25 bin & I got Wolverine #1 (the limited series) because of the way he looked on the cover & I knew my uncle didn’t have this one. I poured through it in a matter of minutes. The next week he bought me the the other three (to complete the series) & showed me his Hulk 181 (that was lost in a flood in 1997) which I read but it wasn’t the same as the series by Frank Miller. I continue to love Wolverine and go back to him from time to time. That’s what got me deep into comics from age 8 (1982 ish until that flood in 1997 when my uncle & dad lost their collections). What got me back into comics heavy was around the time the Watchmen movie came out. I went out & bought the graphic novel on my way home from the theater & now I’m putting my collection back together. I’ve developed a love for most of the DC comics now a days especially in my art & statues. But good old Logan is still my favorite.

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  8. The first comics I ever had were from Lego’s Bionicle series. At age 7 I loved the toys and I got the comics after a subscription to the magazine. I enjoyed the medium because of the combination of words and pictures. I never really got into comics until I was older and read Alan Moore works because I had heard they were supposed to be the pinnacle of the medium. That led me to Swamp Thing at age 16 and from there, an total immersion into comics.

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  9. Nightwing ignited my love for comics aa mad me develop a strong love for comics as a medium for story telling. I was 10 when I went to my local comicshop and picked up nightwing Alfred’s return. That was a wonderful day and that was a dayni developed a overwhelming Passion for DC comics.

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  11. Technically Ninja Turtles was the first comic property that I witnessed due to the cartoons and movies but Swamp Thing was the first ‘comic’ I encountered. Along with the tv show, movies and cartoons, it was the first fleshed out world in got enthralled in for any character. I’d say was around 7 or 8.

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  12. I’ve always liked superhereos as a kid having been exposed to animated TV series, most notably Batman the Animated Series. It wasn’t until I was 19 when I started getting into actual comic books and graphic novels. I started to read Alan Moore books and I happened upon Swamp Thing. This is the point when I discovered my love for actual comic books, not just the shows and movies based on them. The philosophical stance the muck monster takes in situations is something I quickly grew to love. It became more than just text in a speech bubble, it was a fully immersive experience in storytelling.

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  14. When I was 5 (born in 1971) I remember my aunt giving me a bag of comics when I was sick and there were a few Swamp Thing issues (#6 & 8 I think). Swamp Thing was the character that stood out to me. A monster who was the hero. I began collecting comic books around the time Saga of the Swamp Thing #1 came out.

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  15. Instagram: cafeeileen

    The first comic character I fell in love with was Catwoman when I was 4 after seeing Batman Returns. However the first comic character that ignited my love for comics is a bit harder to pin down. I received a free X-Men comic from Pizza Hut when I was 6 and fell in love with the whole team (except Cyclops)! It helped me jump into Jim Lee and Chris Claremonts early 90s reboot and I’ve been an addict ever since! 22 years later and I still have my nose buried in comics.

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  16. I was never into comics until I started working at my LCS, Collector Haven, may it rest in peace. I worked there for about 3 months before I decided that I needed to start collecting something. What I wanted was something I could get from the beginning and being in Arizona, Spawn is an easy title to get because Todd McFarlane lives here. I managed to read the firs 24 issues before I gave up and traded it all back in for credit. This was about 4 months before the New 52 was set to release to I decided to wait it out and start from there, never thinking I’d be collecting anything than new books. Then one day I was alphabetizing long boxes for the store and as I was getting near the end of the “S” section when I came across Swamp Thing. We had plenty of issues from the second series but I didn’t think anything of it, that is until I saw the cover for issue #93. I instantly fell in love with that cover. And after I started digging for more issues I fell in love with every cover from #88 to #100. And then after days of researching the character and finding out he had a New 52 ongoing series about to come out, I knew I needed more. That was 6 years ago when I was 20.

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  17. The ’66 Batman tv series (in later syndication) is what first awakened my enthusiasm for superheroes. But when I started buying comics I quickly gravitated toward the Justice League; to my childhood mind, all those superheroes for the price of one comic was a great deal.

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  18. Instagram username: therealiger Since I can remember, so likely around 2 or 3 i watched batman the animated series. As most people are aware the show was great and made me want to learn more about the characters. I then started to find anything batman related and love it. And kevin conroy’s voice is the voice i hear when reading anything with batman.

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  19. I started reading Batman in the late 80’s as a little kid, right in the midst of Bat-mania. That had a huge impact on me. But in the mid-90’s I discovered Starman. That’s the main reason I still read comics today.

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  20. After first reading watchmen I searched through the Moore library to find more brilliant graphic novels with unique and dark story about the struggle of being a super.

    After some time I saw the new alan moore prints for the saga of the swamp thing not knowing even what it was about, slowly it started to grow on me (no pun intended) next thing I knew I just needed to find an entire run of everything swamp thing, With Alan or not. It was the first time I took comics as a more serious platform for me.

    BTW this contest is awesome.

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  21. I first got into comics because of Spider-Man back when I was maybe 10 years old. My interest was minimal though at that point. Frankly, my fervor for comics began in my mid 20s after reading Watchmen and fully understanding how efficient the comics medium is at conveying narrative, nuance and subtext. Now I chug comics like a boozehound downs cheap beer: incessant and in large quantity.
    Keep up the good work, Roots.
    I’ll keep my fingers crossed about the contest.
    – @mistermatthewterry

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  22. Venom! I was 8 years old and picked up The Enemy Within #1, the one with the glow in the dark cover, off the newsstand at save mart. My first comic book was a man thing issue from the 70s bought at a yard sale not long before that. But that issue of venom is what started a lifelong hobby. @tuffconqueror

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  23. Instagram user: SpaceZamboni – I was born in ’82 and remember having comics since about 4 years old. I had tame stuff like the Walt Disney Comics of the 1980s… probably because my parents thought they would be the most appropriate for my age. But when I moved to Memphis in 1990, I had a friend who was balls deep in the good stuff: Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Punisher, etc. He gave me some of his Nomad and Sgt. Rock comics and I was hooked. My first good comics I got for myself were issues #1 and #2 of the three part Batman Vs Predator series released in 1991. I remember said friend having issues #2 and #3, and we would always trade #1 and #3 back and forth at least once every month.

    Nowadays I don’t really collect comics, but I will always grab any old Swamp Thing comics I found out and about (especially the Alan Moore saga) as well as the New 52 series. I’ve liked Swamp Thing since the 90’s, but in issue #1 of New 52… when Alec Holland explains to Superman that the plant world is the most violent world of them all, but because their vicious atrocities are so slow, we barely notice it… that hit me hard (it’s true, man!) and I fell in love with the series all over again. No other comic has ever done that to me.

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  24. Thankfully I grew up at a time when you could still get comics at your local store. On fridays when my dad would pick me up we would get supplies at Holiday Foods (a local grocery chain). They had a limited but still good selection. I always got Amazing Spiderman, Uncanny Xmen, but Batman was always my favorite!
    You have to bear in mind, this was at time where Saturday morning cartoons were still King and the Batman animated series was without question the high water mark. There were toys galore, and as a only child of divorced parents I got all of them!
    But like a lot of us, I fell out of comics as I grew up. Then one day I listened to Walt Flanagan and Kevin Smith wax poetically about Allan Moore’s Swamp Thing, shortly thereafter I wandered into Barnes and nobles and found the first few volumes of the trade paperbacks.
    I fell in love with the character. Slowly I am filling out my collection. Almost every weekend me and my girlfriend scoure comic book stores buying joy by the issue.

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  25. I was 5 years old. My aunt would take me to the candy store in town once a week.I’d always get a quarter and buy 25 swedish fish. I loved it. One of those trips I walk in and my eyes fixated on a comic in the spinner rack. Incredible Hulk annual #11″ The Day the Earth turned Green!”.The cover had the Hulk holding the planet with other heroes, while small swooping in to stop him. I lost my mind. I was only 5 so I had obviously not grasped reading to perfection but I didn’t need to, as I flipped thru the art told me a story ( in my mind) that was greater than any sensory experience my young brain had ever had. So I begged my aunt for the extra 75 cents to be able to purchase the comic. She bought it and the swedish fish as well.So not only is it a fond memory of my childhood ( page flipping with high fructose corn syrup stuck to my teeth for hours on end) she created a monster. I own multiple copies of this issue now as an adult and despite the market consider them priceless. I intend to pass them on to my son when he is old enough to read (well, at least one of ’em). Hopefully they will provide even half of the happiness that it brought me. If so, that’s a pretty sweet childhood.

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  26. When I was between 5 & 6 years old I used to go on errands with my mother, especially to the grocery store. Our local Piggly Wiggly had a small magazine and comic section and one particular day the comics finally caught my eye. I became transfixed on a cover with a Green Monster on it and the letters H-U-L-K jumping out at me! I sat there in the isle pouring over the pages as my mom went about her shopping. I was so enthralled with this Hero/Monster (was he the good guy?!) and his battle with a certain long blonde hair god of thunder…it was amazing! Finally my mom returned to break the spell. I wanted and begged for the comic so bad…I wanted to take Hulk with me…but she said maybe next time and my hopes were dashed…I made a fuss all the way home. When we arrived and I was helping her to unload the groceries she told me to check in one last bag and magically inside were the Hulk issue I was reading and several other comics! I did not know how she did that but I was hooked for all time and soon Hulk, Spidey, Bat Man, Supes and other heroes, monsters, warriors, and super soldiers were a part of my life for good and it has been an incredible ride.

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  27. I love Aquaman. My love started by reading my dad’s old comics. As a kid I collected a lot of comics. Mostly the Archie TMNT comics. I loved all things comic book really. I have always liked Swamp Thing and Constantine and Dr. Fate as well. But my number one love has to be Aquaman As I have grown I have liked DC a little more than Marvel but I have damn near every 90s Xmen comic there is. Spider-man/Venom was a love of mine too. I mostly just collect everything Aquaman related now. Trying for my own Guinness World Record some day.

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  28. I’m going to tell you guys a really long story when I was a child I grew up in a small town of Trempealeau Wisconsin so I didn’t have any friends my grandfather was my best friend and my grandfather love comic books and this is around the time that Batman the Animated Series came on and I loved Batman the Animated Series so when I was around 6 I got to go to something my grandfather called a a milestone of life and we went to lacrosse Wisconsin and that’s where the Comic book store called River City hobbies where my grandfather pretty much said go get a bunch of books kyle and I did and I got and I still have is Comic Tuesday I got a Batman that you it was the start of nightfall cuz I got I went in the back issues the first appearance of spawn I actually didn’t get to get into Swamp Thing until the new 52 happened because when I was little kid when I was like six years old at the time Swamp Thing was Invertigo Comic and I was not allowed to read vertigo and I was actually still surprised to the state of my grandfather let me pick up spawn but I picked up Batman X Men I did like the more supernatural stuff that was kind of my bread and butter and at the time Batman was doing supernatural stuff which was awesome like this one issue Joker conjured up the demon anyways man comics of been a part of my life since I want to say 19 years and I always picked up myself I like I said what I grew up I got into Swamp Thing it was the new 52 and I love that runs so much and then I read Alan Moore’s run and Len Wein now I’m driving in a little bit deeper but I love that character more than I love Batman I mean Swamp Thing I feel a lot for Swamp Thing I mean is he a man who is a monster or is he a monster who thinks he’s a man and the pure poetry that is in Swamp Thing always gives me coming back from rating it’s also very beautiful anyways I lost track of time my grandfather got me into comic books and I love my grandpa and I thank him everyday I mean granted my grandpa passed away this year but so is life that is my answer

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  29. In March 1990, for some inexplicable reason I suddenly decided I should go buy some comic books. I was 14 years old. My parents drove me to mall in Pierre, SD, and bought my first three comic books at Waldenbooks. I purchased Incredible Hulk #368, Classic X-Men #45, and Superman #42. Of those three comics, the Incredible Hulk most captured my imagination. I had enjoyed the Incredible Hulk television series as a younger child, so I was primed to enjoy the Hulk’s comic book adventures. I think I was most impressed with the artwork by Sam Kieth, who is still my favorite artist.

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  30. The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2 from the early 60s. It featured a story with Dr. Strange
    I read and reread that book until the covers fell off and still read it. Ditko’s artwork drew me in and held me. I was probably 6 or 7.

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  31. My introduction to comics came from television and movies. Specifically, re-runs of the 1966 BATMAN series, SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE and the greatest movie of all times, STAR WARS. I began collecting the Marvel STAR WARS comics when I was five years old. My parents even got me a subscription so I wouldn’t miss an issue. I loved getting my comics in the mail. It made me feel like a big boy! But it wasn’t until BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT that I became serious about collecting comics.

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  32. I was accompanying my mom, as I always did at that age (4), during her running of errands. We hit Osco-Drug in a now-defunct shopping mall, West Park Plaza, in Billings, MT, where I’ve lived most of my life. Knowing we were going there, I was highly anticipating giving my mom ‘the hustle’ for a pack of Star Wars cards. To my dismay, they were out of them, and with a smile, my mom just told me to pick something else out. As a 4-year-old boy, my interest was captivated by numerous things. I perused everything they had till I happened to run a across a dude with a flaming skull on a motorcycle. My mom helped me purchase Ghost Rider #31, and my love for comic books has not waned a bit ever since.

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  33. I found an old copy of Adventure Comics “The Evil Hand of the Luck Lords” in my neighbor’s basement. Totally beat up and ruined but I used to look at it obsessively and draw from it.

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  34. I didn’t have too many comics around when I was growing up. I used to read The Phantom and other short strips in the Sunday newspapers but they were never really long enough to engage my interest. My dad worked as a maintenance guy at a shopping centre for a while when I was about 9 or 10, and he would very occasionally bring home magazines that the newsagent was throwing out – mostly heavy metal music mags, but also a copy of 2000AD that did leave quite an impression. The ‘Button Man’ story was tense, bloody, scary, and with excellent artwork. I didn’t find out how the tale started or ended until many many years later, and it’s a title I now thoroughly recommend. But that still didn’t ignite the collector in me. I had a cousin who had a vast collection of X-Men comics and I read a couple but was more into the cartoons and trading cards as it was a bit of an overwhelming universe to dive into. I had a bit more of an interest in Ninjak – a Valiant Comics title I got in some sort of showbag (a plastic bag full of candy and toys and junk that kids buy at the Australian equivalent of a state fair). I had the first issue of Ninjak and it was violent and action packed, with a cliffhanger that I never did see resolved. I reread this issue many times, and picked up 2 or 3 other Ninjak comics when I saw them, but again it didn’t bring on the full obsessive collector that is so easily awakened within me.

    I had no interest in comics throughout high school, so fastforward to around 2009 and a friend of mine talks to me for about a solid hour about Watchmen and the movie that is about to come out. She convinces me to read it, so I find it and buy it a couple of days later. I love it, and am hungry for more. I remember her telling me at one point about a environmental superhero made out of plants, so I decide to do a bit of research about this online and in local stores. I’m immediately attracted by the Bisette/Totleben art, so decide to read Swamp Thing from the beginning to prepare me for the Moore run and induct me into the DC Universe. The early issues are all fairly enjoyable – the later 70s material less so. I definitely enjoyed bits of the Pasko run, parts of which I found genuinely creepy. But I finally got started on the Moore run and it blew me away – it was intelligent and multilayered, at times horrific, had political messages that resonated with me, and includes a beautiful love story between Abby and a tragic, sensitive monster. I then started getting a hold of anything I could get about Swampy (and also Animal Man after I read the Grant Morrison issues of that title). This was also around the time the New 52 launched. I was probably 27.

    Watchmen definitely seems like a gateway title for many Swamp Thing fans! It was a definitely the point that I realised comics could be for grown-ups.

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  35. I was 7 years old when I first got into comics. It was the typical stuff at first, Batman, Superman, Flash, even some of the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider comics. For me it was an escape, I didn’t have a lot good moments when I was kid, and comics was a good way to forget about the day to day.It wasn’t until the Swamp Thing TV show that I got fully sucked in. It was something that no matter how corny , I could watch with my father every week. It was great to be able to spend time with him. He always worked and this was one of the few things that was just ours. I find it amazing how something that looked like a monster could have the heart of a man. When I read some of the books I could relate a lot to the internal dialog/feelings Swampy had. He was an outcast like myself, but he still wanted to make the world a better place.

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  37. Six or so… Superman/Batman – between the amazing powers and the cool cat, these two were my 1st…
    BUT it was SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING #1 that got me collecting. Instantly loved the character, and couldn’t wait for #2.

    Cheers,
    AC

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  38. I got into comics about a year and a half ago, my friend had always had a long box full of silver and bronze age titles such as Strange Tales. The covers were phenomenal and the I thoroughly enjoyed simply staring at the beautiful colours and striking poses on the covers. At that time and even now still, the conventional superhero, each with their own extensive list of odd powers and obscure abilities didnt really appeal to me, it seemed almost childish. However after being motivated by my friend and The Walking Dead to at least sample some different titles, my opinion changed. I asked him if there were any really weird characters or heroes that he knew of, what he described couldn’t have spoken out to me more, he spoke of a crazy badass mutant swamp creature that essentially went round kicking butt and saving babes in distress. I went to a comic fair, picked up swamp thing 35 and, as they say, the rest is history. The art was phenomenally ingenuitive, the format as well as the compact yet intensely poignant and poetic narration changed my life and outlook as well as appreciation of language and literature. It has only been a year and a half and I am 3 issues away from the full run, madly in love with abby and running out of comic book money.

    Thanks for all your time on this blog, it means a lot!

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  39. For me it was the English comic The Beano. A collection of strips about different characters including Dennis the Menace and Gnasher (my personal favourites at that time) I must have been 7 or 8. Later on it was Eagle that again had a collection of strips but for slightly older readers, from there i was perfectly placed to pick up so many interesting mainstream and slightly more left field books. I was aware of Swampthing for quite a while before reading the Alan Moore run after hearing repeatedly that it was something I should check out from several different sources. I have since passed that same recommendation on to whoever will listen. I also really enjoyed the new 52 ST and have read almost all the back issues from the different era’s and can’t wait for the book to start up again in the new year. Great times for ST fans.

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  40. My brother had a stash of Punisher War Journal comics stashed in his room for some reason and gave them to me when I was 8. I’ve been reading non-stop ever since & was introduced to Swamp Thing via ads in Watchmen tpb

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  41. My brother had some old 90s Spider-Man issues and some Silver Surfer when I was seven. I’ve liked Spidey ever since. I was first introduced to Swamp Thing when I was nine and I always watched the VHS of the old cartoon.

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  43. Hi there!!
    My first was actually Swamp Thing, I was 8 and there was an old second hand book store in my city which looked like the wand store from harry potter. Amongst them I found a few issues of series 2 swamp thing. Those of the cover art of John Totleben. I fell in love straight away as it reminded me of an episode of goosebumps I loved. Later on in adult life I realised they probably got the idea from them. Also one of my fave cult films being creature from the black lagoon I guess the green beamouth type character has always held a great place in my heart. Well now im 24 and check your site/instagram weekly to keep my collection up to date. I’ll read others in the adult range and I love the macarbe/dark themed comics but I guess I wouldn’t have the passion if it wasn’t for house of secrets #92

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  44. A little strange, but wildstorm/image ran a comic called Battle Chasers, I was something like 12 when I found it. I hung out at comic shop my entire childhood, (had no father and few friends so magic the gathering was my best friend,) but I became friends with the owner and the people that hung out there. I found Battle Chasers first for the artwork, but the main girl, Gully was pretty bad ass with her gauntlets of power and what not. From there I was hooked. Fables was my second real love and I followed that gem until the day they called it quits.

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  45. The first comic book character that ignited the love of comics for me was Garfield. I remember having to always wait for my mom at the hospital. I was about 5 or younger. They always had newspapers in the waiting room. I remember scanning through them and then I discovered comic strips and thought to myself why would grown ups have this in boring newspapers. I liked them and always thought they were fun to read. I’m @satanssadist on instagram.

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  46. Star Wars was what lead me to comics. Those first Marvel Star Wars issues were my gateway in, and seeing the ads for other titles lead me to Marvel’s X-Men, which was just then in one of its best and most memorable periods. (This was 1979).

    The first character that I strongly identified with and wanted to read everything about was Kitty Pryde, or Sprite as she was first known, who came on the scene not long after I started reading. The X-Men became like a family to me, and from them, the rest of the Marvel Universe.

    The Teen Titans and The Legion of Super-Heroes were my in to the world of DC. I read and loved Moore’s Swamp Thing run as a teenager.

    I started getting Comics weekly when I was 10, and 36 years later, I still do. I’m MatMutchmr on Instagram.

    Thanks!

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  47. It was Swamp thing. It was the first comic I ever read and caught my attention. It was the new 52 written by Scott Snyder I was 30 years old. I have read all swamp thing comics and it ignited a passion. That has turned into an obsession.

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