Comic Book Arist 1 Spring (1998)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I was quite fortunate and recieved some Swamp Thing related books. I’ve been meaning to find this magazine for a while but a certain somebody found it for me.

The debut issue of Comic Book Artist is full of great content. The book features articles, bios, and interviews spotlighting Neal Adams, Archie Goodwin, Carmine Infantino, Dick Giordano, Marv Wolfman, Jack Kirby and many more. I’m only touching upon the Swamp thing related info in this post but there is a great deal of valuable info and insight throughout the book.

A comprehensive interview with Joe Orlando detailing his start and experience in comics, as an artist and editor. He does indeed mention Swampy but…

the key piece that I’ve been looking forward to reading is the Wein, Wrightson and Orlando interview regarding Swamp Thing’s inception. Wein and Wrightson have similar memories of Swampy’s creation while Orlando recalls a slightly different creative process.

A Tale From The Swamp

The article is comprised of multiple interviews at different points in time. Wein’s interview portion is first

I think it’s so cool that Wein and Wrightson got the wheels rolling at Wolfman’s housewarming party. Along with the explosion, fire, muck and chemicals, Swampy was born from heartbreak and love

Bernie’s portion of the interview comes next. Both Len and Bernie mention the photo references that were used in drawing House of Secrets #92.

I’ve read/heard a few reasons why Wrightson left the series but being bored wasn’t one of them until this article. Seems to make sense though.

Orlando’s interview is the last of the three. He recalls pitching the biorestorative formula concept to Wein. He came up with the idea aftering reading an article in the Atlantic Monthly regarding famine. He also remembers referencing an issue of EC comics that helped to inspire Swamp Thing’s longing and loss, an outsider looking in. I tried to find the EC comic Orlando referred to but no luck.

I love coming across insider info like the information this article/series of interviews has to offer.