It’s Match 15th and two winners have been chosen at random for the Ides of March giveaway and I’m excited to announce that Mark and Gene won! Mark will receive a copy of West of Sundown #1, seen below, along with Holland Files 1-4. Gene also won issues 1-4 of Holland Files. Thank you to everyone who participated. As always, it’s a blast to interact and get to know fellow Swamp Thing fans.
Hello. I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. It’s cold where we are and I’ve been spending most of my time hunkered down, reformatting rootsoftheswampthing.com and working on Holland Files 7. It’s been slow going but I’m happy with how everything is coming together and I’m excited to share the results with you in the future. Since I haven’t been posting much on the site I thought it’d be fun to hold a giveaway to connect with you all.
The 1st first winner, chosen at random, will receive this copy of West of Sundown #1. The book features a variant cover by The Crow creator, James O’Barr. As you can see it pays homage to Bernie Wrightson’s iconic 1971 cover of House of Secrets 92. Along with receiving the West of Sundown #1 O’Barr variant cover, you will also receive Holland Files 1-4. A second winner’s name will be drawn at random to receive Holland Files 1-4 as well.
All you have to do to enter to win is answer this question in the comments section below: What Swamp Thing collectible have you always wanted or have been looking for? I have duplicates of Swamp Thing books and collectibles that I will be selling and I’d love to make a fellow Swamp Thing fan’s day by passing along some of my Swamp Thing collectibles. I’ll respond to everyone’s response whether the items are available or not.
The 2 winners will be announced on social media and here, March 15th. Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to hearing from you. – John
Last month I was contacted by the University of South Dakota’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. They were interested in my Swamp Thing collection and thought it would be fun if I presented to their program attendees in February. I’m always game to talk about my obsession for muck monsters, organizing, documenting and collecting so I joined them on zoom during lunch yesterday. It made my day and we had a lot of fun. If you missed the live zoom presentation, you’re in luck. It was recorded. My presentation can be viewed on YouTube below:
Thank you so much, Thea and Stacey of USD’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program. I had a blast presenting and connecting with so many wonderful people. If you’d like to learn more about the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program and get involved, please visit their website here: OLLI
Incase you didnt yet get your fill of Swamp Thing in the video above, a new (to me) t-shirt arrived in the mail this week. The shirt was produced exclusively for a Loot Crate bundle back in April 2022. Unfortunately I was unable to find the artist’s name whose illustration is on the shirt. I would like to give them credit. Below are photos.
Below is a Loot Crate promotional photo.
As always, thank you for stopping by. -John
The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special One-Shot – January 2023
Funeral for a Friend variant cover C by Ivan Reis & Danny Miki
Receiving this great variant cover in the mail today reminded me of when DC killed Superman. I was 12 at the time and I recall the excitement of the event at my local comic shop. I also remember a great deal of disappointment. The death of Superman event was a turnoff when I was a kid. I didn’t read another DC book until getting into Swamp Thing in the early 2000s. I know it sounds a bit dramatic but I’m not a fan of Superman because of the death event. Regardless of how great a Superman story is, I still see the character as a logo for DC, and I don’t put much stock into his storylines.
I tell you that none sense to tell you that, Swamp Thing is on this 30th anniversary cover amongst a whole lot of DC characters and I had to get a copy!
Below is a detail of Swamp Thing from the cover.
The 2023 anniversary one-shot variant cover is an homage to Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding‘s poster that was included with the Memorial Collector’s Edition of Superman 75 (1992). The black polybagged comic (below left) came with a trading card, poster, stamps, Daily Planet Obituary & black armband (below right).
Below is the poster that inspired the The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special.
Like the 2023 variant cover, Swamp Thing was also featured amongst the group of DC mourners. He can be seen near the border.
Happy New Year! To ring in 2023 I’m sharing this fantastic shirt by Giant Size VR. The shirt arrived yesterday just in time for the New Year celebration. Giant Size VR is almost sold out of the shirts so be sure to check them out. Below are some images of the t-shirt I ordered but the design is also available in long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts.
Front:
Back:
Front detail, below. The green monotone image on the front of the shirt is by John Totleben. The artwork was originally published in the Vertigo Gallery of Dreams and Nightmares (1995). Totleben’s painting was featured on page 19 of the book. The Swamp Thing painting was done in 1995. I’ve included an image of Totleben’s original painting under the photo of the shirt detail.
Back detail, below.
Continue reading “New Shirt for a New Year”
It’s Christmas Eve and the final day for our 2022 Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar. We’d like to thank everyone who’s been along for the ride. It’s been a wild month of daily posts and calendar reveals.
The calendar housed a mixed bag of toys and accessories but overall they’ve been entertaining. Later in this post I provide a report card for the Fisher Price Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar.
The 1200 cc, 150 horsepower beauty above was behind door #24 and it’s featured on the calendar box top. Batman’s snowmobile is a really fun addition to the figure set. It’s the largest item and the only vehicle in the calendar. Most of the calendar figures fit on the snowmobile.
On day #20, Ryan let me know that the Batman disk found behind door #20 could be launched using other imaginext weapons. Unfortunately the snowmobile is not able to fire coins. Instead, it resembles Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat guitar and that’s fun too.
I was hoping that the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar would end with a bang. I thought doors 23 & 24 would hold some really fun items. I still have hope for door #24.
Need a blue knife in your life? Perhaps blue swords for your horde?
Nothing says Merry Christmas like a blue sword. The handle of the sword reminds me of a cane, which makes me wonder why the Penguin isn’t included in the calendar.
Our son was not thrilled at first, but…
His sinister side emerged. He began to plot.
We think he sharpened the edge and is hiding it up his sleeve like a shiv.
That was a joke. I hope my corny sarcasm shines through. At no point is our son playing with dangerous toys. Photos are staged and taken in a safe manor. Speaking of safe, we hope everyone has a safe travel experience during the holidays. We spent most of yesterday at the airport until leaving for home in sporadic whiteout conditions. Our flight was canceled and our airport closed due to a blizzard. It’s -38 Fahrenheit (wind chill included) today. It looks like we’ll be staying home this Christmas. Today would have been our son’s first airplane ride and he would have met his cousins in South Carolina for the first time. But, it’s easy to stay positive being safe at home and a future trip is already in the works.
Additional sword info: The sword was originally released with the Winter Warrior Santa imaginext figure, pictured below. In looking up info about the sword, I also found that the robe/head piece from day #14 was part of the Warrior Santa figure set as well.
I wish Santa was in this calendar, but since only 8 characters are included, here is the lineup. Flash, Riddler, Cyborg, Batman, Captain Cold, Batgirl, Green Lantern and Swamp Thing. Tune in tomorrow for the last door before Christmas!
It’s December 22nd and it’s time to open door #22 of the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar. Swamp Thing arrived behind door #21 yesterday and I’m not sure anything can top that kind of excitement.
When our son opened door #22, I was thrilled to see what looked like a Swamp Thing accessory.
Swamp Thing looks really great holding the staff but it was originally produced for the imaginext DC Super Friends Flash & Reverse Flash figure set in 2017.
As you can see from the image below, Flash and hsalF have battle staffs. It seems that imaginext created a green staff for 2022 Christmas battles.
Continue reading “Door #22 is a Flash Staff”Oh joyous day! Swamp Thing has arrived and today is more exciting than Christmas. It’s also time to announce the winner of the Swamp Thing Christmas giveaway! Thank you everyone who entered the giveaway and those who visit this site. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to share in my Swamp Thing fandom with you. It’s also been an honor to get to know so many of you outside of the website.
Swamp Thing looks great and I’m excited that the exclusive Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar figure finally arrived! It looks like a coat of Kelly green paint and multi-colored lights were applied to the original Swamp Thing imaginext figure from 2018. The lights are not on a string, but painted along the roots of the figure.
Below is a side by side photo of the 2018 figure vs. the 2022 Christmas version.
Continue reading “#21 Giveaway Day – Swampy Arrived”After yesterday’s surprise in the bathtub we were excited to push through and open door #20. Well, door #20 provided a gold Batman coin and we’re not sure what to do with it.
After the initial excitement that comes with a surprise wore off…
We were left scratching our heads. What is the Batman coin used for? The scene was dramatic as you can see.
My wife and son looked at the box for clues. They thought they found a lead but it was a Goldfish cracker crumb stuck to the box. Of course he ate it.
Door #19 of the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar was opened this evening and everyone was thrilled to see Cyborg. Paired with his hockey stick, he’s ready to play a game and kick ass (based on a number of weapons that are included in the calendar). Like I said in a previous post, I’m not sure why the calendar characters are coming together. I don’t believe a Christmas party was in the works based on the box art but a party is what’s happening at our house.
The party at our house would have been fully photo documented but it got out of control. The party spilled into the bathtub. All of the Imaginext DC Super Friends Calendar figures were invited and my son was thrilled. That lasted for about 20 minutes. The DC Super Friends were then visited by a turd and the bathtub was evacuated.
All of the figures have been disinfected thoroughly and are in good spirits. Just not the kind of spirit you’d typically expect around Christmas. Thank you for stopping by. We’ll see you tomorrow.
It’s December 18th and the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar yields another accessory.
Today, door #18 is for Batgirl.
The blue grappling hook gun looks like a weapon and I’m not sure why Batgirl would need it when battling in a field. Assuming the illustration on the box relates to why she has it, what’s she going to grapple to/with?
It wouldn’t be Winter without cold weather and the season wouldn’t be complete without outdoor activities in the snow. Cue the snowboard!
The Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar has delivered fun toys all month and today’s door #17 was no exception. Our son has been hitting the slopes with the Riddler and there’s no stopping them.
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