Hello and welcome back to rootsoftheswampthing.com
as you may notice, a number of images have been swapped for Photobucket notifications. Photobucket has changed there sharing plans and I’m currently working on setting up a host server to avoid this in the future and from having to pay their overpriced subscription feel. Thank you for your patience
John
The Event 6, volume 4 (1991)
I recently purchased a lot of comic related promo newspapers; a few Comic Shop News and a couple Event papers. Unfortunately Swamp Thing doesn’t appear in any of the other papers except for this, Event 6.
The cover of this entertainment newspaper features a collage of notable comic book charters much like a Comics Buyers Guide. It’s pretty easy to spot the various, notable artist’s work throughout. I was excited to add this paper to my collection because of Bissette’s Swamp Thing in the corner. The artwork -originally appearing in ST series 2- has been used for various DC house ads in the past.
The Event was a free entertainment newspaper focused on all the action going on in Wasatch county, Utah.
Typically the paper doesn’t feature a bunch of funny book characters running wild on the cover. The cover story, “A Brief History of Comic Books” provides an overview of comic book history and delves into the comic craze of the early 90s. Sadly no mention of Swamp Thing but having him on the cover is good enough for me.
I was pleasantly surprised to find this Big Baby strip in the back of the paper. For those unfamiliar with artist and storyteller, Charles Burns, he’s worth checking out and one of my favorites.
An ad for local comic shop, Night Flight which is still open today.
Justice League of America 105 (1973)
Specter in the Shadows!
While looking through a stack of silver age comics I was thrilled to come across this DC house ad toward the back of JLA 105. I had never seen this style of “DC explodes in 73” ad and was happy to see it featured Swamp Thing 4, Monster on the Moors.
Spectre in the Shadows was written by none other than Swamp Thing co-creator, Len Wein. In 2015, the JLA 105 cover was featured on the cover of the Len Wein issue of Alter Ego 135.
Swampy is in good company next to Kamandi.
Comic Book Comics 5 (2011)
Comic Book Comics chronicles the history of comics and in this issue, copyrights and intellectual property is the focus.
There goes the neighborhood…
the book spends some time discussing the wave of great U.K. talent that rose to prominence in the 80s and 90s., along with the hurtles they encountered with their intellectual property. Continue reading “Alec and Moore on tubers”
Amazing Heroes 104 (1986)
Amazing Heroes and their fan submitted art never disappoints in delivering fun parody appearances. Over the years I’ve found a number of great Swampy references and parodies within the pages of Amazing Heroes. This one may be one of my favorites…
On the very last page of the book, Greg Wilcox’s Swamp Thing puts the Green in Green Lantern.
the News section also has a bit about Stephen Bissette’s plans for Swamp Thing 59.
Another key item that made me fall in love with this issue is the oversized reproduction of this Joe Orlando panel from Weird Fantasy 18 (1953). The panel appears in an article relating to great sci-if stories. Al Feldstein & Joe Orlando crafted this tale to comment on the state of bigotry and how now planet is free when shackled by oppression. It’s actually more of a subtle progression than I describe here but it’s an amazing story that I highly recommend.
Early this morning, Bernie Wrightson passed away.
The debut issue of Holland Files -the international Swamp Thing fanzine– has been popping up all around the world! A hundred more books will be shipping out this weekend and that’ll conclude the run of Holland Files #1. I’ve already started organizing a line-up for issue two and am excited to keep the Holland Files fanzine going into the future. In the meantime, thank you for your patience as your Swampy package arrives.
I heard from Casey Lau in Hong Kong (image above) and Joost Bohnen in Amsterdam (image below). They took these great photos of the book with their hometown in the background. Share your copy of Holland Files and I’ll share them with everyone here on the site.
Thank you,
John
From Stan in Tasmania!
From Bryan in Hawaii!
From Rodrigo in Brazil
Continue reading “Holland Files all around the world”
