weird cover of the week #THIRTEEN

I think I like those old Nestor Redondo covers more than I thought I did, but this particular graphic reminds me of one of my favorite phrases:

"Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal."

You decide.

yowsa ...The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)

I adore movies, and my love for this character quite possibly borders on insanity..
Sooo, while it is a hard film to love, it's even harder to hate..

I've chosen FIVE things I totally enjoyed re-watching this ridiculous little yarn..

FIVE - The suit - he looks pretty good, though I do prefer his 1982 face.

FOUR - Arcane is pretty fun, and much closer to the comic book character. Louis Jordan isn't taking it too serious, and neither should we.

THREE - Un-men. Nuff said..

TWO - Sarah Douglas, though she doesn't do much she is still URSA ...awesome.

ONE - It's a SEQUEL to a SWAMP THING MOVIE!!!
The fact that Wes Craven made one is almost unreal, but that it actually has a SEQUEL - Extraordinary, and there may yet be a third Swampy movie..
I'd like to DIRECT it. In fact, that part of the reason I do this crazy blog ..no joke.

I'd have put Heather Locklear on the list - she is a cutie afterall, but a plant might have turned in a better performance
...yowsa.

A.

Weeerd Cover of the Week #12

Now, this is a strange one.
I'll have to search it out, but Paul Gulacy on Swampy? ...odd choice me thinks..

There are a handful of artists out there I would describe as "detail-oriented" ..very controlled lines..
Including Art Adams, Dave Gibbons, George Perez, and the one I'd've put at the top'd be Mr. Paul Gulacy.
His work is generally precise, and I find these guys have the hardest time with ol' Swampy..
BUT I haven't seen the work(other than this) so I'll have to decide once I find 'em.
The cover above is pretty cool, and a little magazine-y, so it really works, and it's a bit more organic than I'm used to with him - damn good comic artist ...so we will see.

I'll look for The Swamp Thing Movie Portfolio in New York this fall, whilst hunting for awesome creator-interviews to film for my VIDEO BLOGS ...coming soon..

A.

Comic Book Men

Okay, they haven't mentioned Swamp Thing yet, but here's hoping...

It's Kevin Smith's goofy TVshow about the crew/friends populating Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash Comic Book Store - wow, that's a mouthful...
Part podcast/radio and part shoptalk, it features "goldmine" comic finds and some pretty snappy banter..

I love this show, and it's proving to be somewhat inspirational - this, combined with the Fire and Water Podcast will directly inform some work to come - My Show ...mooo hooo ha ha ha ha haaaaa...

It's genuinely funny ...in full nerd embrace ...check it out.

WeIrD cOvEr Of ThE wEeK #eLeVeN

Noteworthy for the fact that it seems to be the single Swampy image in print by legendary UK genius, Brian Bolland..
..and it's not even his whole face ..sheesh..
I no longer have this one, but am finding myself oddly interested in reading it again. It takes place in what I call the "denouement" years after Alan Moore's phenomenal run. This is not to say that everything went downhill, buuuuut I do feel the book never found totally solid footing again.
'Til 2011 that is, but my renewed interest in this single issue stems from it's host of DC Silver/Bronze-Age guest stars..

Including Gorilla Grodd, Monsieur Mallah, The Brain ..and just about every ape character they've got - very cool, gotta reread this one.

Soooo wish Bolland had drawn just one whole issue..
but damn, if that isn't one weird/awesome cover.

Batman and Swamp Thing - BFF?

Our favorite muck-encrusted monster has met all sorts of DC characters over the years - the good, the bad, and the ugly..

but Batman seems to be the go-to guy for ol' Swampy, with many a meeting since the good 'ol seventies:

First Encounter: Swamp Thing #7 - This is one of the Wein/Wrightson issues so it goes without saying that it's a quality book for the pedigree alone, but Swampy's first encounter with Batman is a great jumping-on issue for Bat-fans - you'll love the Dark Knight's depiction, but you'll definitely want to find the six ST issues before this one.
Wicked single issue.

Second: The Brave and the Bold #122 - Fun one, but pretty disposable.

Third: The Brave and the Bold #176 - Another "fun" one, but noteworthy for the fact that Martin Pasko is the writer ...just honing his skills for 1982 when he'd do "Saga". http://theblogfromthebog-swampthing.blogspot.com/2012/01/weird-cover-of-week.html

Fourth: Swamp Thing(SAGA series) #46 - Brief encounter, more to support CRISIS than tell a Swampy/Bats story.

Fifth: Swamp Thing(SAGA series) #53 - Now this is an encounter. Much like BSG in it's first two seasons, we have Swampy and Bats on two sides of one issue - with no obvious solution.

What makes the Batman say "uh-oh"?

I love that panel - with Moore writing and Tottleben drawing, this is a brilliant issue ...and definitely the roughest meeting of the two minds.

LOVE this cover.

Sixth: Swamp Thing(SAGA series) Annual #4 - Interesting story, lacking only for the Bissette/Tottleben superteam(they do one moody broody Batman..), with Swamp Thing helping Batsy - similar to DC Comics Presents #85, when ST helped Superman out of a jam, somewhat anonymously I seem to remember.

Seventh: Swamp Thing(SAGA series) Annual #5 - Batman and Swamp Thing seem to like Annuals quite a bit, or at least hanging out together in them - the extra space I guess..
Weird issue from Neil Gaiman featuring the return of Brother Geek - strange but cool, with a Batman cameo to boot.

Eighth: Batman #522 - Kind of a strange one-off with Killer Croc, Bats and Swampy in the everglades. I like Doug Moench's writing, but the art is the most interesting element - Kelley Jones was one of the few really cool things about 1990s comic books. I'm willing to bet he's a Wrightson fan too..

uh-oh..

Ninth: I predict Batman will make an appearance in The New 52's Swamp Thing before #12 - good bet considering Scott Snyder writes both titles, and gotta say - he's knocking this fan's socks off, but I'll do a post on Mr.SS very soon.

Cheers, A.

Two Swamp Things? ..weird cover of the week #10

Writing was weak by this point, but boyoboy - what a cool cover..
Lots of atmosphere, eh?

I love DC in the seventies ...actually, I just plain love the seventies - film, my life, comic books - the Superfriends and Scooby-Doo..

But most of all, I love Swamp Thing.

AC loves DC - weird cover of the week #9

I do.
Marvel is wonderful, and many of my favorite comic book moments feature the Hulk, Daredevil or Spidey, buuut...
I am a DC guy. Batman and Supes were it for this little kid(though I always felt Webhead rounded out those two nicely) 'til Swampy came along and took the #1 spot - he grows on you, what can I say?

DC was at a real high during the 1980's.
Covers like this one evoke a more naive, but intensely creative period for the company - HIGHS like Watchmen, Ronin, Sandman, The New Teen Titans ...and a certain non-stop award-winning shambling mockery of a man..
Fact is, my young teenager self was more in the comic world than reality..
damn, that cheesy decade was fun.

I always find Swampy looks like some sort of team mascot in these mix-em-up covers, but he fits for some reason  ..weird eh?

A.