Swamp Thing Episode 1 Review

First off Swamp Thing is my favorite D/C character. Going into this let us consider a few things . We have had 2 Swamp Thing movies. The first campy as it may have been for the 80s, looking back it is still my second favorite D/C Movie, the first Super Man being number one. Let's say you are going to watch a show on a D/C Comics streaming site. Not mainstream TV. you then might know the premise. As for DC's streaming site,  They have so far produced Teen Titans , which I do not have a great deal of interest in, but will watch in due time and Doom Patrol which 8 episodes in is excellent, maybe the best Super Hero Tv, behind Smallville and Daredevil. So I know they can do it. Production wise the show does well with it's budget and some of the scenes make me feel like I am watching a Stuart Gordon film. But lets me not stray from the crux of the matter here.

If you are DC fan, who at least knows the basics of Swamp Thing. If you are a person with half a brain and not a DC  fan, yet somehow stumbled into their streaming site after Googling Washingtion DC  then dumb as you are, maybe you know when you click on a show called Swamp Thing...THAT ITS A THING FROM A FUCKING SWAMP ! So can someone tell me why do you need to take 45 minutes to explain how this fucking thing got in this fucking swamp? It takes five minutes, Hi I am Alec Holland, there is no need for you to really get that invested in me as a human because I won't be one for long. I am however going to be a Thing from the Swamp having a human experience. We have seen this origin done in the Hulk twice. One they showed us . The second time they did not. The second time was a better movie. We never need to see Bruce Banner hit by Gamma rays again. We never need to see Bruce Wayne's parents get shot again, Nor do we need to see Peter Parker get bit by a radio active spider. It is even more important that we do not see Alec Holland fall into the burning swamp ...ok we can see but oops hello, I am a scientist, I am studying plants in the swamp, shit goes wrong and now I am a THING. Whoever plotted this shit out has shit for fucking brains. Oh, but
we need to make him human so you care about him.Then why was Brendan Fraiser in Doom Patrol before he turned into Robot Man, after his tragic accident. Because they know what they are doing and their writers are not trying to tell the story of a secondary character.  If  I wanted to see a female scientist trying to solve a mystery I would watch CSI, if  I wanted to see a show about a monster super hero from the swamp, I would watch Swamp Thing. 


Abby Arcane is the daughter of the Swamp Things' arch enemy Anton Arcane.  While she is Holland's Lois Lane   We don't need 45 mins of her . Her story could have been better told in 10. Well it's the pilot...well we only have 8 episodes  if that is the pace they are telling this story at we are fucked. Yes I have seen the trailer and know Blue Devil is coming. Yes  I like that it is more horror, But why in the hell waste my time with setting up some disease that is not even in the comics?  Have your disease , but do not waste my time with 45 mins of it. There was the line about the town being special so I hope this is how they are going to work in the Green. The second episode better be less Abby more Swamp Thing. Sure we need her. She falls in the water and gets menaced by UN-men, who we have not gotten a peak of  though I can see where they could be going with it. They better turn this ship around fast as it is a hot mess.     

Another Week in Comics

Ok we are going to hit Marvel First, and lets start with Amazing Spider 681... this is the prelude to the ends of the earth arc with Dr Octopus, and closes the story of Torch and Spidey rescuing the Jamerson boy from a space station invested with Octo-bots, fun read, space adventures normally aren't my thing , save that for the Fantastic Four but for what it was entertaining, While we are are web-shooter how about Venom 14...
This arc wore thin for me ...which is a problem as the Red Hulk was in it, the art did not wow me at all, and the action seemed scatter brained. It leads into Venom's induction into the secret Avengers .
the segue into Avengers Academy...I like this book it has the feel of West Coast Avengers, another gay hero comes out though it seems mainly for publicity, gay is the new black in comics, how large of a demographic is gay readership? My guess is not very.Issue 27 here features a guest spot by the Runaways, I know it's supposed to be a big deal but they have stayed off my radar seemed like a cross between the Power Pack and the New Mutants, even though they left a decent first impression I'm not off base on that assessment.
X-men 26 raises the bar pretty high for a comic book to kick ass, the art and action are both perfect if i was giving stars on something like Comic Book Resources this one would get 5 of 5, this is how to write them kids just like the good ole days.
Wolverine 302 was a mixed bag and it was a stylistic choice with the varied art, and shift in reality perspective, Sabertooth, Mystique and Sliver Samurai all back no wonder it feels like i have read this book before
Now moving on to D/C and starting it off with a book I went from loving to hating Swamp Thing, I hate it because they have taken 7 issues to turn Alec Holland into the Swamp-Thing, ... he turns here but then you never really get the full reveal as they are being so artsy ... give him wings ...uh come on
Detective Comics 7 is a well done Bat-man book, all the way around , great artwork and the Penguin is not one of my favorite Bat-man villians but oh well they worked with the choices they made
Action Comics...by getting the suit back on, and out of his every-man attire I think the book is symbolically taking off, Brainiac makes an appearance will be interested in seeing the rest of Super-man's rogues gallery introduced

up to speed

Ok lots of books to catch you up to speed on, though most of you have more than likely read them by now . Last i got the first installment of the Hulk of Arabia, it moved the back story got a little drawn out , i can appreciate this fleshing out Ross out , but lets not take away from the smashing, the lead up to him squaring off against the secret avengers. Then Mighty Thor 6 , which wrapped up the Galactus confrontation, the sliver surfer Thor fight was maybe 4 panels total and Thor really falls for the to me my board , i mean he is trained with weapons that have a mind of their own so he would anticipate that .
Finally got Aqua-man one , the entire issue was lets get all the ways you wanna make fun of Aqus-msn out of the way , the art was great though .
Swamp thing 2 is an homage to the Alan Moore days , i like how Abbie Arcane came back even if you saw it a mile away.
then i got the final two books of the Hulk vs Dracula fight , while the book was pretty close to being entertaining, the drac vs hulk fight was two panels , i mean an amped up Hulk is going to be no contest , the end was a let down , as they used mesmerism or jedi mind tricks on him to turn him to banner , how many variations of we can't resolve this so turn into Banner can we have ?