The Good
There are many different types of comics. The different genres focus on different areas. SWAMP THING focuses on the story. After six issues, there is still a strange feeling that Swamp Thing is back in the DC Universe. While the story contains fantastical elements, it's far from being a superhero story.
So far, SWAMP THING has been about the story of Alec Holland. Alec was the man who died and seemingly became Swamp Thing. It turned out that wasn't really the case. When he died, the swamp took his essence and the agent of the Parliament of the Trees was born. Now Alec has returned from the dead finding he possesses all the memories of Swamp Thing. In order to protect the Green, Alec must sacrifice his human form, accept his destiny and allow himself to be transformed into Swamp Thing. Because he refused, the Rot now has the upper hand.
Scott Snyder is a man that knows the characters he's writing. You can clearly see he understands and deeply respects the characters. Seeing how he depicts them and where he takes them is what makes this an interesting read and often provides moments of surprise. You can feel the despair pouring off the pages and the Rot moves one step closer to achieving its goals. While the comic doesn't shy away from slightly graphic scenes, there was actually one panel that made me say "Ew." That just adds to the disgust you should feel for the "bad guys" here.
The Bad
At first, William felt like such a creepy and deadly foe. Here, he feels like a smug and bratty kid. That is what he is, in a sense. Marco Rudy's art captures the feel as the Rot makes its move but William doesn't have the creepy look he had before either.
There is a lot that happens in terms of the story but not as much action as we've had. Although there is quite a bit on the last page.
The Verdict
This isn't a Swamp Thing story that we've had before. Scott Snyder continues crafting the story of Alec Holland trying to avoid his destiny while the Rot threatens the existence of the Green as well as the rest of the world. The story is building and you never know what you're going to get. There is a crossover coming up and there is a feeling that we should be seeing appearances by other heroes as the threat gets bigger and bigger, despite the nice self-contained feel to the story. There is a lot happening to move the story forward but there is also a feeling that we don't have a lot of action. What happens at the end should more than make up for it as Snyder sprinkles an extra dose of crazy into the cliffhanger ending. SWAMP THING continues to be in a class by itself month after month.