Swamp Who?
Animals start dying. Alec Holland is asked for help, but the formerly-dead-but-gotten-better botanist has demons of his own to battle. And there appear to be zombies.
The Good:
- The Villain: It's certainly a very creepy villain, the former Mastodon who has a knack for having people break their own necks. So that's good and it's a sign of great creativity. Also, the fact that you don't see the villain clearly is quite something and adds to his spookiness.
- The Hero: Alec Holland is supposed to be a hero. However, he doesn't feel like it at all. It's nice to see a character who has tremendous power but has little to no altruistic motives as of right now. This makes Holland feel very human. Because, let's be honest, if you had superpowers, you probably wouldn't be Superman. I know I wouldn't.
- The Plants: There's something quite threatening about the plants. This is well established by Holland's monologue about how plant-life is actually very violent.
The Bad:
- Swamp Who?: The book opens with Superman. Then we get to see Batman. Then Aquaman. And then, finally, four pages in, we get to see Alec Holland. You know, the person we're actually hoping to see. The person we've bought the book for. And then, just when it would be time for Alec Holland and his story to get going, Superman shows up again and talks about how he died and how he came back. I did not buy this book to read about Superman. I buy Action Comics and Superman to read about Superman. And Justice League. He has two to three books where he has a prominent role. He doesn't need a fourth. That's actually the same problem the DC of the past has had. Every new book was immediately about the same handful of characters. And a character is only ever established by talking about and/or to other characters who - in turn - are also defined by talking to and/or about other characters. How about letting a character be his own person for a change? Just have an introductory arc and maybe two or three arcs afterwards where you really take the time to establish a character as his own hero?
- Superman: Is it me or does Superman look like some actor? And thus, very, very awkward.
The Verdict:
You could skip this one. The premise appears to be original, there seems to be a general creepiness to the book. But other than that, it's got a very generic superhero-book-vibe to it and it doesn't really stand out.
