Alec Against the Metal, the Grey and Arcane!
Charles Soule has been doing great things on the Swamp Thing title, and this month has continued to deliver another brilliant issue. Though reading this issue left me short of breath and amazed, it also saddened me as it brought me another step closer to the last issue of not just Soule's run, but also of the actual Swamp Thing title. As always, this review may (or may not) contain spoilers.
The War Rages On!
The Machine Queen arc continues in this issue beginning with some awesome fight scenes between The Metal and the team of Alec and Abby. I have to say, even though Alec's power of being able to transfer his consciousness across different bodies has been around a while now, it never ceases to captivate me.
One of the other strong points of this issue has been the teaming up of Alec's most formidable foes since the new 52 kicked off. Lady Weeds has been the main antagonist of much of Soule's run. Even when she was in her human form, she was able to use her vast knowledge of the green to be a thorn in the side of Alec. Now, with her new set of powers, coupled with this knowledge, we see the making of a foe that is powerful enough to take down the avatar of the Green. Not just this, but she has also conspired against Alec by teaming up with Miki and the once almighty Anton Arcane (readers may shudder to recall that suggested orgy scene, talk about repulsive - but it works). The final scene with Anton, in particular, leaves one hell of a cliffhanger that things look bleak for Swamp Thing.
Art
Javier Pina returns as the artist in this issue, and presents a very clean looking book, fitting in well with the concept of The Metal. The various avatars also look quite sharp in this issue, but have look more on the cartoon-ish side this time than in previous issues.
Overall
Soule is determined to go out with a bang before departing, and he's done another fantastic job at it. This issue clearly marks the beginning of the end as we see all the principal actors taking the stage for a final showdown. There's still much to come, and I'll be eagerly awaiting next month's *gulp* penultimate issue.