With humanity already on the brink of extinction, the planet takes matters into its own hands to seal the deal. Your Major Spoilers review of Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1 awaits!

SWAMP THING: GREEN HELL #1

Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Doug Mahnke
Colorist: David Baron
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Chris Conroy
Publisher: DC Comics

Previously in Swamp Thing: Green Hell: The Earth is all but done. The last remnants of humanity cling to a mountaintop island lost in endless floodwater.

JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE

Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1 opens with a father and daughter trying to catch some food in their nets, but only get junk. They have a conversation about the mysterious lighthouse and why they should stay away from it. They return to their home, a small village with some of the last remnants of humanity. The village is then visited by a group of thugs who demand resources and knocks around some of the citizens. Elsewhere representatives of The Green, The Black, and The Red come together to discuss rushing the end of humanity so they can start over sooner. Back in the village it’s decided that they should take the fight to the thugs. During the attack on the thugs a monster emerges from the water and starts killing everyone. The monster then appears at the village. The girl from earlier flees to The Lighthouse where she meets two surprising people.

OCCUPYING THE MIDDLE GROUND

DC’s Black Label line seems to bounce between two sides. On one there’s mature and challenging stories, on the other it’s gruesome and adult oriented visuals, but rarely both. Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1 appears to be leaning towards that latter half. In that regard, this book has gore and grisly death in spades which can be enjoyable in it’s own right, but without something better to give it context, it feels gratuitous. There’s nothing wrong with the story, but it’s not really all that interesting either. It boils down to basically a typical monster book where the setting and scenario are largely unimportant. The reveal at the end is a nice sequence that plays out well and it was nice that that reveal wasn’t telegraphed. Also, the cliffhanger that the reveal sets up at the end does promise some intrigue on the horizon.

UNSUNG HEROES

Letterers rarely get any praise, but here there is some notable lettering from Steve Wands. Particularly when we see The Green, The Red, and The Black speaking with each other. Each representative has a unique look that visually portrays their voice better than most lettering does.

BOTTOM LINE: STANDARD AND GRATUITOUS

Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1 left me with a couple questions, but none of them about the actual plot. The biggest one is why exactly was this a Black Label book and does it deserve the higher price tag? For me, no not really. There is some gore here that might push the limits of a normal book, but the plot is basic and inoffensive, without much that sets it apart from anything else. But, it does end on a high point and keeps the door open for better things down the road. 3 out of 5 stars

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