Swamp Thing: New Roots #1: A Deal with Death

In the DC Digital First lineup now available, Swamp Thing: New Roots takes readers into a dark mystery with a classic Swampy vibe pitting him against the Sunderland corporation to once more delve into the consequences of life and death.

As a one-shot, Swamp Thing: New Roots gets the job done. It’s got a strong characterization with Swamp Thing, capturing the inner conflict that often drives his best stories, and the story is just insightful enough to give the issue some depth. It’s not particularly consequential, but in all honesty, that doesn’t seem to be much of a concern with the entire Digital First lineup at DC. Instead, we find a classic character taking on humanity’s dangerous whims that come at the cost of nature, and the creative team seems more than capable of stepping up to the task.

While I wasn’t sure about Russell taking on a casual and quick read Swamp Thing issue, I was very pleased to find an issue with more depth than I expected. Not only that, it’s also cohesive. It doesn’t get lost in trying to be too complex even when the betrayal against Swamp Thing comes to light. Russell has a tight script that is well-paced. Some of the visuals might not be the best ever, but it sure is great to see a consistent Swamp Thing who isn’t afraid to step out of the shadows and into the fight. Marco Santucci and John Halisz have plenty of chances to shine in this issue and they mostly pull it off with a lot of exciting artwork. Who doesn’t want to see Swampy raid a manufacturing depot and burn it to the ground?

Russell’s work can sometimes get a bit wordy, and while it generally works for what this book intends to accomplish, it does put some unique pressure on letterer Jimmy B. Some of the choices for placement were a bit questionable, but it’s not enough to distract too much from the reading experience. The anesthetic works overall, and the result is a book that is really just good fun.

This is a surprisingly well done Swamp Thing book that any fan can jump right into. And at a time when comics are releasing on a very limited basis, if at all, it’s really great to get a solid story with good art for Swamp Thing. Russell and company might not have the best issue ever on their hands, but it’s something that a lot of fans can sit down with and truly enjoy. It’s dark with just the right twist of horror, but still brings an interesting dilemma to the forefront regarding the pursuit of life against the seemingly never-ending forces of death. Don’t miss out on Swamp Thing: New Roots #1, or any of the other DC Digital First titles!