Swamp Thing: New Roots #3: The Imaginary Salvation of Power

If you’ve read the DC Digital First Swamp Thing: New Roots series up to this point, you most likely know what you are getting into by the time the third issue comes around. It’s consistent with it’s enjoyable characterizations and there is just enough depth of plot to keep you coming back. Issue #3 may not convince a new reader to jump into the series but it does push the story in interesting new directions.

My biggest complaint with the second issue was its casual tone and lack of consequences on the overarching narrative with Sunderland Corporation, but this issue completely erases all of those concerns. It’s main focus once again returns on the shady company’s attempts to find Swamp Thing and keep the public out of the situation. This helps to create an exciting scenario where Swamp Thing turns it all entirely upside down. The pacing of the story makes more sense now as the story finds its footing.

Without a doubt the most successful element of this issue is Swampy taking the fight directly to the Sunderland Corporation. It’s a surprising development right when the series needed it, staving off the tendency for series such as this to fall back on reliable tropes in the third issue. The dynamic with the Corp’s board and the fleeting potential of actually stopping Swamp Thing adds tension and urgency to help make the issue more enjoyable.

The narrative decisions really wouldn’t work so well without the fundamental characterizations at play. As I’ve said in the previous reviews, the story may not be the most ground breaking but it succeeds in the basic sense that it’s just a good Swamp Thing comic. This is certainly a no frills book, but that’s okay. Swamp Thing going public and catching Sunderland off-guard is just the type of excitement I am looking for out of this series. Introducing a cult isn’t something that I was expecting, and honestly, it’s the first time I might have questions about Swamp Thing’s motivations if he allows it to truly continue, but only time will tell on that front.

If the story has still left you unsure about whether to start reading or to continue, the artwork alone should be enough to convince you to make the purchase. This is stellar Swamp Thing art. From the horror-influenced panels of him creeping through the swamp cast in heavy shadows to the near-perfect letting from Sharpe, the book is undoubtedly impressive. At just 17 pages, the creative team hits their stride quickly with an issue that feels well rounded on nearly every level.

I’m really enjoying Swamp Thing: New Roots and the third issue shows that it’s not just a fluke. It’s a classic Swampy story that is worth telling and shows that the digital first titles can push the ongoing narrative successfully enough to keep me coming back and purchasing more. Things are heating up quickly with Swamp Thing and Sunderland so it looks like maybe the best is yet to come!