Swamp Thing: Roots of Terror

Kyle Hotz made this book in the end. All great stories. I must have little short book.

After I read the last of stories in this book, I realized I was holding the Bible for Swamp Thing. Each of the collected stories presents a facet that is essential to understanding the character of Swamp Thing. A protector? A monster? A hopless romantic? I never understood the character more. And to have Len Wein's final work at the end made me realize the legacy and the evolution this character has had. So thank you Wein, for such an icon.Also if you ever were interested in how to write comics the last dozen or so pages go into a few of the scripts used for the stories.

Swamp Thing has always felt like such an underrated hero. I've read his early books and have really enjoyed him. He's certainly atypical. The idea of the green and this monster who is, in some ways, more human than the rest of is highly appealing. The stories in this collection were good but not great. I did really like Talk of the Saints even if it feels like I need to sit in it more and really internalize it.

Excellent collection of Swamp Thing stories. Much more content than I was expecting. Book also includes uncolored inks from Fabok and Capullo's stories, which is an awesome addition for a book this price. A genuine "deluxe" edition

Great reprint and hardbound at a very good price!

ROOTS OF TERROR collects a number of recent Swamp Thing short stories, and unless you're a completist like me, it's likely there's one or two that will be new to you. Breaking it down:"The Talk of the Saints" - Tom King and Jason Fabok's story from SWAMP THING WINTER SPECIAL"Hollow" - Brian Azzarello and Greg Capullo's tale from the Walmart-exclusive SWAMP THING HALLOWEEN HORROR 100-PAGE GIANT"Heart-Shaped Box" - Mark Russell and Frazer Irving's story from YOUNG MONSTERS IN LOVE"The Spread" - Tim Seeley and Kyle Hotz's story from CURSED COMICS CAVALCADE"Spring Awakening" - Len Wein and Kelley Jones - Len's final Swamp Thing story, meant to be the first issue of a new series, originally published in SWAMP THING WINTER SPECIALAs in the WINTER SPECIAL, Wein's final story is presented with finished art and no text, with the prose script in the pages following.As a bonus, this hardcover collection also includes Tom King's script for "Talk of the Saints," as well as a selection of original uncolored pages of Jason Fabok's art; all twelve original uncolored pages from "Hollow" by Greg Capullo and inker Jonathan Glapion, as well as Capullo's original thumbnail breakdowns; Mark Russell's script for "Heart-Shaped Box" along with Frazer Irving's silhouette roughs; and Tim Seeley's one-page pitch for "The Spread," accompanied by Kyle Hotz's raw pencils. Also included is a heartfelt forward by Len Wein's widow Christine Valada, as well as Rebecca Taylor's editor's note, the two-page Len Wein obituary spread, the two-page uncolored Bernie Wrightson tribute (featuring the wraparound cover art from the 60-page giant reprint of SWAMP THING #1-2), and the Len Wein / Wolverine / Swamp Thing pinup by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Joe Prado, and Mark Chiarello, all from the WINTER SPECIAL (though the pencils-only and inks-only versions of this pinup are absent in this volume).That's... quite a lot of bonus content, most of which is appearing here for the first time, so for those who enjoy a peek "under the hood" there's plenty to satisfy here.The book design is quite something; it says a lot that this is being marketed as an all-inclusive "group effort" rather than framing it as the work of one or two big names. The front of the dust jacket features Greg Capullo's art from the HALLOWEEN HORROR special, while the back shows an interior panel from Frazer Irving's "Heart-Shaped Box," and the inside fold a panel of Fabok's from "Talk of the Saints." Furthermore, the actual book cover beneath features detail art from Kelley Jones' unused cover for "Spring Awakening." The interior is well-designed, though I'm still on the fence about the paper; rather than the thicker, slick pages from the WINTER SPECIAL, the interior pages of his hardcover have a lighter, newsprint-like feel similar to the Walmart-exclusive giants. It seems a weird choice for a "Deluxe Edition" hardcover, but the art still looks incredible, and the paper has a softer, pleasant feel to it. Seems like it would tear easily, but it's not like I'm going to kick it around the room. It's a book, it'll be fine.Overall, I'm actually impressed with the amount of extra content they packed into this; it certainly justifies the purchase for someone (like me) who already owns all the individual pieces. My main reason for buying, of course, was to show my support for the character in the hopes of getting a new comic series one of these days. Hopefully DC will get the message.

This collection of Swamp Thing short stories had great art across the board, but the writing was mostly eh."The Talk of Saints" is the best story in this collection (probably why they put it first). It's by Tom King, whose work I've mostly loved, and Jason Fabok, who does solid art in the DC house style. It's pretty sad."Hollow" was by Brian Azzarello and Greg Capullo. This story has the best art in the book with the worst writing. I've enjoyed a lot of what Azzarello's written, but I found the script to be abysmal. A single sentence will be stretched across several boxes/bubbles across a page, which made it a bit annoying to read. Also, I hated how Swamp Thing talked, as it was just unlike how he talks (by classic or modern standards.) But hey, I'd kill to see a full Capullo drawn Swamp Thing series."Heart Shaped Box" is pretty decent overall. Swampy's monologuing was something I could've done with less of, but still good."The Spread" has the second best art in this book. Meh writing, but phemonominal, crazy art.Then, "Spring Awakening" was Len Wein's final Swamp Thing story before he died. Unfortunately, he didn't finish the script, so all we really get are Kelley Jones's pages of art, which I liked, though I'm not a fan of how close Swamp Thing looks to the Hulk in this.They didn't have enough material to justify printing a collected edition of this, so they threw some scripts and sketches in the back, made this a hardcover, and called it a day.Basically, check this out just because of the first story and some of the artwork.

I'm not a Tom King fan. But my favorite character is Swamp Thing and Mr. King knocked a story out of the park. Absolutely brilliant. Decades since I've read one as good. I've read it several times and will read it several more. The other stories are good too, with great art. My only disappointment was that I'd hoped this collection would include more. Swamp Thing's appearance in Superman (Rebirth) and his Wal-mart Giant issues would've made the double dip worth it for me.

Coletânea de histórias do Monstro do Pântano reunidas como forma também de homenagear Len Wein, o cocriador do nosso querido monstro. Pena que as histórias nem sempre são boas. Mas há uma que eu adorei e que vale a aquisição pela poesia e melancolia, que é a história "The Talk of the Saints", que foi indicada ao Eisner. É uma história linda de Tom King e a arte do Jason Fabook é fenomenal. Outro destaque é a última história pensada por Len Wein antes de ele morrer. Em respeito a ele, o desenhista Kelley Jones fez tudo sem balões, quadrinhos mudos. Acontece que só lendo o making of é que dá para entender direitinho a história, que é bem simples. Gosto também da romântica "Heart-shaped Box", escrita por Mark Russell.

Grandes escritores e desenhistas fazem uma série de histórias curtas do Monstro do Pântano no bom e velho estilo de terror clássico.⠀A primeira história com o Monstro e a criança na neve é excelente, tem um final surpreendente e já vale a edição.⠀

A história do Tom King é incrível. Mas é curta. O resto da edição é bem dispensável. Achei cara pelo que contém.

Verhaal en artistiek werk is gewoonweg super.

Unless you love swamp thing don't buy this. Its a few very short stories and tons of unnecessary extras.