RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books SWAMP THING immediately after Wrightson, by possible other hands

Wrightson's 10 issue run ended in June 1974. And While writer Len Wein stayed on the series, it must have been an editorial struggle to replace Wrightson after the series had been nominated and won multiple awards each of its 3 years published.

Nestor Redondo was his successor for most of the remaining issues of SWAMP THING's 24-issue run.

But there were other possible choices.
Jim Aparo had done some very nice work on the character in the BRAVE AND THE BOLD issues that guest-featured Swamp Thing (the first being B & B 122, Oct 1975, out 16 months after Wrightson's departure).

Both Wrightson and Redondo did shorter stories in DC's mystery titles, so it was logical to pick Redondo, whose stories were right alongside Wrightson's in HOUSE OF MYSTERY and other DC mystery titles.

Looking through back issues, there are a number of "swamp monster" stories by other artists that closely resemble Swamp Thing in many of these DC mystery issues. That's how Swamp Thing began in the first place by Wein and Wrightson, in HOUSE OF SECRETS 92 in 1971!


One I saw that was a very real possibility as a replacement that never materialized was Arthur Suydam. I saw in an interview that he was offered the assignment but declined it. Possibly because he didn't want to be overshadowed by being Wrightson's replacement, and preferred to go in his own direction.

But I'd recommend two issues from that 1974-1975 era that show what Suydam could have done with the SWAMP THING series.
"Carnival of Dwarves" in HOUSE OF SECRETS 119, May 1974, scripted by Michael Fleischer with full art by Suydam on this 10-page story shows Suydam was artisctically developed and ready for the job at precisely the time Wrightson left the series.
A follow-up story a year later, "Island of Crawling Flesh" in HOUSE OF SECRETS 131, May 1975, emphasizes the point that Suydam would have been an excellent replacement.



Suydam wanted to write his own stories and wasn't getting his way with that at DC and left in 1978, and a few years later was doing his own "Mudwogs" stories for HEAVY METAL and EPIC ILLUSTRATED.

Another possibility (although so far as I know, not considered by the editors at DC) was Alex Nino. Nino has a wild linestyle that would have been a huge departure from Wrightson's style, but one that would be atmospheric and give an equally dynamic visual style to the series.

A story that further convinced me Nino would be a great artist for the SWAMP THING series is one from
UNEXPECTED 152, Nov 1973. In "Dark Secret of the Swamp", a 7-page story written by Fleischer with art by Nino, an escaped convict finds his way to the home of a benign-looking elderly couple, but who have an odd habit of killing strangers, sinking their corpses in the bog, and turning them into mud-covered Swamp-Thingy-looking mud sculptures.

It was also cover-featured on this issue, illustrated by Nick Cardy, so you get to see Cardy's take on the same material. While not my first choice, Cardy would also produce an interesting take on SWAMP THING. And Cardy certainly demonstrated his talent for mystery material, on hundreds of covers throughout that era across DC's entire mystery line, TEEN TITANS and other series.

Another unusual choice would have been Walt Simonson.

Simonson did a few scattered mystery stories for WEIRD WAR 10, WEB OF HORROR 1, a few issues of SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN, SWORD OF SORCERY 4, and closest to SWAMP THING, a visually striking revival of Doctor Fate in FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL 9, Dec 1975.



Years later, Simonson also did a nice treatment of Stephen King's "The Lawnmower Man" in BIZARRE ADVENTURES 29, in 1981.

Coming off his award-winning run on the Manhunter series in DETECTIVE COMICS 437-443 in 1973-1974, SWAMP THING would have been another high-profile series for Simonson, and a really interesting artistic pick.

I'd suggest Michael Kaluta as a possible replacement for Wrightson, given their close association, and Kaluta having actually done ghost art for Wrightson in HOUSE OF SECRETS 92, and in SWAMP THING 9. Kaluta was actually the photo-reference for the villain in HOS 92! (Louise Jones, now Louise Simonson, was the photo-reference for the girl in the story, and the cover image for HOS 92).

But I think that was an impossibility given that Kaluta had just been fired from THE SHADOW series, due to his being super late turning in every issue he did. As I recall, it was Dennis O'Neil who pushed to have him fired.
But you can see a sample of Kaluta's interpretation of Swamp Thing, on his cover for BRAVE & THE BOLD 176, in 1980.

Another impossible dream, a SWAMP THING run by Steranko. But one gets an idea what his SWAMP THING interpretation would be like, from this SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS 1 cover from 1972:



Although Steranko went to the source on this cover, illustrating Theodore Sturgeon's "It". I don't know how that falls in chronology with Golden Age character The Heap, but I believe Sturgeon's character preceded it.

From another Alumni of HOUSE OF MYSTERY and other DC mystery titles, Alfredo Alcala would have been another interesting choice. A number of his anthology stories in the various DC mystery titles could be seen as Swamp Thing stories with a few story elements changed.

You can somewhat see what Alcala would have done from his work on MAN-THING 14, a single issue Alcala penciled and inked (at a glance I'd guess the cover is by Gil Kane/Klaus Janson).
Alcala also did a nice 30-page story in GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING 3 (some day I'll be able to avoid giggling when I write that title!) that also demonstrates a sampling of what Alcala could have produced on SWAMP THING.

Alcala also a decade later inked a number of issues of SWAMP THING during the Alan Moore run, and into Rick Veitch's run that followed it, I like Alcala inking Alcala, but not really on anyone else, with the rare exception of John Buscema, and a few others.
I especially liked Alcala's work on SWAMP THING 45, "Ghost Dance", a great single issue story of the Alan Moore run, about a mansion with countless rooms added on by the surviving widow of a gun manufacturer, to house all the ghosts killed by her family's manufactured guns, and the sound of construction hammers a metaphor sound for the gunfire that made ghosts of them. "The sound of hammers... the sound of hammers must never stop..."

Neal Adams was spread pretty thin in the early 1970's, but it would have been a real treat to see Adams do at least one issue of SWAMP THING.

Adams showed his ability at drawing mystery/horror material in HOUSE OF MYSTERY, in issues 178 "The Game" (Feb 1969), issue 179 "The Widow's Walk" (April 1969), and one of my favorites in 186, "Nightmare" (June 1970).

Other atmospheric mystery stories by Adams include "Secret of the Waiting Graves" in DETECTIVE COMICS 395 (Jan 1970), and "Moon of the Wolf" in BATMAN 255 (April 1974).

The closest to doing SWAMP THING, Adams did 7 pages of a longer "Man-Thing" story in ASTONISHING TALES 12 (June 1972).

Adams also did mystery genre stories in SPECTRE 2-5 (Feb-Aug 1968), in PHANTOM STRANGER 5 (Dec 1969), and in STRANGE ADVENTURES/Deadman 206-216 (Nov 1967-Feb 1969), plus WEIRD WESTERN 12, 13 and 15.
Among other stories that went into the realm of the supernatural in DRACULA LIVES, CONAN, SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN, and TOWER OF SHADOWS for Marvel.
And CREEPY, EERIE and VAMPIRELLA for Warren.

And especially, this Adams cover (a rare thing for Marvel) on FEAR 11:




All demonstrating what Adams could have brought to SWAMP THING.

Another swamp creature by Adams, on the cover of PHANTOM STRANGER 14. A sampling of what Adams might bring if he'd been the regular artist taking over SWAMP THING.

And another!

From MONSTERS UNLEASHED 3, Nov 1973.

I first read this Charlton story back in Oct 1972, "Lure of the Swamp" in HAUNTED issue 8, illustrated by Jack Abel.
And despite that it wasn't on a par with Wrightson or Adams, it was a well told story that stayed in my head and made it hard for me to sleep that night. This creature that lives in the swamp and kills the people you love, drinks their blood, and keeps them in a semi-living state, using them as lures to draw you and your family into the swamp too.

It shows how even creators you don't think of as major talents can do modestly outstanding stories. Creepy stories, at the very least.

So I couldn't help wondering what Jack Abel could do in a Swamp Thing story.

I thought the best of the MAN-THING artists (at least in the 1970's era) was Michael Ploog, who drew MAN-THING 5-11, and GIANT SIZE MAN-THING 1 (a total of 8 issues, all in 1974).

A cool idea I had was that Wrightson could have drawn one issue of MAN-THING, and Ploog could have drawn one issue of SWAMP THING.

The closest to that is when Wrightson drew a 1976 cover for INCREDIBLE HULK 197 that could have doubled as a MAN-THING cover.




Half my dream realized.
Wrightson made the crossover, Ploog did not.

In 1974, Howard Chaykin was still flailing and looking for an artistic identity. One of his early stories was drawing Man-Thing in FEAR 10, Oct 1972 Where Conway(story), Chaykin(pencils) and Morrow(inks) did an improved version of Man-Thing's origin.

• Full story online here.

Among other work of the period by Chaykin were anthology mystery stories for RED CIRCLE SORCERY, some Solomon Kane stories for MARVEL PREMIERE, SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN and other titles, and a few other offerings for DC's mystery titles.
Although most of Chaykin's work was in a more science fiction or pulp direction (such as his "Iron Wulf" stories in WEIRD WORLDS 8-10, and THE SCORPION for Seaboard/Atlas), I was impressed early on at Chaykin's versatility across multiple genres. So I think he would have been as interesting and promising a choice as any other for SWAMP THING. He'd already proven his ability to do the series, having drawn a significant origin story for Marvel's version of the same character in FEAR 10.

Interesting how, between that Man-Thing story and a 'Tec story he did around the same time, Chaykin's style was closer to Wrightson than his own, later, work.

Yeah, Chaykin hung out with Wrightson and other new artists for DC, so that was probably influential on Chaykin's style early on. Bruce Jones said that they all recognized that Wrightson's work was the best and most marketable among them, that they loved Wrightson but also envied him for that. And emulated his work to increase their own marketability.

I think that "Judgement Day" story in DETECTIVE 441 was the first story by Chaykin for DC I read. I think the others were his "Beyond the Farthest Star" backup in TARZAN 216, plus the "Iron Wulf" stories in WEIRD WORLDS 8-10, and SWORD OF SORCERY issues 1-4.

Back issues were hard to come by in those days. I never even knew there was such a thing as a comic retail store until 1978. Up till then it was either mail order for back issues, or sometimes if you were lucky, trading missing back issues from friends.

and




So of my choices, Aparo is the only one of these artists who actually did two full-issue Swamp Thing stories, just not in the regular SWAMP THING series.

Aparo was my choice for replacement artist on many other series, particularly after Kirby's departure on NEW GODS, MISTER MIRACLE, THE DEMON, and KAMANDI. That was the great thing about Aparo's BRAVE AND THE BOLD run, is that you got to see Aparo's vision of many other characters and series, but within the regular B & B series. I don't think any other artist on series like WORLD'S FINEST or DC COMICS PRESENTS ever did it as well, or on so many characters.

So Aparo is the best realized replacement artist for SWAMP THING, having actually done 2 full issues.

Another artist who is, I think, often overlooked and discounted but very creative, is Tom Sutton. Sutton excelled on horror and science fiction anthology stories, much more so than on superhero stuff. His style is at once loose and sketchy, but also ornately detailed and decorative. He was more of a Marvel artist than a DC artist.

But I actually think he did the bulk of his work for Charleton, possibly for the freedom and lack of editorial interference working there allowed. Or possibly because there was just more work in the mystery/anthology and s-f genres he preferred.



From CREEPY 64, August 1974, the story "Autumn at Arkham", Sutton exhibits the hybrid of science and the supernatural that would have made him a good pick as a replacement on SWAMP THING.

Another sampling from Tom Sutton, this offering from GHOSTLY HAUNTS 38, Feb 1974. A color story that again mirrors the atmosphere he could have created in SWAMP THING.

And both this and the previous stories were out in the waning months of Wrightson's period on SWAMP THING, so exactly the same timeframe as Wrightson's final issues, that could have been Sutton's tryout for the job.

More covers by Sutton, demonstrating his horror/mystery ability.

I like this one in particular.

My favorite story by Tom Sutton was an adaptation of Harlan Ellison's "The Discarded" in the 1978 book
THE ILLUSTRATED HARLAN ELLISON, published by Byron Preiss.



I wish I could find it published online. Here are a few sample pages. Basically, a story about mutants thrown off earth in a gigantic orbiting spaceship after a global plague, struggling to retain their dignity and humanity after being transformed into deformed monsters and ostracized. And negotiating with Earth for their return. For me the best story in the book, even over Steranko's adaptation of " 'Repent, Harlequin' said the Ticktockman".
Other stories are:
"Coatoan" with art by Sutton/Alcala (12 pages),
"The Discarded" with full art by Sutton (16 pages),
"Deeper than The Darkness" with airbrushed painted art by Wayne McCloughlin (16 pages),
"'Repent Harlequin' Said the Ticktockman" with art by Steranko (10 pages),
An article showing the covers for Ellison books by artists Leo and Diane Dillon, Ellison's favorite cover artists for his books (6 pages),
"Shattered Like a Glass Goblin" with art by William Stout (11 pages)
"Riding the Dark Train Out" with art by Ralph Reese(8 pages),
and
"I'm Looking For Kadak", a humorous story about Jewish aliens with beautiful painted art by Overton Lloyd (12 pages).

Wow...



...searching online, I see that well over a decade later, Sutton eventually did work on both the Man-Thing and Swamp-Thing series.
Man-thing above, in a 12-issue serial for MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS in the late 1980's.


Sutton also did some Man-Thing stories reasonably close to Wrightson's SWAMP THING run.
In GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING 5, Aug 1975 (11 pages).
And inked MAN THING 13, Jan 1975, over John Buscema (18 pages).


And much later, a nice one-shot Man-Thing backup in MARVEL FANFARE 36, Jan 1988 (10 pages)






Tom Sutton also did some work on the SWAMP THING series, sometime after Veitch left the series, in 1990.

Another artist who would have been a good replacement for Berni Wrightson on SWAMP THING in 1974 would have been another artist contributing to HOUSE OF MYSTERY, by the name of William Payne.

In particular Payne's contributions to HOUSE OF MYSTERY issues 206 and 207 in Sept and Oct 1972.
Here are both complete stories for your reading pleasure:

"Last Ritual, Last Rites", 10 pages, HOUSE OF MYSTERY 207, Oct 1972.
http://www.12comic.com/issue.jsp?id=190227114008eti9&cu=114

"Sentimental Journey", 6 pages, HOUSE OF MYSTERY 206, Sept 1972
http://www.12comic.com/issue.jsp?id=190227114008xd2e&cu=115


Payne has a very unusual page layout, panels that blend together with a surreal and otherworldly effect that lends itself well to stories of the supernatural. With heavy black areas and a lot of fine linework and detail.

He only did about 30 stories, from 1972 up until about 1980, mostly 7 pages or less per issue, for DC mystery and war anthology books. Too bad, he could have contributed enormously to any regular series he might have done for a year or two, such as Phantom Stranger, Deadman, the Demon, Spectre, or possibly even Batman.

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Here's one I ran across in SCARY TALES, vol 2, issue 4, Feb 1976
J. Anderson story, Carlos Vila art, a six-page story.

Again, from roughly the year Wrightson left the series. With more clearly written credits, and better printing, when it was reprinted in issue 15.
( Alhough Carlos Vila's art looks quite a bit to me like the art of Vicente Alcazar. If Alcazar did more than one story in an issue, he would sign the second story "Carlos Pino".
I initially thought this could possibly be an Alcazar/Carlos Pino story. But Carlos Vila is indexed by Comics.org as an entirely different artist.
https://www.comics.org/creator/41598/ Carlos Vila's profile, born in Spain )
(and here's Vicente Alcazar: https://www.comics.org/creator/13463/ , also from Spain.)

But man, does this story look like an audition to do SWAMP THING. And nice pages too.

page 1 https://stendekk.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image133821.jpg?w=1400&h=
page 2 https://stendekk.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image133831.jpg?w=1400&h=
page 3 https://stendekk.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image13384.jpg?w=1400&h=
page 4 https://stendekk.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image133851.jpg?w=1400&h=
page 5 https://stendekk.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image133871.jpg?w=1400&h=
page 6 https://stendekk.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image133881.jpg?w=1400&h=


That's the blog I first found it on.

And here's the full issue elsewhere:

https://readallcomics.com/scary-tales-04/
https://readallcomics.com/scary-tales-15/ (reprinting the same story)

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( enlarged cover image at :
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/m...ale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20170105162043 )

I mentioned this BRAVE AND THE BOLD 176 cover by Michael Kaluta earlier.
I know Kaluta had just been fired in 1974 from his bi-monthly run on THE SHADOW, for his inability to produce that series on time even once after the first issue, and therefore would never have been picked to do another bi-monthly series on SWAMP THING.

But man... how great would it have been to have even a single full issue of SWAMP THING by Kaluta?

This cover gives us some idea of what might have been...