Official Swamp Thing Thread

[Movies205]

That's actually what I'm afraid of with Constanteen as well. Say if the movie gets big. Then you have those people that loved the movie going to pick up the comic and say "What the hell? How come the Constantine here is a Brit? Who's blonde? and what's with Chas? He's an old man? And where's the holy shotgun?". Then you might have the DC execs going "Hey, you know what? We can actually sell more copies of Hellblazer if we cancel the current series and make him into what he was like in the movie. And let's make it into a regular DCU title because then he can interact with Superman. Because you know, Superman in the book will sell even more"

Constantine probably could kick Superman's ass since one of Superman's weaknesses is magic Anyway it's never quite clarified though whether Vertigo is a seperate world or not.

 

[John Constantine]

Actually with some of the Vertigo titles (Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Sandman, Books of Magic) I actually do think they take place in the DCU. A darker part of the DCU, but still, they art part of it. In the early Swamp Thing issues, Swamp Thing has collaborated with many heroes in the DC universe (The Demon, Phantom Stranger, Deadman). And there are some issues in Swamp Thing where John Constantine has met up with Batman. And it was John Constantine after-all who brought Swamp Thing to the events in Crisis. I think in later issues, the characters kinda veered away from the DC universe, but in the early stages, they were a part of it.

 

[Movies205]

I'd love to see Constantine put the hurt on Superman, but in a very nonchalant way, nothing too flashly maybe a simple spell or two. That be a cool little contained story arc

 

[John Constantine]

Actually if there was gonna be a DC character Constantine should meet, it should be Batman....again.

I'm not counting the character in Azzarello's run, however, that was basically Bruce Wayne and in which Constantine had an affair with

 

[Movies205]

What? Constantine and Bruce?.... Ew?

 

[John Constantine]

Yeah. In the final Azzarello arc, there was this character called CW Manor. He had this butler called Fredo. And there were scenes in which Constantine and CW got....intimate. That's probably why Azzarello's run should probably be ignored most of the time

But check out this page in which CW gets introduced to his new ward, Tim:

 

[Movies205]

That's freaky So I take it I should avoid Azzarello's Constantine stuff?

 

[John Constantine]

Yeah. It basically acts as a stand-alone story anyways. It's just Azzarello writing what he does best. Except he put John Constantine in it.


The sad thing is, besides Warren Ellis (and even then that was 10 issues), Azzarello's run is the only one that is fully collected at this point. Not even all of Ennis' issues have been collected in TPB form yet.

 

[Movies205]

You know we could just do this chatting on AIM But anyway Constantine seems cool, but when I get to reading him all depends I got some video stuff Anyway you read the Robin/Batgirl cross-over?

 

[DrSpengler]

I just got into Alan Moore's Saga of Swamp Thing stuff. I've read the first two volumes and I've been blown away. The man knows how to write an excellent horror story, and the artwork is fantastic. I also enjoy the occasional appearance of DC characters, setting the book firmly in the DC universe though it seems so incredibly different.

This definately isn't the Swamp Thing I remember. I grew up on the movies, the cartoon and the live action tv series (Anybody remember the Sci-fi Channel's annual Swamp Thing Day?). All of them were goofy and cheesey, hardly what the comic is (violent and disturbing).

I'm going to continue to pick up all the Swamp Thing trades until I run out. Ths was first venture into DC's Vertigo line, it actually inspired me to go pick up the first Sandman TPB (which I has dismissed for years as being too "goth"). I was absolutely impressed by that as well. Swamp Thing may be the best book I'm reading right now, and it's almost 20 years old.

 

[Movies205]

Too bad the new series is no where near as good, truth be told I really liked the first arc of the new series, they should of kept him as writer.

 

[Themanofbat]

Actually with some of the Vertigo titles (Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Sandman, Books of Magic) I actually do think they take place in the DCU. A darker part of the DCU, but still, they art part of it. In the early Swamp Thing issues, Swamp Thing has collaborated with many heroes in the DC universe (The Demon, Phantom Stranger, Deadman). And there are some issues in Swamp Thing where John Constantine has met up with Batman. And it was John Constantine after-all who brought Swamp Thing to the events in Crisis. I think in later issues, the characters kinda veered away from the DC universe, but in the early stages, they were a part of it.

Don't forget Zatanna when she got stoned at Johnny's 40th birthday party.
Swampy even provided the pot.

 

[Themanofbat]

DC ****ed that one good But aren't you canadian, don't canadians speak french? Wouldn't it be no problem for you? Gainman should write some Swamp Thing now and save the book from it's misery

Being in Eastern Canada, I grew up speaking both French & English, so those books weren't a problem for me at all.

Nonetheless, Wheeler's run was terrible and a waste of 3 years of my life.

 

[John Constantine]

Don't forget Zatanna when she got stoned at Johnny's 40th birthday party.
Swampy even provided the pot.

Oh right. Forgot about that

That issue was probably one of my favorite ones. Laughed my ass off when Constantine pissed on the Stranger's shoes

 

[Movies205]

Constantine kicks ass, I've started to read book 3(I'm half-way through it), he such an ******* Favorite story arc so far in when Swamp Thing must travel through the underworld to find his abby's soul

 

[DrSpengler]

Constantine kicks ass, I've started to read book 3(I'm half-way through it), he such an ******* Favorite story arc so far in when Swamp Thing must travel through the underworld to find his abby's soul

Just finished reading that one, myself. Kevin Smith certainly borrowed a lot from that arc when he wrote Quiver, though it's probably just a concidence. The Spectre, the Phantom Stranger, Etrigan, Deadman, all appearing together for the lead character's journey into the afterlife to find a lot soul. But instead of going into Hell, Smith had them go into Heaven. Again, probably just a coincidence, but the exact same handful of characters (save Swamp Thing) doing something similar in different parts of the afterlife.

 

[John Constantine]

Constantine kicks ass, I've started to read book 3(I'm half-way through it), he such an ******* Favorite story arc so far in when Swamp Thing must travel through the underworld to find his abby's soul

I love that tale. Like I said, it's basically a continuation of everything Moore started since issue 21. I mean everything that happened before set that up so well.

 

[Movies205]

Just finished reading that one, myself. Kevin Smith certainly borrowed a lot from that arc when he wrote Quiver, though it's probably just a concidence. The Spectre, the Phantom Stranger, Etrigan, Deadman, all appearing together for the lead character's journey into the afterlife to find a lot soul. But instead of going into Hell, Smith had them go into Heaven. Again, probably just a coincidence, but the exact same handful of characters (save Swamp Thing) doing something similar in different parts of the afterlife.

Though you have to recongize that these characters are used all the time by other people, in the last green arrow arc by Winnick(the one with the demons), Etrigan's alter-ego is in one the issues. Deadman was in Kingdom Come also, these characters are used a lot when talking about the super-natural. The DCU is a rather small universe all considering, I mean there are a lot of smaller characters, but there's a core stable of about I say 50-100 characters, and there used regularly.

 

[Movies205]

I love that tale. Like I said, it's basically a continuation of everything Moore started since issue 21. I mean everything that happened before set that up so well.

I now have an urge to go track donw John Constantine books and read them, the movie best not **** up his character or I'll be pissed I don't really care about the holy shot-gun and the other details, but I mean the core character, and quite frankly I don't know if Keano Reeves can pull off the slick con-man ******* role

 

[John Constantine]

Well even with the look, Alan Moore obviously based John Constantine after Sting. Hell, Alan Moore even said one time his first choice for Constantine would be Sting. You know what WB said? They wanted someone who could act. I don't know why they casted Keanu then

And actually the inclusion of the holy shotgun does go against Constantine's character a bit. It'll kinda be like Batman using guns to mow down villains.

 

[Movies205]

Well even with the look, Alan Moore obviously based John Constantine after Sting. Hell, Alan Moore even said one time his first choice for Constantine would be Sting. You know what WB said? They wanted someone who could act. I don't know why they casted Keanu then

And actually the inclusion of the holy shotgun does go against Constantine's character a bit. It'll kinda be like Batman using guns to mow down villains.

Yeah I know and I was thinking that when I was posting that but you know I'm just kind of hoping they don't **** it up cuz after reading him in Swamp Thing he's just so damn awesome I don't wnat him screwed up Also I read that Moore really didn't care if John Constantine was british but DC said he should be british hence he became british.

 

[John Constantine]

Well to be honest, the John Constantine in the Swamp Thing issues is pretty different from the John Constantine in the Hellblazer issues. In Swamp Thing (mainly when Moore was writing him) he seemed more of a mystery man. He'd always show up and give Alec some cryptic message, and he'd be on his way. In the early issues, particularly by Delano, he's way more haunted, especially by the events of Newcastle and you can definitely see that he's more of an adrenaline junkie. Although Alan Moore created the character, it's actually Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis who actually made Constantine what he is today.

 

[DrSpengler]

Though you have to recongize that these characters are used all the time by other people, in the last green arrow arc by Winnick(the one with the demons), Etrigan's alter-ego is in one the issues. Deadman was in Kingdom Come also, these characters are used a lot when talking about the super-natural. The DCU is a rather small universe all considering, I mean there are a lot of smaller characters, but there's a core stable of about I say 50-100 characters, and there used regularly.

Yeah, I know. Whenever there's something supernatural going on those are the characters that are typically used. It's just that Smith chose to use all of them in a similar fashion during a similar plot.

Swamp Thing goes into Hell to find Abby's soul. First he has Deadman as his guide, then the Phanntom Stranger. The Spectre appears and at first opposes Swamp Thing's entrance into Hell but eventually lets them pass. Then Etrigan shows up as Swamp Thing's guide.

Ollie goes into Heaven to find his own soul. He has the Spectre as his guide, then the Phantom Stranger shows up and at first opposes Ollie's entrace into Heaven but then backs down and lets them pass. Once in Heaven they meet Deadman and send him to stall Etrigan.

Same cast of unearthly characters used in similar ways (though the Spectre and the Phantom Stranger's roles reverse) during a similar plot (instead of soul-searching in Hell, they do it in Heaven).

Though to Smith's credit, Quiver was written excellently. I just got a serious deja-vu feeling when I was reading Swamp Thing: Love and Death.

 

[Movies205]

I neeed to re-read quiver I remember it but I don't remember any of the heaven part except when he(GA Shell) talks to Ollie(Spirit) in heaven

 

[Movies205]

Well to be honest, the John Constantine in the Swamp Thing issues is pretty different from the John Constantine in the Hellblazer issues. In Swamp Thing (mainly when Moore was writing him) he seemed more of a mystery man. He'd always show up and give Alec some cryptic message, and he'd be on his way. In the early issues, particularly by Delano, he's way more haunted, especially by the events of Newcastle and you can definitely see that he's more of an adrenaline junkie. Although Alan Moore created the character, it's actually Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis who actually made Constantine what he is today.

As long as he still an *******, who not too flashy with his powers, and seem to know like a **** load of people then I'm all set