Swamp Thing Giant #3

Swamp Thing Giant #3
DC Comics/ Walmart Exclusive
April 2019
$4.99 USD
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Joëlle Jones
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Dave Sharpe

"Bog of  Blood Part Two"

Last we saw of our star Swamp Thing, he was searching for his abducted companion Briar in the junkyard lair of the mysterious Ms.Ravenmocker. This installment starts with a high octane action sequence that to be perfectly honest, surprised me a bit. The methods used to illicit mayhem are fairly unique for a Swampy tale. I really enjoyed that.

Briar may have been taken, but she uses that as an opportunity to put the puzzle pieces together. Discovering what's been done to the missing teens from last issue and who Ravenmocker truly is. The origin reveal is a little lackluster, but we are given a wider sense of what her involvement meant and what will be necessary to defeat the Barren. 

Even if like me, you found the reveal to be wonky, it's easily overlooked thanks to the jaw-dropping artwork. I was extremely pleased to see Joëlle Jones had returned to render another installment. One of the lousy things about this Walmart Giant is the vague amount of information about it. Will
Joëlle be back next month? No clue, but I'll tell you what, she could illustrate Swamp Thing preparing taxes for six issues straight and I'd still buy the hell out of it. 

Overall this was yet another well-crafted chapter. It has enough meat on the bone to make you forget it's only twelve pages long. The seeds that were planted in the Halloween Special have been tended to with care and are about to sprout into something sinister. Reprints aside, the main feature is a cool story with stunning visuals that made for a can't miss.

-David Schultz