Is It Good? Swamp Thing #33 Review

Wow, it’s been a really long time since we last looked at an issue of Swamp Thing, isn’t it? That last look was at #25 and so much has changed since then: the Parliament of Trees dying, the Green being solely controlled by Swamp Thing now, new characters, new mythos, and also a crossover with Aquaman. So here we are now…let’s check back in on this title to see how it is going. Is it good?

Swamp Thing #33 (DC Comics)

The Wolf and Lady Weeds have had enough of feeling powerless and less than they used to be, with it all being caused by Alec Holland, Swamp Thing. The Wolf has come up with a plan that’ll essentially defeat Swamp Thing and return them to their rightful positions. Meanwhile, Swamp Thing has to deal with a sudden increase in danger to the Green that may push him to the limits.

Now Swamp Kid, I want you to watch the entire planet for me and contact me if there are any other problems. You can do that right?

Despite not reviewing the series for a while, I have been keeping up with it and honestly, the quality hasn’t really dipped at all since then. Sure, some issues are better than others, but honestly, Swamp Thing is still easily one of the best series that DC is putting out right now. This issue only continues to prove that with a great story that has been building wonderfully since February. Seeing all the pieces come together, the villain’s plan unfolding, all of the creativity from previous issues and now, the characterization and development…it’s really engaging, exciting, and even surprising seeing it all play out. It leaves you wanting more and being excited for the next issue.

The writing here is wonderful as always. The characterization is fantastic, with characters that feel really fleshed out and fully realized. Great dialogue and narration, especially during the scenes with the Wolf and Lady Weeds where they are talking about their plans and describing them (you really buy into believing the Wolf’s plan might actually work). Great pacing and story flow throughout. The book has some rather effective tense moments in it where you are worried for Swamp Thing and the ending is very effective in getting you to want to read more. It does do a bit of telling instead of showing in a few points, but the book manages to balance it out with integrating both together relatively well.

Hands off the tattoo!

The artwork is by Javier Pina and he does a really fantastic job here. The characters look great and are easily identifiable with lots of personality. The layouts are fine and flow well, with even a very well done double page spread towards the middle of the book. Shades and tones are effectively used to bring some of the images to life. The creature design and Swamp Thing himself look very good here, with lots of detail put into each of them. It even gets better when it depicts them during the action scenes, really making some impressive looking images. All in all, the artwork is great.

Is It Good?

Swamp Thing #33 is another fantastic issue of the series, delivering a fantastic story, great characters, and beautiful artwork. There’s very little if anything wrong with this comic and it just continues to prove why it’s one of the best comics from DC out there.