Swamp Thing #5

I’ve said this a hundred times this is a great series it is consistent with both art and story and every one should try it out if not buy it is worth it but kids should stay away some of the scenes are horrific. I was really looking forward to reading this as the last issue was the best so far so I hoped this could match it.

Plot

Abby and Alec have stopped in a town to pick up food they walk out of the shop and are attacked by William Arcane. A professor enters a jungle in Brazil and it turns out he is a minion of the Rot he takes control of the tribesmen and goes into the jungle.

Review

This series hasn’t had a lot of action and it doesn’t really need to this book has mainly been character driven as it focuses on Alec and his relationship with Abby and how he has been coping after he came back from the dead while this has been incredibly well written I want a little more action and this issue provides that while not the whole issue is action sequences a good portion of it is. The last issue was spectacular in writing and art so I had really high expectations for this and while it is good it has a few faults but it is a very good read.

One of the interesting parts of this series is the villains it’s not one person it’s a force of nature and it has minions that are the villains that Abby has to face such as Sethe, William and Anton Arcane Alec has to fight against all of these people and a force of nature this isn’t a normal villain you would normally get a villain working for a higher intelligence like Sentinels and Master Mold but with a force of nature it’s much more interesting and the villains as individuals are interesting characters especially Anton Arcane but he doesn’t appear to issue 10. The only of the villains that appears is William Arcane and well he does make for an interesting villain as he is a kid and there is a lot of potential in him. We do also get an unnamed villain in this issue who is the professor what he does is quite surprising and he does make an interesting villain for this series and I hope we see more of him rather than him being a plot device although I have a feeling I know who he is.

This issue is really does advance the Abby and Alec relationship it has been one of the best parts of this series and I love it in this issue. The best aprt of it has been the use of imagery Abby is represented by a Skeleton Girl and Alec a boy of leaves this really comes out in the scenes with both of them to great effect and really adds a nice touch to the issue. I also liked the little scene in the shop with them both deciding what food they want and I love the little attempts Alec makes with Abby to make jokes and cheer her up it was a nice touch and does show that Alec does really like her. These were the best scenes in the issue the dialogue was perfect and the art was so good and reflected the emotion very well.

The action scenes in this issue are good although they end abruptly what I mean is the action flows very well and I like what happens but while it is good to see Alec use his powers them the Rot gives ( he doesn’t turn into Swamp thing just gets some plants to attack). While I understand that this is a show of Alec’s powers it could maybe gone on a little longer and give a satisfying conclusion. The best part of this action sequence is the little bit where we see Alec trying to tap into the green as we get some little panels where a plant is trying to break into a seed it was really nicely drawn and worked very well with the story going on around it.

The cliff-hanger was really good and since I read this in trade you will immediately want to read the next issue to find out how what happens next and the final splash page was very nicely drawn.

Yanick Paquette has already proven he is an excellent artist in previous issues but he outdoes himself here the page layouts the facial expression especially in the scenes between Alec and Abby are beautiful and the horror on the pages is very well drawn.

Verdict

This is still a great issue to an already amazing series the action scene just ends badly that’s all but it really does advance the story and the Alec and Abby relationship even if you don’t buy the series just take a look in the shops and stare at the pages they are utterly gorgeous.

4.5 stars