10 Greatest Horror Comics You NEED To Read

Swamp Thing was created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson and first appeared in House of Secrets #92. In his later series, he was Dr. Alec Holland, a scientist who was working on a rapid-growth formula that would eliminate famine. His lab was set on fire and the burning scientist jumped into the swamp, doused in his formula.

Swamp Thing believed that he was a transformed Alec Holland. He battled the mad scientist Anton Arcane and his increasingly monstrous Uni-Men. For some time, Holland believed that Arcane held the key to changing him back. However, when Alan Moore took over writing duties, he had Swamp Thing killed and dissected by the Sutherland Corporation. They discovered that he was not Alec Holland transformed into a planet monster, but a planet who believed himself to be Alec Holland. Moore introduced street wizard john Constantine who introduced the revived creature to the Parliament of Trees and the Green, which connects all plant life in the world.

The Saga of the Swamp Thing became the first mainstream book to completely abandon the approval from the Comics Code Authority. As such, it could tell more complex and adult stories. It could delve into more mature concepts and could portray more graphic and grounded horror than had been allowed before. Swamp Thing opened the door for the creation of the mature reader Vertigo imprint.