Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 2 (edition 2009)

Now I get it. I wasn't blown away by the first volume, but volume two makes it clear why people rave about Moore's Swamp Thing.

I'm not sure why I liked this volume so much more. Possibly, it just seems more epic and more suited to the adventures of a creature that is an elemental force, rather than merely another action hero. For me, at least, Swamp Thing's physicality should seem almost an afterthought.

Now, I kind of understand where Moore is going. Swamp Thing makes more sense; his supporting characters make more sense. There are even hints of some of his other works, most specifically some of Promethea's inventiveness in "The Rites of Spring". ( )

Ethereal Earth-spirit mysticism at its best, read this and find out where Neil Gaiman stole his entire oeuvre. Mr. Gaiman admits as much in the introduction. ( )

‘How deep ...? How deep ... do you ... need ... to bury ... the past ... before it will stay ... dead?’ (p. 15)
‘The mind vanished ... and the flesh vanished ... but the bones ... remained ...’ (p. 29)

This volume starts with an overture: Neil Gaiman introduces the Swamp Thing with his ‘deliciuos’ comments and summary of the stories.
The Bible is the leitmotif of Love and Death: Creation of the world - Hell (or better Inferno), where the Swamp Thing takes a Dante’s journey - Otherworld (also like aliens, with a funny new language: for instance they called the Swamp Thing also The Mudster=the muddy monster).

Human and Inhuman:
‘Dearest Abigail, your grasp of the inhuman is so limited and shallow.’ (p. 63)

Soul and Afterworld:
‘I ripped her soul from her and it pulsed in my hands, milk white and translucent ... and then I hurled it down into the deepest sewers of the afterworld ... just to hear it screams.’ (p. 84)

People and Stories and World (Who is the creator?):
‘There are people. There are stories. The people think they shape the stories, but the reverse is often closer to the truth.
Stories shape the world. They exist independently of people, ...
The glaciers have their legends. The ocean bed entertains its own romance.’ (p. 101)

Understanding:
‘Misteries are wonders that you can ponder and share. Secrets are a burden to carry alone!’ (p. 166) ( )

Dang, good. Read it in one night when I really needed to do some other stuff. Good....but dark. Don't read it if you don't want to get sad and morose.

The Recorporation plot feels like it was dismissed too quickly, but who doesn't like a good psychedelic sex scene? ( )