Reader's Diary #1432- Alan Moore (writer), Stephen Bissette and John Totleben (artists): Saga of the Swamp Thing Book One

You'd never know it from how many Alan Moore comics I've wound up reading, but I don't consider myself a huge fan. I don't usually dislike his work, but I have found him to be self-indulgent at times and always overrated. But, thanks to Scott Snyder I am a fan of Swamp Thing. Of course, anyone who knows anything about the character knows that it is Alan Moore that first made the character such a critical success and so I jumped into the swamp and hoped for the best.

Yes, I am still a fan of Swamp Thing. His stories seem so much more complex and existential and horrific than typical superhero fare. It's odd: these books I don't find particularly scary when I read them, but something about the monstrous images and story lines never ceases to wreak havoc on the primordial parts of my psyche. They give me nightmares, in other words. But if a book touches me like that, I have to respect the hell out of it.

Moore's Swamp Thing plots aren't, overall, as good as Snyder's, but there are a lot of great lines and  he does infuse the creature with complex characterization. Likewise, the art is not as good as Yanick Paquette's work for Snyder, but some of that, admittedly is due to the production value. Moore's work was published on cheaper news print and therefore everything looks flat and the garish 80s colours didn't help. Snyder's book was glossy and rich in colour.