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He was originally Alec Holland, a man who was transformed into a "muck encrusted mockery of a man" after an explosion in his laboratory doused him with chemicals. Swamp Thing first appeared in House of Secrets #92 (June-July 1971), depicted in this story as Alex Olsen. Near the beginning of the 20th Century, scientist Alex Olsen is caught in a lab explosion set by his co-worker, Damian Ridge, intended to kill him so that Ridge may gain the hand of Olsen's wife Linda. Olsen is changed by the chemicals and the forces within the swamp into a powerful, monstrous Swamp Thing who kills Ridge before the latter can murder Linda. Unable to make Linda realize his true identity, the Swamp Thing sadly shambles back to his boggy home.
Swamp Thing #1 (1st series, October-November 1972, by Wein and Wrightson) related another origin for the frightfully foliaged character. Scientist Alec Holland, working on a secret restorative formula in the Louisiana swamps that can "make forests out of deserts", is killed by a bomb planted by agents of the mysterious Mr. E, who wants the formula. Splashed with burning chemicals in the massive fire, Holland runs from the lab and falls into the waters of a muck-filled swamp. Some time later, a creature resembling a humanoid plant appears. This creature, called Swamp Thing, possessed the memories, knowledge, and skills of Alec Holland, and believed itself to be him. This assumption was revealed to be false in the 2nd series, #21 "The Anatomy Lesson".
Swamp Thing fought against the evils surrounding him, and sought a means to return himself to his human form, occasionally encountering the mad Dr. Anton Arcane, (who appeared to be killed on several occasions, but was re-built by his Un-Men. Before Alan Moore took over as writer, Arcane had settled into a monstrous half- insect, half- robot body) his nightmarish Un-Men, the Patchwork Man, (a Frankenstein-type assemblage of body parts), even leaving his swamp long enough to battle Batman in issue #7 in what would be one of the few encounters with a traditional DC superhero for the supernatural star of the comic.
During the 1980s, comic book writer Alan Moore used Swamp Thing as the central character of the horror comic book series Saga of the Swamp Thing, which had a profound effect on mainstream comic books. It was the first "horror" comic to approach the genre from an adult-oriented, literate point of view since EC ComicsEntertaining Comics was headed by William Gaines but is better known by its publishing name of EC Comics . The firm was a publisher of comic books specializing in crime, horror, war, and science-fiction from the 1940s through the 1950s. It also published' horror comics of the 1950sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Years: 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb.; and it gave rise to DC's VertigoVertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. It operates under the "Vertigo" name in order to separate itself from the more mainstream, family-friendly DC Comics image. Vertigo publishes stories aimed at a more mature or adul comic book line, which was written with adults in mind and which often contained material unsuitable for children. Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code AuthorityThe Comics Code Authority CCA is an organization founded in 1954 to act as a de facto censor for American comic books. In the 1950s there was public outcry against crime and horror comics. To placate their critics, most of America's major comic book publi and write directly for adults.
Moore broadened the series' scope, retaining its horror roots while using his new concept of Swamp Thing's nature (an entirely nonhuman "plant elemental" created by the Earth itself) to introduce ecological and spiritual concerns. He borrowed many obscure DC characters to create a complex mythology defining the role of magic in the DC UniverseThe DC Universe DCU is the fictional shared setting where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman are well-known fictional superheroes from this universe. The concept of a shared universe in comic, which has since provided the basis for numerous Vertigo titles, notably The SandmanThe Sandman was a comic book series, written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics from 1988 until 1996. It is widely considered one of the most original, sophisticated and artistically ambitious comic book series of the modern age. By the time the se, HellblazerHellblazer is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, which features the misadventures of John Constantine . It is ongoing since the 1980s. The character John Constantine was originally created by Alan Moore, and first appeared, and The Books of MagicThe Books of Magic is a four-issue comic book miniseries written by Neil Gaiman and published by the DC Comics imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, it has also been published in a single-volume collection. In The Books of Magic a teenager is v.
Moore wrote the series for 45 issues and was then replaced by artist Rick Veitch, who continued the story in a roughly similar vein for 24 more issues. Veitch's term ended in a widely publicized creative dispute, when DC refused to publish an issue because of the use of Jesus Christ as a character, despite having previously approved the script. Horror writer Nancy A. Collins scripted the issues for the next year; she brought a familiarity with the setting of the series in South Louisiana.