Swamp Thing 1989 #4 Review

 

Swamp Thing 1989 #4 Review

Writer: Rick Veitch

Artist: Tom Mandrake

Colorist: Trish Mulvihill

Letterer: Todd Klein

Cover Artist: Rick Veitch

Editors: Alex Galer & Chris Conroy

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $4.99/$7.99 Foil

Release Date: July 22, 2026

 

Swamp Thing, John Constantine, and Abby Holland are on a journey together. They paved this path with their affection for each other and their desire to wrest good from evil. While Swamp Thing has helped the Son of God, John Constantine has aided God's Vengeance. Now, when their dream should come true, and Abby is at her weakest, the evils from her past resurface. Can John Constantine fly to Abby's aid? And after battling the Roc Riders in the Stone Age, how will Swamp Thing return to the present? Let's leap into Swamp Thing 1989 #4 and see!

 

Story

As he traveled through the multiverse, Swamp Thing witnessed acts of love and the effects of hate. But searching for home has taken a dedication that few could muster. And while he has given up everything to return to Abby, she suffers the agony of childbirth.

 

Rick Veitch begins his story at the end. Abby has given birth to their son. Now, she can finally enjoy a future with Alec Holland and Sprout. Yet like any loving couple, Abby yearns to hear about Alec’s struggle to return to her side and the adventures he enjoyed along the way. As Abby’s husband reflects on his journey, Swamp Thing 1989 #4 returns to the crisis in the bayou, when her uncle and Dr Hubert Sax arose from Hell to menace her once again.

 

As Veitch follows the lovers' long journey toward reunion, this final issue also highlights the horrors that prompted Abby to seek a midwife instead of a hospital. Like all the best love stories, Swamp Thing 1989 #4 culminates with the couple's reunion. Yet Alec and Abby recognize the need to live their lives differently from now on, so they can make a stable home life for their son.

 

Art

As Tom Mandrake opens this swan song to Alec and Abby, the couple inhabit rooms in a tree. Panels show the couple inside their eco-friendly home. Tree roots intertwine around panels, celebrating how Swamp Thing’s determination to return to Abby has finally brought them together. As Tom Mandrake shows Swamp Thing and Abby relaxing, scenes from his travels fill the air above the couple, while their final battle spreads across the bottom.

 

Anton’s greed has reduced him to a rotting, yellow head. He commands an insectile body formed by the yellow faces of doomed souls and the red hatred his benefactor savored. His companion, Dr Hubert Sax, walks naked through the bayou clutching a saw. While suffering the pangs of labor, Abby’s sapphire top and indigo skirt highlight her love for Alec and her desire to heal the world through their child.

 

John Constantine, who made Abby's pregnancy possible, represents all of us in yellow and blue, as he hopes and fears what the future will bring. While Alec Holland’s green appearance underlines his willpower to return to Abby, the orange chunk of amber represents his desire for more than the Source could give him. Yet as Trish Mulvihill lavishes a vibrant palette on Swamp Thing 1989 #4, Anton Arcane attacks, spearing Abby’s friends with his red, bug-like limbs.

 

Todd Klein places black uppercase letters in white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Anton's red words appear in black balloons. Like the chunk of amber that has plagued his travels, Swamp Thing's dialogue appears in orange polygons. The letters grow bold with intonation, while words swell with volume and deform balloons. Sound effects accentuate Swamp Thing’s bravery and herald a visitor, as laughter rings through the cosmos. After Rich Handley’s introductory essay sets the issue in context, Rick Veitch reflects on finally bringing Alec and Abby’s epic ending to readers. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

Relationships take hard work. And getting along with others necessitates restraining your emotions and desires. While Anton Arcane and Dr Hubert Sax's search for power ruined their futures, Alec Holland and Abby Arcane's love for others finally allows them to enjoy the happily ever after they desire in Swamp Thing 1989 #4.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Swamp Thing 1989 #4.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Swamp Thing 1989 #3. 

For what happened before that, see my review of Swamp Thing 1989 #2.

For how this series resumed, see my review of Swamp Thing 1989 #1. 

 

Swamp Thing 1989 #3 Review

 

Swamp Thing 1989 #3 Review

Writer: Rick Veitch

Artist: Tom Mandrake

Colorist: Trish Mulvihill

Letterer: Todd Klein

Cover Artist: Rick Veitch

Editors: Alex Galer & Chris Conroy

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $4.99/$7.99 Foil

Release Date: June 24, 2026

 

While exploring the wonders of the multiverse, Swamp Thing yearns to return to his beloved Abby. But when three Magi summon a demon, Swamp Thing follows the disturbance in the time stream to Israel 2000 years ago. After preventing Belial's efforts to subvert Earth's history, Swamp Thing once again gets drawn into Earth's past. But along the way, he encounters someone who can carry a message home.

 

When John Constantine receives a dire summons, he abandons his home in London to visit King Arthur's birthplace along the rugged Cornwall coast. There, he meets a knight who arrived on a flying horse. Are Sir Justin's suspicions about Swamp Thing's inability to return correct? And as the momentous event draws nigh, can her friends in the bayou help Abby deliver Swamp Thing's child? Let's leap into Swamp Thing 1989 #3 and see!

 

Story

Many seek to reach the Source. Yet Swamp Thing is chosen. He may stand before it as a stranger. Still, the Source greets him as a friend. And when it senses Swamp Thing's pain, it counsels him. The Source urges him to push past all the concerns that make him Alec Holland and seek the Still Point that binds all of reality together. Then, the Source asks if he would like to remain here, connected to all life, all time, and all places.

 

As Alec ponders his future, Rick Veitch weaves John Constantine into Swamp Thing 1989 #3. Just as Alec yearns to return to Abby, John seeks to help his friend. So, he touches base with Jim Corrigan, hoping the Spectre can help John achieve what Sir Justin proclaimed impossible. And as the supernatural investigator seeks to rescue a friend who has traveled back to before time began, Anton Arcane seeks to leave another realm from which escape should be impossible.

 

As Alec Holland, John Constantine, and Anton Arcane embark on journeys, all roads lead to Abby Holland. Having seen Dr Hubert Sax exploit his position to corrupt the healing arts, Abby has eschewed modern birthing methods for a midwife in the Bayou. As she struggles against the pain, Abby knows the magnitude of what she is attempting. Yet Livie is not the only one who senses the dangers swirling around the unborn child. As they ponder the mysteries of the universe and the Human heart, danger threatens all the scattered protagonists in Swamp Thing 1989 #3.

 

Art

As Swamp Thing stands on a rocky plain, a hand traces words on a black stone slab. Swamp Thing sits cross-legged, his eyes shut as he pictures his recent travels through the infinite worlds filling the multiverse. When the hand reaches out, touching his chest, seven wheels overlay his body. And before Alec vanishes, the Eye of Horus appears on the stone.

 

As Tom Mandrake propels readers on this cosmic journey, Trish Mulvihill pays homage to the four-color era in Swamp Thing 1989 #3. The Avatar of the Green stands beneath a sky streaked with violet and indigo, while the stone glows violet and orange when an orange hand inscribes yellow letters. As Swamp Thing's thoughts revolve around love, yellow, orange, and red dominate a chamber dedicated to hatred and misery. As John Constantine seeks to aid his friend, a yellow coat and blue slacks signal his fears of failure and his hopes for success.

 

Todd Klein places black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons. Swamp Thing's dialogue appears in orange polygons, while his thoughts reside in melting yellow boxes. The narrator charts Alec’s cosmic journey via green boxes. As the letters grow bold with intonation, red words in black balloons signal danger. After Rich Handley’s introductory essay sets the issue in context, Todd Klein and Trish Mulvihill discuss the challenges of emulating the original letterer, John Costanza, and original colorist Tatjana Wood. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

Swamp Thing can have anything he wants. Yet what he most desires is a life of service and love, even if that includes pain, danger, and uncertainty. As he undertakes a new journey to protect others, others seek to control him to increase their separation from others, and feast on the things that divide us in Swamp Thing 1989 #3.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Swamp Thing 1989 #3.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Swamp Thing 1989 #2.

For how this series resumed, see my review of Swamp Thing 1989 #1. 

Swamp Thing 1989 #2 Review

 

Swamp Thing 1989 #2 Review

Writer: Rick Veitch

Artist: Tom Mandrake

Colorist: Trish Vulvihill

Letterer: Todd Klein

Cover Artist: Rich Veitch 

Editors: Alex Galer & Chris Conroy

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $4.99/$7.99 Foil

Release Date: May 27, 2026

 

Forced from his time, Swamp Thing floats through the cosmic sea. He travels the multiverse, visiting other worlds and alternative realities. Yet there's no place like home. As he lets the current draw him homeward, Swamp Thing suddenly senses a need to visit a specific locale in his homeworld's history. So, setting his desires aside, Swamp Thing swims against the current to witness events that reorder the universe through the power of love. Where will Swamp Thing travel next? And what injustices will he confront? Let’s leap into Swamp Thing 1989 #2 and see!

 

Story

After witnessing events two thousand years in his past, only to be thrust back into the timestream, Swamp Thing grows determined to return home. When he abruptly washes ashore next, two other time travelers seemingly control his fate. Yet as he has learned from his journeys, Swamp Thing rarely stays in one place for long.

 

While Swamp Thing wishes to return to his time, his beloved Abby also undergoes a journey in Swamp Thing 1989 #2. Most people would visit their local hospital. Instead, Abby opts for a return to nature. As Abby trades one danger for another, John Constantine tries to help his friend. But as he works to give Jim Corrigan a measure of peace from the horrors of being the Spectre, John’s friend Chaz arrives. And when he mentions that a magical visitor has arrived with news of Swamp Thing, John Constantine drops what he’s doing to take a ride to Cornwall.

 

As Rick Veitch interweaves past and present, danger surrounds Swamp Thing and Abby. John Constantine, no stranger to supernatural events, attends to the visitor's experiences with his big green friend. Abby's decision to embrace natural birthing methods links her with someone from Swamp Thing's last adventure. Yet the people hosting a magical visitor exemplify futuristic birthing methods. As Swamp Thing's remains the glue that binds all their lives together, he struggles to sink his roots in one time or place. For all his elemental powers, he seems a sailor adrift on the seas of fate in Swamp Thing 1989 #2.

 

Art

After floating amid globes bearing images of people and locales, space disappears, replaced by streaks of beige, yellow, maroon, and green. Amid the storm, an image of Abby appears before him. But when he attempts to embrace her, his hands pass through the vanishing mirage. Then Swamp Thing crashes into the sand. He gazes through the blown glass at his white-faced captor atop a platform soaring above the desert. White pyramids rise in the distance, while the Sphinx looks on, framed by a painted headcloth and divine beard.

 

While Tom Mandrake provides glimpses of ancient Egypt and other eras from Humanity’s past, John Constantine travels from his London flat to the Cornish coast. At Tintagel Castle, John, Chas, and their friend descend winding stone steps cut into the cliffs. When they reach the sand, the waves lap at the beach as they gather in a building of sculpted metal. Yet in the Louisiana swamps, a man wearing a suit, with long hair and a pointy beard, punts a wooden boat between vines, ferns lining the banks, and aerial tree roots rising from the water.

 

As Trish Vulvihill lavishes a palette of pleasing colors on Swamp Thing 1989 #2, green links the bog god with Jim Corrigan, and the time travelers who trap him in an hourglass. While Swamp Thing often appears forest green when he sets foot in one place, his form lightens to apple green while passing before days and evenings from past eras. Places of power, such as the Louisiana swamp and the place where King Uther and the Duchess Igraine conceived King Arthur, glow purple. Yet as a yellow-orange object seemingly signals that he can never return home, John Constantine, with his yellow hair and yellow overcoat, lights his cigarette with a yellow flame.

 

Todd Klein places black uppercase letters in white balloons and boxes. Swamp Thing's dialogue appears in orange polygons, while his thoughts reside in melting yellow boxes. The words grow bold with intonation as sound effects punctuate a frantic air battle. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

Swamp Thing is a creature of myth and legend. He has come to people in their hour of need and influenced societies. Yet a piece of amber holds sway over him. And until he learns the secrets of his power, he cannot return home in Swamp Thing 1989 #2.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Swamp Thing 1989 #2.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Swamp Thing 1989 #1. 

Swamp Thing 1989 #1 Review

 

Swamp Thing 1989 #1 Review

Writer: Rick Veitch

Artists: Michael Zulli & Vince Locke

Colorist: Trish Mulvihill

Letterer: John Costanza and Todd Klein

Editors: Karen Burger, Alex Galer & Chris Conroy

Cover Artist: Rich Veitch

Variant Cover Artists: Michael Zulli

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $4.99/$5.99 Card Stock/$7.99 Foil

Release Date: April 29, 2026

 

Through his connection with the Green, Swamp Thing can travel anywhere on Earth. At times, he clashes with Poison Ivy. When he descended to the Earth's core, Swamp Thing waged a ferocious battle to become King Omega. Yet instead of combating or aiding John Constantine, he battled Cyborg, another hero torn between two worlds.

 

While distance presents no obstacle to Swamp Thing, he has also broken the bonds of time. Once, cast adrift in the time stream, he could have let the currents and eddies pull him home. Yet Swamp Thing felt that he must be traveling for some purpose. What events will Swamp Thing witness as he seeks to understand himself better? And who will Swamp Thing learn from in this formerly unpublished tale judged too controversial for the 1980s? Let’s leap into Swamp Thing 1989 #1 and see!

 

Story

The Magi followed a guiding star to honor the new king of the Jews. Then, they watched the child mature into adulthood. Yet he has not become the Messiah the Jews expected. Jesus preaches against repression and exploitation. He has not raised an army to expel the Roman invaders from the Jews' homeland. Instead, he casts moneychangers from the Temple. Worse, Jesus has intruded upon the Magi’s territory. He has healed the sick and raised the dead. Jesus even refuses an allegiance with Satan as he performs miracles. Fearing how great he might become, the Magi appeal to the demon Belial to prevent Jesus from overshadowing them and changing the order of their world.

 

In Swamp Thing 1989 #1, the Magi and Belial sense the cosmos converging. As Belial leaps into action, Swamp Thing glimpses eras and locales, trying to divine his next destination. When he arrives in Gethsemane and sees Jesus, he understands why. Swamp Thing may have grown beyond the limitations of a temporal Human. Yet he remembers being Alec Holland and how the man felt about Jesus. Observing these events links Swamp Thing with his past as he realizes how Alec would have cherished this opportunity.

 

While Rick Veitch’s story speaks to how the rich and powerful seek to retain their status and influence, it also links Jesus with a Roman Centurian. A period of the soldier's past evokes Jesus’ birth, and how Christians view their relationship with their savior. Veitch's story also addresses the social inequities of the time and portrays what people had to do to survive. But as cosmic forces converge, Swamp Thing must decide whether he should remain an observer or if he should act to combat a great evil in Swamp Thing 1989 #1.

 

Art

As if cast into the ocean depths, Swamp Thing watches bubbles rise around him. Faces and places adorn many of the orbs. At first, their destination recalls the star the Magi followed to honor an infant. Then, the orbs or planets swirl in ever-decreasing circles until disappearing into a light-blue void. As Swamp Thing travels toward his next port of call, Michael Zulli and Vince Locke reveal weary men sitting around a table laden with bread and wine. While in a chamber, stone columns, chains with hooks, and severed bodies surround the Magi as they cast their latest offering into the pit before an idol.

 

As Trish Mulvihill lavishes bright colors on Swamp Thing 1989 #1, yellow suggests a link between two players in this cosmic contest. Purple surrounds the disciples and Mary Magdalene, while her skin color suggests a reason for her profession. Swamp Thing looks at home in Gethsemane, while the night sky matches the cosmos when it changes from black to blue. Yet despite his role as observer, Mary Magdalene’s garment links with Swamp Thing's act, as he beholds a person both Human and God.

 

Black uppercase letters fill beige parchment scraps as Swamp Thing shares his thoughts. A narrator’s words fill blue narrative boxes. John Costanza and Todd Klein fill white dialogue balloons with black text. Yet pain makes words grow bold and transforms balloons into stars. Rich Veitch's original black-and-white cover art and period advertisements also help this historic issue shine like a Centurian's armor. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

We all sacrifice for the people and things we want. While the Magi and Belial sacrifice to preserve their power, a respected man prepares to risk his career for the woman he loves. As Swamp Thing supports someone he respects, DC Comics looks back through the time stream and publishes a story they originally sacrificed to ensure they could continue serving superhero fans. An introduction places the story in context, and an afterward continues the discussion of a cosmic contest that enriches the mythology of DC Comics in Swamp Thing 1989 #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside, see my preview of Swamp Thing 1989 #1.

 

For Swamp Thing's battle in the Omega Tournament, see my preview of Titans #30: All Fight Month Round Four.