Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...

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chapter, I argue that examining the first issue of Saga of the Swamp Thing constructed by
the collaborative efforts of Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totleben, solidifies
the sociopolitical significance of using art as a method for communal analysis and
critique. In order to effectively analyze the significance of this revival narrative and
understand the history behind the issue, “The Anatomy Lesson,” it's necessary to first
look at how the series began and developed.
Originally envisioned by author Len Wein and artist Berni Wrightson, the
character of Swamp Thing first appeared in the 92 nd issue of House of Secrets in a stand
alone horror story with the cover-date July 1971 (Khoury and Moore 84). 1 Swamp
Thing's existence is the tragic outcome of sinister envy and fantastic accident: Alex
Olson's co-worker Damian Ridge covets his wife, Linda, so strongly that he attempts
killing Olson in order to marry her. Causing Olson's lab to explode, Ridge's attempt is
only partially successful. The force of the blast causes the chemicals Olson was working
with and surrounding swamp combine in such a way that his body metamorphoses into a
monstrous plant creature without killing him. Believing her husband perished, Linda
starts to suspect Ridge and ultimately becomes threatened by Ridge's murderous
tendencies as well. Though Alec is able to save her from Ridge, Linda does not
recognize him. The narrative concludes with this tragic loss of human identity.
After this initial debut, Swamp Thing became an independent feature in 1972 and
was published by DC Comics until 1976. Though the protagonist's name was changed
from Alex Olson to Alec Holland, the narrative exposition of his history remained
essentially unchanged. The two responsible for creating this character only produced a
portion of the material during these four years; Wein wrote the first thirteen issues while