Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...
Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ... Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...
Bingham 112 by the project, it is not surprising that the team worked so well together. When they began collaborating, they happily discovered that many of their views and ideas for the future of the series actually coincided. Some of these ideas included: using extreme facial close-ups to push readers to differentiate the main character as an organism totally dissimilar to human beings and visually stressing the appearance of the environment to demonstrate the impact of setting upon characterization. Such propositions had been dismissed as too bold by Wein when Totleben introduced them through drawings while assisting another artist, Tom Yeates, for the revival's second issue in 1977 (ibid 219-220). Discovering and developing this commonality of vision, the collaborators needed to find a way conclude any unresolved issues left unanswered by earlier releases before their entirely new imagination of the story could be constructed and revealed. As Moore and Totleben tied up “Loose Ends” in issue #20, the legacy of Saga of the Swamp Thing truly blossomed with the completion and release of issue #21, “The Anatomy Lesson.” Cover-dated February 1984, this issue broke ground for the series and, for Bissette, “remains our finest collaborate effort” (ibid. 219). This issue works through an innovative rebirth of Swamp Thing, providing an alternate story explaining his origin. Only three characters appear in this release, one of whom acts as the narrator. Telling the story from a first person point of view is Dr. Jason Woodrue, a character modeled from the villain in DC Comics' July 1962 debut issue of Atom. Woodrue is a scientist who specializes in botanical knowledge, has attempted to take over the world, and is known within the DC Universe as the “Floronic Man” because he transformed his body into a plant/human hybrid through scientific experimentation (Saga, book I, pg. 17-panel 8). In “The Anatomy Lesson,” Woodrue has been hired by
Bingham 113 General Avery Carlton Sunderland 3 to determine how Swamp Thing, a creature his corporation put down in the swamps of Huoma, Louisiana, came into existence. Although he believes the creature is a transformed version of a scientist who was working on federally funded research, Sunderland has no feasible explanation to support this conclusion. Instead of a character, the protagonist appears like any other specimen in a lab might. The experimentation Woodrue performs upon his body in the following pages is, in ways, representative of a search for identity as determined by the judgments of others. Since fiction can reflect and inform how its readers think of themselves in relation to their surroundings, it can impact the overall health of communities. By inverting the position of the hero into a space of vulnerability and experimentation the creators have unsettled the expectations of their readers. Experimentation with narrative is doubly expressed through the work's content of scientific research. Supposedly the creature frozen in Sunderland's lab was once a doctor and scientist named Alec Holland. Holland and his wife, Linda, were performing research for the government, “Developing something called a bio-restorative formula, which was intended to promote crop growth” (Saga, pg. 16, panel 2). Admittedly, this project seems to stress the benefits research can provide for society. Its aim to increase the production of food would also increase its availability to those in need of it. Ideally, this research would benefit not only the agricultural industry but humanity at large by reducing the possibility of famine and starvation. Despite these lofty ideals, the experiment was sabotaged by an explosion (Saga pg. 23, panels 1 & 4). Sunderland hypothesizes that this series of events has transformed Holland into the plant creature he's hired Woodrue to examine but is unsure
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B<strong>in</strong>gham 112<br />
by the project, it is not surpris<strong>in</strong>g that the team worked so well together.<br />
When they began collaborat<strong>in</strong>g, they happily discovered that many of their views<br />
and ideas for the future of the series actually co<strong>in</strong>cided. Some of these ideas <strong>in</strong>cluded:<br />
us<strong>in</strong>g extreme facial close-ups to push readers to differentiate the ma<strong>in</strong> character as an<br />
organism totally dissimilar to human be<strong>in</strong>gs and visually stress<strong>in</strong>g the appearance of the<br />
environment to demonstrate the impact of sett<strong>in</strong>g upon characterization. Such<br />
propositions had been dismissed as too bold by We<strong>in</strong> when Totleben <strong>in</strong>troduced them<br />
through draw<strong>in</strong>gs while assist<strong>in</strong>g another artist, Tom Yeates, for the revival's second issue<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1977 (ibid 219-220). Discover<strong>in</strong>g and develop<strong>in</strong>g this commonality of vision, the<br />
collaborators needed to f<strong>in</strong>d a way conclude any unresolved issues left unanswered by<br />
earlier releases before their entirely new imag<strong>in</strong>ation of the story could be constructed<br />
and revealed. As Moore and Totleben tied up “Loose Ends” <strong>in</strong> issue #20, the legacy of<br />
Saga of the Swamp Th<strong>in</strong>g truly blossomed with the completion and release of issue #21,<br />
“The Anatomy Lesson.” Cover-dated February 1984, this issue broke ground for the<br />
series and, for Bissette, “rema<strong>in</strong>s our f<strong>in</strong>est collaborate effort” (ibid. 219).<br />
This issue works through an <strong>in</strong>novative rebirth of Swamp Th<strong>in</strong>g, provid<strong>in</strong>g an<br />
alternate story expla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g his orig<strong>in</strong>. Only three characters appear <strong>in</strong> this release, one of<br />
whom acts as the narrator. Tell<strong>in</strong>g the story from a first person po<strong>in</strong>t of view is Dr. Jason<br />
Woodrue, a character modeled from the villa<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> DC Comics' July 1962 debut issue of<br />
Atom. Woodrue is a scientist who specializes <strong>in</strong> botanical knowledge, has attempted to<br />
take over the world, and is known with<strong>in</strong> the DC Universe as the “Floronic Man” because<br />
he transformed his body <strong>in</strong>to a plant/human hybrid through scientific experimentation<br />
(Saga, book I, pg. 17-panel 8). In “The Anatomy Lesson,” Woodrue has been hired by
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