Review - "Raise Them Bones" TPB

Welcome back Parliamentarians!  As promised at the end of my review of New 52 Swamp Thing #1, I'll be launching into coverage of issues 2 through 6, the remainder of the trade paperback "Raise Them Bones". While issue 1 was a detailed point by point breakdown of each scene, the rest of the TPB will be a quick summary of each individual issue, followed by my personal impressions of the more outstanding moments.

First, though, a recap of issue 1. Alec Holland, alive and human, is approached by Superman about a rash of widespread animal deaths around the world. A giant creature formed out of animal carcasses rises in the Arizona desert and begins building it's puppet army of the dead. In Louisiana, Holland wakes from dreams of his death. As he prepares to dispose of his final batch of bio-restorative formula, he is confronted by a Swamp Thing.

Moving forward from issue 1, the rest of the issues in this trade introduce, and also reaffirm, several concepts that would be central to not only the remainder of Snyder's run, but to the New 52 series as a whole. Foremost among these is the Rot, the essence of decay and corruption, the dark (well, darkER) counterpoint to both the Green and the Red. Sethe, the Lord of the Rot, introduced in form if not by name in issue 1, serves as the Big Bad for a great portion of Snyder's tenure on the book.

Alan Moore had established during his classic run that it was Alec Holland's bio-restorative formula that had caused the newly born plant elemental to take on the deceased scientist's personality and memories. Snyder put a twist on this concept early in his run. It's revealed, via an interaction between Holland and the World War I era Swamp Thing, that Holland was destined to be the greatest champion of the Green, it's "warrior-king". When Holland was caught in the lab explosion, his body was too badly damaged for him to be transformed. In order to preserve his potential the Parliament of Trees replicated his consciousness, which became, until recently when it was "retired", the Swamp Thing of the modern era.

Issue 3 introduces one of my favorite new characters in a long time: William Arcane, long lost brother of the replica-Holland's wife Abigail. Body horror has been a favorite sci-fi/horror/comic book trope of mine since John Carpenter's The Thing, David Cronenberg's Scanner, and Steve Bissette's rendition of Anton Arcane in Saga of the Swamp Thing #19 (the early 80s were a good time for horror). With his ability to manipulate any form of dead matter, and a gleefully malicious willingness to do so, William brings the body horror to spare.

This half of Snyder's run also reintroduces Abigail Arcane, the wife of the Holland-replica Swamp Thing. This is a much different Abigail, however, than had been portrayed prior to the New 52. It's revealed that, like Alec's connection to the Green, Abby has had a strong connection to the Rot her entire life (it's implied that she was destined to be it's champion, though never directly stated). The previous Swamp Thing's presence had kept the Rot's influence at bay, but with he/it now gone, she feels it creeping into her being, bit by bit. It has made her stronger, but harder and terrified.

The quickly budding romance between Abby and Alec, as they discover each other again for the first time, is my favorite is my favorite aspect of Snyder's addition to Swamp Thing lore. There are two scenes in the first six issues that define this sense of destined and doomed love perfectly.

The first takes place in issue 4. While driving cross country in an effort to get to William before the Rot claims him, Alec and Abby pause to sleep in an open field. As Alec sleeps, his consciousness is summoned before the Parliament of Trees, who tell him how Avatars of the Green have battled the Rot since the first animal life emerged on Earth. As the Parliament warns Alec that Abby is a "minion of the Rot", to abandon her, even to kill her, Alec protests, implying that he's always known her. Alec and Abby awake simultaneously, curled together in a circle of transformed earth, her half blighted and full of black flies, his full of flowers and butterflies.

The other is in issue 5. After finding and defeating an already corrupted William, Abby and Alec confide to each other the dreams they both had as children, he of a girl made of bones, she of a boy made of leaves, images which they were respectively terrified of and drawn to. The following page shows Alec and Abby kissing, while the girl of bones and the boy of leaves embrace in the metaphorical background (if I'm in the right mood this scene makes me have the feels just a bit).

That wraps up my personal impressions review of the "Raise Them Bones" trade paperback Parliamentarians. If you like what I'm sending you through the twisting pathways of the Green, feel free to comment here on the blog, to like the Avatar of the Green Facebook page, or to follow me on Twitter @GrantRichter09 (retweets of new post notifications are always welcome and appreciated).

In our next thrilling installment we'll be jumping forward a few years in publication history and going over Superman (Rebirth) Annual #1. Until then, Parliamentarians, think Green and be epic!