"Family Tree" part 1

Welcome back Parliamentarians!  In this installment of Avatar of the Green we'll be beginning our examination of the trade paperback "Family Tree", which encompasses issues 7 through 12 of Scott Snyder's run on the New 52 Swamp Thing.  While technically Snyder's run is one long arc, the breakneck pace which had begun with issue 1 and had only increased with each following issue finally reached a reasonable breather at the end of issue 9.  There is a LOT to talk about in issues u through 9, so we'll be tackling them this installment, and returning to finish with 10 through 12 when we next return to the New 52 in the near future.   First, though, let's do a quick recap of the events of the previous six issues.

In the desert wastes of the United States a malevolent and destructive force is rising. This force, the Rot, sends it's dead minions to destroy the resurrected Alec Holland, who is destined to become the warror-king of the Green. He is saved by Abigail Arcane, the wife of the former Swamp Thing, and who has strong family ties to the Rot. Abby takes Alec on a cross country journey to reach her estranged brother William before he can become the Rot's newest pawn. Along the way the romance between Alec and Abby begins to bloom. They arrive too late to save William from the corruption of the Rot, and Alec is forced to tap into his connection to the Green to defeat him. Alec and Abby admit their love for each other, but their respite of romance is cut short as simultaneously the Parliament of Trees is attacked in the Amazon rain forest is Abby is claimed by the Rot.
"Raise Them Bones" ends with Alec fleeing on a motorcycle to a swamp to commune with the Parliament, to beg them to transform him into the Swamp Thing, only to be mortally wounded by the puppet soldiers of Sethe, Lord of the Rot.

Moving forward from there in "Family Tree" we see Alec's consciousness again brought before the Parliament, even has his physical body is being hacked to pieces and the Parliament itself is burning.

(We'll come back to this idea of the Parliament being able to be physically killed on Earth when we get deep into Charles Soule's run on the title).  In this scene we're shown the politics (no pun intended) of the Parliament, as well as their overall mindset of distaste for humanity.  They tell Alec that the flesh and will of humans is weak, and they initially deny Holland his request to be transformed, mostly due to his rejection of their ultimate desire to eventually supplant the Red ( the metaphysical source of all animal life), leaving the Green the dominant force on Earth.  The irony of this, of course, is that each member of the Parliament used to be human before their transformations into the former Swamp Things, that humanity now lost upon the deaths of their physical bodies. Holland argues that the restraint of their human sides was their greatest strength, allowing them to maintain an equilibrium with the Red, which helped all life flourish. It is ultimately, however, Holland's offer for the Parliament to use the last of his bio-restorative formula to save themselves that convinces them to acquiesce to his request, proving that their primary interests are self serving.

The page detailing Holland's transformation is incredibly visceral. The panels show tendrils of vine, some so thin as to entwine about his very blood cells, creeping into his body, through his mouth, under his fingernails, through the veins of his eyes. They wrap around his bones and his heart, work their way between the folds of his brain, become his skin. The narration, told from Holland's point of view, reads "A thousand bleeding mouths screaming from me. Screaming FOR me. For me to come to them, to be reborn. To become...

"...the MONSTER."

These last two words stand alone on the following splash page, which shows only a close up of the newly transformed Swamp Thing's eyes, the skin around it made of moss and bark, his brow a ridge of thorns and ivy. The look in that single eye is not one of rage toward his enemy, nor of righteous indignation. This is a look of intense sorrow over his sacrificed humanity, of registration over his fate, and of determination to save the love of his life.

This newest avatar of the Green is much different, at least physically, than his predecessor. Rather than the smooth skinned, root laced figure figure rendered first by Bernie Wrightson, or the shaggy moss and leaf covered elemental originally penciled by Steve Bissette, this Swamp Thing is thickly built, almost bulky through his midsection, and covered in thick bark, as if clad in armor. In addition to the thorns along his brow, a pair of branch-like "antlers" sprout from his forehead. When he enters into battle with Sethe's hordes a wooden shield and a wooden sword form from his arms. All of these elements add to the impression of Holland as the "warrior-king" of the Green.

Arguably the most striking feature of this new Swamp Thing design is the wings, made of branches and leaves, which he uses to carry himself from the marsh to the battle. Unlike his predecessor (beginning with Alan Moore's tenure with the character) this Swamp Thing is still anchored to one physical body, a body that still contains his human organs and bones. As such he cannot simply send his consciousness through the Green and grow a new body from plant life at his destination (yet).

To be perfectly honest, my opinion on this specific incarnation of the Swamp Thing has swung back and forth over the years. Since I hadn't been emotionally invested in the elemental version of the character previously, I hadn't felt like anything had been lost by taking away Swamp Thing's transport-through-the-Green ability. Additionally, the warrior-king look is very striking, so I was initially very excited by it. The later run by Charles Soule, however, which inspired me to go back and start collecting the seminal work by Alan Moore on the character, made me appreciate more the Swamp Thing who is not bound to a single body (also the art by Jesus Saiz during Soule's run made me appreciate a more streamlined look for our veridian hero). 

It is without a doubt, though, the ending of the battle that is my favorite part of the arc. Abby, having been transformed by Sethe into a terrifying creature all fangs, claws, and obsidian skin, is freed by Alec from the hold of the Rot (a complicated scenario involving Holland's formula, a batch of canned peaches, and the presence of the Green shielding her from the Rot's influence). It is then Abby herself, emerging beautiful and newly empowered from the sloughed husk of her monstrous other self, Abby who has been running from the Rot her entire adult life, who ultimately defeats Sethe, driving him down and dormant into the Earth with her newfound abilities, saving Alec's life in the process. To paraphrase a 90s rom-com, he rescued her, and she rescued him right back.

That wraps up my coverage of the "Family Tree" trade for now Parliamentarians. If you have any thoughts on what I'm sending your way through the twisting pathways of the Green, on the specific issues covered in this installment, or about Swamp Thing in general, there are many branches you can travel. Readers are always welcome to leave comments here on the blog. You can leave me a message via the Avatar of the Green Facebook page. You can also reach me @G_M_Richter on Twitter (retweets of new post notifications are always appreciated). 

(UPDATED 06-10-17)

In our next installment we'll be talking about Saga of the Swamp Thing issues 1 and 2 from 1982, by Martin Pasko and Tom Yeates. Afterwards we'll return to the New 52 to finish out "Family Tree".  This pattern will repeat for the foreseeable future, until some new material comes out. If there's a specific issue or arc any of you would especially like me to cover, please drop me a line at any of the methods above.

Until then Parliamentarians, think Green and be epic!