Swamp Thing #37 Introduced One of DC’s Best-Ever Characters (But It’s Still a Hotly Debated Debut)

Collecting is a huge part of the comic book hobby. There are all different kinds of collecting, from trade paperbacks to omnibuses, but the most sought-after comics are definitely single issues. These are the comics that first introduced us to iconic characters and storylines. Finding a way to read these issues, either in collected reprints, facsimile editions, or online, is usually pretty easy, but there will always be something special about the original issue. Holding a first print version of a comic that holds significant personal value to you is a feeling unlike any other. It’s holding a piece of history in your hands. This feeling is magnified a hundredfold when that issue is the first time something iconic occurred.

Case in point, Swamp Thing (1982) #37 is officially recognized as the first time audiences met the Hellblazer himself, John Constantine. There’s actually some debate over whether this is his true first appearance, but either way, this comic is the first time we met him as a person, and it’s a perfect introduction. If you don’t want to take my word for it, now is your chance to see it for yourself. ComicBook has bought a 9.6-graded edition of the comic from Rick’s Comic City in Clarksville, Tennessee. It’s a shop that prides itself on its massive collection of new comics and back issues, and we were lucky enough to snag this legendary piece of comic history from them — and you could be lucky enough to own it thanks to our new Vending Machine. You can check ComicBook’s Chris Killian buying the comic below…

Play video

A Spellbinding Introduction to the DC’s Number One Spellslinger, Kinda

John Constantine needs no introduction. For decades, he’s been the face of the darker side of DC’s magic. He’s a charismatic, wisecracking, magical detective whose goals range from saving himself to saving the entire world. He’s always ridden the line between right and wrong, doing whatever it takes to minimize damage. He always knows way more about the situation than he lets on, which he uses to string his allies along and manipulate them into doing what he needs, when he needs it. Of course, he very rarely knows everything, but he always knows enough to feel like he would guide the reader and other characters into a much wider, darker world.

Read Next

You Can Finally Buy DC’s Most Controversial Comic 37 Years Later

However, for the purpose of collecting, there’s still some debate over whether this is the anti-hero occultist’s official first appearance. See, Constantine’s design was based on the musician Sting. Alan Moore had asked artists Steve Bissette and John Totleben what type of character they wanted to draw, and they agreed on a character who looked like Sting. This Sting lookalike first appeared as a background character in Swamp Thing (1982) #25. To muddy the waters even more, another character who resembled Sting appeared in DC Sampler #3, which showed Swamp Thing’s future. 

The visual similarities in issue #25 are truly coincidental, as the artists merely wanted to use the design they enjoyed, but the character in DC Sampler can definitely be argued to be a pseudo-Constantine design. Both issues have somewhat of a claim to be his debut, but I still always point to issue #37. This isn’t just where his design is finalized, but when we meet who John is. He’s an occult detective like no other, and his presence drastically changes Swamp Thing’s history in a single swoop.

The Start of a Magical Journey

Swamp Thing #37 will always hold a special place in my heart. Alan Moore’s “Saga of the Swamp Thing” was the first epic-length storyline that I read after getting into comics. I had kept up with modern issues for some time, but this run transformed how I look at them. Moore’s run is considered one of the all-time classics because of how deftly it elevated its main character and the world around them to such a mature degree. It created this dark underbelly of monsters and evil magic that lives in DC’s shadow, and Constantine’s introduction especially kick-started one of its greatest arcs. Meeting Constantine was Swamp Thing and the reader’s first step into understanding that wide, terrifying world Moore had created. 

This run combines incredible horror and superhero elements with an exploration of what makes us human. There are dark, negative aspects, like the monsters that Swamp Thing constantly battles, but there are also people like Constantine, who try to do the right thing, even when they’re not perfect. He truly reads like a gatekeeper who throws open doors that the audience had never realized were there. This run, and this issue especially, taught me that comics can build this grand, literary narrative about incomprehensible darkness without losing that core of hope which is essential to DC’s world. It showed me what comics could be, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. I’m sure that I’m not the only one with that experience, which makes this issue such a fantastic collectible.

What was your first comic epic? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!