Almost 40 Years Later, DC Revives A Canceled Series After A Furious Fan Campaign

Comics are no stranger to controversy. In the decades since Superman arrived on the scene, there have been characters, stories, and more across just about every comics publisher and imprint that have raised eyebrows and, in some cases, even led to cancellations with stories never seeing the light of day. Back in 1989, that was the fate of a very specific Swamp Thing story but now, that’s about to change thanks to nearly 40 years of fan demand.

At New York Comic Con this weekend, DC revealed that one of the most infamous Swamp Thing stories of all time will finally get its chance to shine. Heading to the publisher’s revived Vertigo imprint in 2026, Rick Veitch’s cancelled Swamp Thing story is finally going to be published. Debuting under the title Swamp Thing 1989, the run will encompass four issues — #88-91 — and will be styled so that fans can put these issues right in the place they would have run back in 1989.

Why Was Veitch’s Swamp Thing Cancelled?

Swamp Thing 1989 will finally deliver to fans a story that they’ve been waiting for for nearly four decades. The story, “Morning of the Magician”, was originally set to see Swamp Thing travel back in time and meet Jesus Christ. Art for the story infamously saw Swamp Thing becoming the cross on Calvary. However, while the story was written by Veitch and drawn by Michael Zulli and was ready to go, it drew some criticism from folks at DC and it was ultimately determined that the story would offend readers and thus, they pulled the plug. Veitch left the title after that.

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Rumblings that Veitch’s lost Swamp Thing story might get a resurrection started last year after an email account was set up for fans to send their messages and opinions about publishing the “Swamp Thing 88” story. According to Veitch, fan response was rapid and massive — and DC got the message loud and clear.

“I’ve got a bunch of folks I want to thank but especially want to start with those who responded to the letter-writing campaign from last year,” Veitch wrote on social media. “At the time, DC was still undecided. They gave me an email address and said they would read any messages they got about ST 88. I posted it here on FB and the response was immediate and overwhelming, with over 500 voicing their opinions, many of them very eloquently and forcefully. After three days, DC got the idea and pulled the plug, asking me to drop the campaign. So, I did, but the message got through and was instrumental in helping them make the final decision to publish.”

The four-issue Swamp Thing 1989 is set to be published in 2026. Written by Veitch, the book will feature artists Zulli, Vince Locke, Tom Mandrake, and colorist Trish Mulvihill. The published series will be published as it was originally intended and will also include the trade dress DC comics featured at the time. officially restoring a little piece of comics history to its rightful place.

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