Swamp Thing is one of the most important comic characters ever. Without the muck-encrusted mockery of a man, the comic industry in the United States would look very different. Alan Moore’s landmark run on the character brought a new flavor to superhero comics and writer/artist Rick Veitch kept it going, taking the character to places that no one had ever imagined for him. Veitch’s Swamp Thing proved to be a source of controversy and one of its most important stories was shelved because of its subject matter. This tale took Swampie across time and space, with him meeting Jesus as the showcase of the book. DC sat on the story for decades, finally putting out this year.
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Swamp Thing 1989 #1 was a fantastic comic, a perfect example of what mature readers comics were at the end of ’80s. The second issue continued the story, as various forces array themselves around Swamp Thing, whose soul is wandering through time. Swamp Thing 1989 #3 continues this tale adroitly and is yet another example of why DC was so amazing in 1989. It’s not some groundbreaking story, just a chapter in the lives of Alec Holland and his supporting cast, a more impressive work of craft than most readers imagine.
Rating: 4 out of 5
| Pros | Cons |
| Veitch’s story combines several key parts of DC mythology in an interesting tale that builds the overall plot beautifully | There’s honestly no overall cons that bring the story down it just feels more like a 4 than a 5 |
| Tom Mandrake gives readers some fantastic superhero horror art with detailed, well-laid out pages | |
| The retro colors of Trish Mulvihill are fantastic, using old school coloring techniques to make the art sing |
This Issue Has Everything That Makes ’80s DC So Amazing
DC comics in the ’80s were some of the greatest comics ever. There was a certain feel to them, something that I got from every page of this book as I readit. There was a certain flavor to the books back then; they were written by devoted fans of DC Comics – Veitch kicks off the issue with a conversation between Swampie and the burning hand of the Source that has that perfect DC feel – while taking the stories in much more mature directions. There was a sense of depth to the writing of the day and this issue has that in spades. Veitch fit perfectly into the style of the time and this issue shows just what made his work so brilliant, especially after Moore made the book a legend.
This is basically just an issue of story-building; we had the big moment at the start in Swamp Thing 1989 #1 with Jesus and this issue and the last are meant to build up the overall plot of the story – Swamp Thing going on a journey through life and death, with a demonic plot building around him and the birth of his child on Earth. We get John Constantine weaving his own spell, we get Anton Arcane in Hell, we get Abby longing for the man she loves as she gives birth, there’s some Fourth World action that ties into Veitch’s story from issue #62. For us hardcore DC fans, we get a connection between Anthro and Swamp Thing that made me way happier than it should have. It’s just a standard DC comic from 1989 and it’s an outstanding read. It’s connective tissue that is highly entertaining.
Swamp Thing 1989 #3 Is an Example of the DC House Style of the Day
This issue is drawn by Tom Mandrake. In 2026, there’s a good chance that you’ve never heard of Mandrake, but he’s one of the greats of the past. His work was never as flashy as the people you have heard of; he was an artist who could basically do anything that you wanted him to do, though. His style in 1989 is quite different from that of his most well-known work – The Spectre (Vol. 3) – but it’s solid late ’80s DC house style. The figure work is great, the detail is pretty good (there’s a few long shots where it flags it a bit), and the character acting really connects to the emotional stakes of the book.
One thing I really wast to spotlight about this issue that I didn’t in my review of the first is the colors. This book is about looking as much like a comic from 1989 as it can and that includes the coloring. Mulvihill wanted to use the same kind of colors the late great Tatjana Woods would have used and didn’t want to load it with the kind of special color effects she usually does. She’s able to nail that old school coloring style, using only the colors that would have been used back then, showing off her skill as a colorist. It gives the book the exact flair it needs.
Swamp Thing 1989 has been a dream come true for fans and this latest issue is another example of why. There’s just something about getting an all-new late ’80s DC comic in 2026. Veitch and Mandrake knock it out the park with the script and pencils, with Mulvihill and letterer Todd Klein coming in and finishing it all up beautifully. They don’t make comics like this anymore… or rather they do and this is what we get.
Swamp Thing 1989 #3 is on sale now.
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