Swamp Thing: A Match For Vampi

National Periodicals, by keeping writer Len Wein and artist Berni Wrightson working on the unhurried Swamp Thing has come up with the most graphically interesting straight comic since Smith�s Conan. Wein is in the process of incorporating every gothic cliche into his �saga,� hitting us in swift succession with: a) the mad old man in search of immortality, b) the Frankenstein�s monster (�The Patchwork Man� in Swamp Thing No. 3), c) a werewolf and d) a witch. But Wein is a careful writer and these hoary horrors are cleverly presented with as much plausibility as comics can muster. Strong, traditional dramatics.

I was particularly impressed with the werewolf issue, �Monster on the Moors.� The artist uses zip-a-tone in the right places, creating a sense of depth and texture without cluttering the panels. And his use of the* ghostly blue (Wrightson does his own coloring) for moonlight is extremely effective throughput, particularly in a lyrical scene where Swampi gazes after a retreating carriage as it trots off onto the foggy moors.