"Rotworld: The Green Kingdom Part Three"
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Marco Rudy
December 2012
DC Comics
Let me begin this review by saying that in case you haven't noticed, this issue is in the middle of the current story arc, and I'm deliberately choosing to start with this issue so as to remain on track with the current release schedule (I do not intend to start at the beginning of each story arc for whichever comics I will review, as it would take a while for me to do and would be frustrating to be constantly behind on the current issue). I'm only making the exception with "Batman" and potentially another series or two but for the most part will just do the most recent issue.
So, onto my opinion! I've been really excited... wait, EXTREMELY excited for this issue since I first heard about it back in September solicitations. Swampy AND Batman in the same book? NO WAY! It was a dream come true to hear this news, and I could not be more excited to see both characters together at last (I was even more excited for Swampy #15 than I was Batman #15 this month). To be honest, this issue was kind of a let down since I had such high expectations for it (I mean, look at that cover; it just screams awesomeness). That's not to say it's a poor quality issue by any means, but in terms of both story and artwork, I was a little let down.
Scott Snyder has been my favourite writer for some time now, knocking it out of the park on both this title, as well as "Batman" (and "American Vampire" for those who read it monthly; I read it in trades) every month since the New 52 started. The story for Swampy #15 had a really great premise, and the solicitation sounded too good to be true:
• “ROTWORLD: THE GREEN KINGDOM” part three!
• Batman’s fate in the Rotworld is revealed!
• Guest-starring the inmates of Arkham Asylum who have been dramatically affected by battling the Green, the Red and the Rot!
Now I don't mean to be a negative Nancy, but Batman's "fate" was pretty mild and lackluster, as he appears in the book for only a couple pages and then ***SPOILER ALERT*** it appears he is shot in the head by Batgirl (literally "Bat"-girl, similarly to Man-Bat) aka Barbara Gordon. Batman has been infected by the Rot and it's unclear whether Barbara has been also, but she saves Swampy so she's clearly on the side of the Green.
To further add to the misconception of the solicitation, there are NO Arkham inmates! I feel like this was meant for issue #16 and somehow editorial screwed up here.
The story begins by starting where #14 left off, with William Arcane terrorizing Swamp Thing and Deadman on the river of rot. There is a bit of exposition in which Swamp Thing quickly sums up what's going on, but it doesn't really add much to the story. The first scene entails ST and DM fighting the Rot-version of Starro (a new character to me and his/her introduction to the New 52 I believe) in which he is quickly defeated by ST in an awkwardly drawn page that is unclear as to what ST is doing; it looks like he's slashing him with his Green sword but who knows what's happening. William appears to be defeated, but shortly thereafter summons an even bigger monster and then the scene switches to pre-Rotworld Abby who has been abducted by Anton.
The comic becomes more interesting here with the conversation held between Abby and Anton. There is mentioned that Anton could be either her uncle (which is what he's always been) or possibly her father :O. If the latter is the case than that changes things quite dramatically which could make for intriguing storylines down the road. There is a creepy reveal that I won't spoil but it definitely makes this book standout as a superhero/horror mix that is still holding it's place as relevant in modern comics. It has something to do with what happened in a previous issue but I personally never saw it coming...
The ST/DM vs William battle comes to an end in a way that makes sense and I didn't expect, but pondering the options available it is a rather rational yet unfortunate one.
Snyder brings back the notion of a dream Abby and Alec have been having for various issues of the series which adds a neat familiarity to the story yet develops more thoroughly here. An important aspect of Swamp Thing Annual #1 (October 2012) is mentioned here and plays a role in the following scene. There is a mention of the "Other" parliament. It's hard to speculate as to what that means but it will likely be played out in the remaining issues of Snyder's run. It appears that Abby has the upper hand against Anton, but of course, her story ends on another cliffhanger and the reader does not find out what happens to her.
Somehow Alec has made it to Gotham already and he has found Batman's secret lair... It doesn't make much sense and it feels forcefully thrown in, but hey, that's the wonderful world of comics! ST is surprised by his visit to the Bat Cave, and as Scott Snyder always does, he manages to present us with something we did not expect!
The artwork by Marco Rudy is much grittier than Yanick Paquette's beautifully crafted designs and layouts that Swampy readers have come to expect, and to be honest it was a step down from the norm. Marco Rudy has drawn some excellent pages in previous issues of Swamp Thing, but this issue in particular felt rushed and messy. I know, it's an experimental horror book and the grittier-the-better, but in this case it does not work. Some of the layouts are rather sloppy and the colouring of the outlines and panels blend together and it becomes difficult to determine where to start reading the page, where to go next, and in some cases, just exactly what the hell is going on. I mean no disrespect to Marco as an artist/person, but this issue as a whole didn't do it for me. I enjoyed his take on Batman but there wasn't enough of him to really enjoy this comic. Again, compared to his other takes of Swampy, this one looked like an amateur drew the issue.
All in all, this issue wasn't what I hoped for and was a hiccup in this otherwise fantastic series. Rotworld has been dragging on a bit now and it would be nice to see it conclude and also see what's in store for Swampy post-Rot (the zero month initiative definitely screwed the pacing up and I feel bad for Team Swampy/Animal Man since this was not their fault).
Story: 3/5
Art: 2.5/5
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