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A review by storyorc
Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Four by Stephen R. Bissette, John Totleben, Alan Moore
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book contains some of my favorite issues of SotST so far in the cave with ST, Constantine and friends. Horrific, tragic stuff with a mythological feel; the perfect time to see Constantine shaken for once.
That said, the big bads who cause that excellent sequence - the ones Constantine has been hinting at while stringing ST along to fight vampires and werewolves and ghosts - lack cohesion with that beautiful build-up. At worst, they feel a racially insensitive (an unfortunate contrast to the standalone issue touching on American slavery). They're not even on the same continent.
Another thing you have to accept to enjoy Book 4 is that Moore needed to work in the Crisis of Infinite Earths. The cameos are well-characterised enough to convert me to an Etrigan fan and even the endless parade of secretive men with undefined abilities invoke some empathy. The only female cameo being accompanied by her father and kissing Constantine is a reminder of when these stories were written but seeing her is worth the passing sigh.
Biggest complaint is I expected more from the finalé - some philosophic revelation. The way the enemy asked the heroes what it was seemed to be setting up for all sorts of fascinating resolutions and we were close with ST's contribution but ultimately... well I'm not sure what actually happened. The story seemed to want to make a big change, yet preserve the status quo - to have its cake and eat it.
That said, the big bads who cause that excellent sequence - the ones Constantine has been hinting at while stringing ST along to fight vampires and werewolves and ghosts - lack cohesion with that beautiful build-up. At worst, they feel a racially insensitive (an unfortunate contrast to the standalone issue touching on American slavery). They're not even on the same continent.
Another thing you have to accept to enjoy Book 4 is that Moore needed to work in the Crisis of Infinite Earths. The cameos are well-characterised enough to convert me to an Etrigan fan and even the endless parade of secretive men with undefined abilities invoke some empathy. The only female cameo being accompanied by her father and kissing Constantine is a reminder of when these stories were written but seeing her is worth the passing sigh.
Biggest complaint is I expected more from the finalé - some philosophic revelation. The way the enemy asked the heroes what it was seemed to be setting up for all sorts of fascinating resolutions and we were close with ST's contribution but ultimately... well I'm not sure what actually happened. The story seemed to want to make a big change, yet preserve the status quo - to have its cake and eat it.