Covering the third series (2000-2001) and up to 2004…
The third series focuses on Swamp Thing’s daughter Tefé as she attempts to navigate the mixed-messages that were communicated to her during her childhood by her father and the Parliament of Trees. The teenager travels around America seeking answers regarding her relationship to humanity and her life’s purpose. The series was written entirely by Brian K. Vaughan working with artists Roger Petersen and Giuseppe Camuncoli. (Darko Macan also wrote and submitted a series proposal at around the same time Vaughan did, and it can be found here).
Appearances that I consider to be fairly minor are indented. The below titles were published on the Vertigo imprint unless otherwise noted.
Vertigo: Winter’s Edge (1998) #3
“Sow And Ye Shall Reap” (pp. 71-78), January 2000
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Philip Bond [c]
Professor Curtis has killed his wife and his house is surrounded by police. He is visited by Tefé Holland, who uses her power to get through police lines and is accompanied by a laurel tree named Daphne. Tefé seeks to find out what she is, but after speaking to Curtis she learns that both plants and animals can be destructive so her question is redundant.
While this story is a preview of an upcoming Swamp Thing series, this story seems to take place between issues #2 and #3 of that series.
Swamp Thing #1
“In Lieu of Flowers”, May 2000
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Phil Hale [c]
High school senior Mary Conway lives with her parents and has no recollection of her early life due to an illness that affected her memory when she was 15. During her prom, Mary finds her best friend and boyfriend kissing. In her fury, she remembers her past and becomes Tefé Holland. She murders her friends and then creates a dummy ‘Mary Conway’ out of flesh, and makes that appear to have been murdered too. Abby learns about the killings and visits Mary’s parents.
Swamp Thing #2
“A Tree Falls in the Forest”, June 2000
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Phil Hale [c]
Abby explains the story of Tefé’s creation to Mary’s parents. A year after Tefé’s disappearance (following the events of #171, Oct. 1996), Abby and Swamp Thing tried to track down their daughter only to discover that Tefé had murdered some loggers. They sought advice from Constantine who suggested that Tefé’s memory should be wiped and her identity switched with another girl. Abby received a letter from an old Elysium Lawns co-worker Jenny Conway, who was asking for bone marrow donors to aid her sick daughter Mary. Constantine, Abby and Swamp Thing visited the dying girl and switched her place with Tefé, who then lived for the next three years as Mary Conway. After Abby tells this story, the Conways are angry and eject her. Meanwhile, Tefé is drawn to the Green, which appears differently to her than it did for Swamp Thing. Tefé meets a grass creature named Knoll, who shows her a destroyed Parliament of Trees and tries to convince her to kill all humans. Tefé refuses to pick a side and decides to seek the biblical Tree of Knowledge for answers. She returns to Earth and flees her hometown with her potted laurel tree Daphne.
Swamp Thing #3
“Kill Your Darlings”, July 2000
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Phil Hale [c]
Tefé is working on a fishing trawler when the boat encounters a storm. One of the crew, Larry, decides to create drama on the ship to inspire his creative writing. He stabs Tefé and the crew believe she is dead. The Captain and his daughter Cheryl accuse Hank of the murder and hang him. The Captain then reveals that he knows Cheryl is pregnant to Hank, which causes Cheryl to suspect her father framed Hank. Cheryl forces her father to jump overboard, at which point Larry provides the Captain with an alibi. Distraught over what she has done, Cheryl is about to kill herself when Tefé appears and reveals that Larry is behind all of the tragic events. Larry manages to shoot Cheryl before Tefé feeds him to the crabs. Using her powers, Tefé is able to heal Cheryl but not her unborn child.
Swamp Thing #4
“Killing Time, Part One: The Pride”, August 2000
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Rick Berry [c]
An ex-army sniper named Pilate recalls meeting Tefé six months earlier in a wildlife reserve while he was trying to evacuate the park due to an escaped lion. Tefé and Pilate find a mauled gazelle and Tefé heals it, which causes some local vegetation to die. Pilate tells Tefé about his time in the military, where he was ordered to kill civilians in Panama. They finally encounter the lion, who has killed an ASPCA officer. The owner of the park (Sam) arrives and kills the lion, which angers Tefé but she lets Sam live. Tefé entrusts Daphne to Pilate and they go their separate ways. In the present day, Tefé awakens to find the fishing trawler has crashed onto a shore and Cheryl is missing. At some point Tefé passes out and she is carried away from the beach by a man.
Vertigo Secret Files: Hellblazer (2000) #1
“The Swamp Thing” (pp. 16-17), August 2000
Michael Bonner [w], John Totleben [p]
This issue contains: a prose story; biographies of John Constantine and related characters (including Swamp Thing); a timeline of events in Constantine’s history; a comic story set during Constantine’s childhood; a description of key events in relation to the geography of London; and a publication history of Hellblazer with quotes from several former writers. Swamp Thing’s biography provides details of his origin and his ongoing relationship with Constantine, with references to events up until the beginning of the contemporaneous Swamp Thing series of 2000.
Reprinted in March 2005 with only minor content and layout changes in a couple of sections. The Swamp Thing biography was not updated.
Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #104
“No Axioms”, September 2000. DC Comics.
Mark Schultz [w], Doug Mahnke [p]
In an alternate reality, Superman is considered a villain and is held prisoner aboard a UFO named the S.S. Arkham. He manages to escape with Henry Irons, who finds his suit of armour and becomes Steel. They avoid Bizarro and a “hero” named Bounty, and meet Mr. Mxyzptlk who is trapped in a daily cycle of death. Mxyzptlk survives long enough to advise the pair to travel to the JLA headquarters on the Moon. Lois Lane finds Superman and Steel and throws them back into Arkham to fight their captors.
Swamp Thing appears on p. 6, seemingly a fellow prisoner on the UFO.
Swamp Thing #5
“Killing Time, Part Two: Bringing Down the House”, September 2000
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Rick Berry [c]
Tefé is cared for by an Inuit named Barnabas whose face is scarred by fire and who recognises her as the spirit of nature. On the radio, the pair hear of a forest fire and Tefé travels into the green to offer help. There Tefé meets Sitka, whose village is being attacked by Ikkumaâluk (the fire) and fears for the town elder Hemlock, without whose guidance the whole village will perish. Tefé creates a new body from the flesh of a dead firefighter and Barnabas instructs her to set a backfire to prevent the blaze from reaching some campers. Tefé realises that the backfire will kill Hemlock but makes the decision to set the fire anyway. Sitka and the other plants are furious about the elder’s death and vow to destroy Tefé. Barnabas and Tefé meet the family they saved, who reveal they had accidentally caused the fire in the first place. Angry, Tefé takes the family hostage.
Swamp Thing #6
“Killing Time, Part Three: Destiny Manifest”, October 2000
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Rick Berry [c]
Tefé and Barnabas travel with the family tied up in their truck. Tefé forces the father, Wyatt, to decide which of his family members should die, and he chooses his daughter. Tefé lets everyone live and leaves with Barnabas, but Wyatt’s wife is repelled by her husband. Tefé and Barnabas cross into the U.S. from Canada. Meanwhile, Kilroy and her partner nicknamed Agent Orange are Risk Management agents with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They discover security footage of Tefé using her powers and decide to investigate. Abby and Swampy are attacked in their home by Kudzu, a plant assassin, who wants to know where Tefé is, but her parents still believe she is dead.
Swamp Thing #7
“Concrete Jungle, Part One: Arcane”, November 2000
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Simon Bisley [c]
Tefé finds a flyer for a band called Arcane so she and Barnabas travel to New York to investigate. They are guided to the gig by a young teenage fan named Georgie. After the concert, Tefé learns that the band name is just a coincidence so she and Barnabas leave Georgie backstage with the band. Georgie later finds Tefé and Barnabas and explains that she has been beaten and raped by the group. As revenge, Tefé increases the drug levels in the band members’ bodies and then castrates them. Tefé then blames Georgie for what has happened to her, to Georgie’s horror. Meanwhile, Agents Kilroy and Orange find Wyatt who relates the story of his family’s kidnapping.
Vertigo Secret Files and Origins: Swamp Thing (2000) #1
November 2000
Brian K. Vaughan, Jon Lewis, Alisa Kwitney, Michael Bonner, Douglas Wolk [w], Cliff Chiang, Michael Zulli, Steve Leialoha, John Totleben, et al. [p], Phil Hale [c]
Bitter Fruit: Tefé visits Mary Conway’s priest, Father Burnell, and asks him about the Tree of Knowledge. He advises Tefé to visit a botanist so she decides to travel to Harvard. In a railyard she fends off an attacker before hopping into a train car. There she meets a terminally ill man named Christopher and his partner Michael. When the train travels along the edge of a beautiful valley, Christopher asks Michael to push him out of the car and end his life. When Michael is unable to, Tefé obliges. Michael departs the train in Washington D.C. and is soon visited by D.D.I. Agent Romero. Because Michael has had contact with Tefé, he is murdered by Romero on the orders of a mysterious female Director.
‘Bitter Fruit’ is set between Swamp Thing #2 (when Tefé has yet to venture far from where the Conways live) and Winters Edge #3 (in which Tefé has located the botanist in Boston).
Look Away: Various humans and other animals implore Swamp Thing to bring them together into a global consciousness. Swamp Thing refuses, instead seeing the beauty in a miraculous existence that sees killing and death as a necessary part of life.
‘Look Away’ has an ambiguous narrative, but it has been interpreted as Swamp Thing’s renouncement of his place in the Parliament of Worlds. However, later in the series (in #18, Oct. 2001), Swamp Thing maintains the ability to control water.
Lady Arcane: Abby senses the death of Matt Cable and remembers some events from her childhood. A 13-year-old Abby and a servant named Ingrid visit a witch in the Balkans. Ingrid wishes to fall pregnant and follows the witch’s instructions, while Abby has visions of Alec as a frog, and Matt Cable as a wolf and raven, and learns that the witch is her grandmother Anaïs (last encountered in #83, Feb. 1989). Ingrid falls pregnant but then wants an abortion. While she is following the witch’s instructions, Anaïs tries to feed Abby to her baby dragons to ensure that Abby will not have evil children. She is rescued by Ingrid, who is no longer pregnant after the spell freed a plant spirit from her body.
I’m not sure what the opening sequence of ‘Lady Arcane’ refers to as Matthew the Raven had died a year earlier in The Dreaming #42 (Nov. 1999).
Aside from the three stories, the comic includes other sections: DDI Secret Files (pp. 20-27) includes summaries of the characters Tefé, Pilate, Barnabas, the USDA agents, and Kudzu, while Who’s Who In The World Of Swamp Thing (pp. 44-50) contains biographies of Swamp Thing, Abby, Constantine, Arcane, and Woodrue. The Secret Life of a Plant Elemental (pp. 29-34), by Douglas Wolk, details the publication history up until the current issue, with summaries of many of the story arcs (especially during Moore run). There are quotes by Wein, Wrightson, Karen Berger, Petersen, Vaughan and others. Swamp Thing Timeline (pp. 61-63) redefines a year-by-year continuity for the character, incorporating snippets of information gleaned from other titles. Interestingly, the timeline mentions Linda Holland’s maiden name as Linda Olsen Ridge, suggesting that she is a descendant of the Linda from House of Secrets #92.
Swamp Thing #8
“Concrete Jungle, Part Two: Beneath a Crown of Laurel”, December 2000
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Simon Bisley [c]
Tefé and Barnabas search for Georgie at Grand Central Station but instead find Pilate and Daphne. Pilate recounts being questioned by a government agent. They all stay the night in an apartment cordoned off as a murder scene. When Tefé is asleep, Pilate tells Barnabas that he will stay with Tefé to either protect her or to kill her, depending on which side she chooses in the approaching war between plants and humans. Tefé has a dream and accesses the memories of a fern who has witnessed the murder that occurred in the apartment. Upon awakening, Tefé tracks down the killer and hands him into the police for a $10,000 reward. Tefé also persuades a botanical garden to take on the house fern as a donation.
Swamp Thing #9
“Concrete Jungle, Part Three: In the Air, on Land and Sea…”, January 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Paul Pope, Guy Davis, Steve Lieber, Roger Petersen [p], Simon Bisley [c]
Uncertain of their next move, Tefé, Barnabas and Pilate sit in a bar and discuss their fathers. Pilate recalls witnessing the Challenger rocket explosion with his father. Barnabas remembers having an argument with his dad and killing him with a rock, but doesn’t relate this story to his friends. Tefé recalls a time when Swamp Thing stopped a father and son from driving a polluting watercraft through the swamp. While Swampy was reprimanding the father, Tefé almost kills the son. Swamp Thing became upset and disappointed with his own poor parenting. In the bar, the trio learn from television news that a senator named Strand has withdrawn from presidential candidacy after his daughter Heather speaks out against him. Tefé identifies with Heather and decides to rescue her.
Swamp Thing #10
“Silk Cut”, February 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Glenn Fabry [c]
On way to Washington D.C., Tefé and her companions meet Constantine. Constantine has been sent by Swamp Thing to find Tefé after Kudzu revealed she was still alive. Tefé refuses to go with Constantine, and the pair find that they are unable to use any powers or magic on each other. Constantine and Tefé then discuss the night in the hospital when Tefé was switched with Mary Conway. Tefé reveals that she knows Mary did not pass away peacefully, but that Constantine killed her in order to finalise the spell. Tefé also explains that Mary was in remission from her illness. Tefé threatens to reveal these facts to her parents if Constantine tells them she is still alive.
Swamp Thing #11
“Red Harvest, Part One: The Virgin Thorn”, March 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Roger Petersen [p], Glenn Fabry [c]
The D.D.I. Director wants to prevent Swamp Thing from discovering his daughter is alive, so instructs Agent Romero to continue killing anyone associated with Tefé. Romero lets Georgie live when she is assured that Georgie doesn’t know about Tefé’s powers. After Tefé accidentally sets the van on fire, Barnabas begins to doubt Tefé’s judgement. Regardless, they all travel to a boarding school where Heather Strand is being protected by Secret Service agents. Tefé and her friends force an evacuation of the building and draw Heather and the agents to a cemetery. Tefé then manipulates the flesh of the dead to make it appear as though zombies have arisen out of the graves. In the chaos, Tefé and her friends ‘rescue’ the unconscious Heather but she is unappreciative when she awakens. Meanwhile, Romero arrives at the cemetery and begins killing the Secret Service agents, while the USDA agents and Kudzu are also searching for Tefé.
Swamp Thing #12
“Red Harvest, Part Two: Stockholm Syndrome”, April 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Giuseppe Camuncoli [p], Glenn Fabry [c]
Heather attempts to escape until Tefé reveals her powers. As they are both daughters of powerful men, Tefé feels a kinship with Heather and wants her help to decide what to do in the war between plants and humans. Tefé alters Heather’s appearance, and the group learns that all of the Secret Service agents have been killed. Heather believes the deaths are the work of her father, who she insists is dangerous, so Tefé agrees to help assassinate him. Meanwhile, the D.D.I. Director instructs Romero not to harm Heather, while Kudzu appears in the hotel room of the USDA agents.
Swamp Thing #13
“Red Harvest, Part Three: Carrying Capacity”, May 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Giuseppe Camuncoli [p], David Mack [c]
Heather claims that her father wants to kill off all vegetable life and starve the planet, but Pilate believes that Heather was molested by her father and that’s why she wants him dead. On their way to California, the group comes across a site where an environmental activist, Silvana, has been killed after falling out of a tree she was protecting from loggers. Other activists, Lara and Oscar, tell Tefé and Heather that it was the lumber company who killed Silvana, but Tefé learns something different from the tree. Meanwhile, Kudzu threatens the USDA agents with death if they interfere with his plans to assassinate Tefé for betraying the Green. Romero loses Tefé and her friends, so the Director instructs her to visit the parents of Mary Conway.
Swamp Thing #14
“Fall”, June 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Giuseppe Camuncoli [p], David Mack [c]
Tefé uses her powers to break up a confrontation between the activists and loggers. After seeing what Tefé can do, Lara threatens to kill Heather if Tefé doesn’t heal the forest, but Barnabas and Pilate intercede. Tefé explains that Silvana was killed by the redwood she was protecting so that her death could bring about more media attention and potentially save more trees. Meanwhile, the USDA agents decide to continue following Tefé despite Kudzu’s warning, and learn that she is Swamp Thing’s daughter.
Swamp Thing #15
“Burning Bushido”, July 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Giuseppe Camuncoli [p], David Mack [c]
Kudzu was formerly a samurai in feudal Japan named Asano Kanemoto. Asano’s father tied him to a tree to teach him that life is suffering and that he should not fear death. Asano spoke with the kudzu vines that bound him and they offered him everlasting life in exchange for being an assassin for the Green. In the present day, the USDA agents decide to help Tefé and so stock up on plant killing chemicals in preparation for a confrontation with Kudzu. They trace a phone in Kudzu’s possession and learn that everyone has travelled to southern California. Meanwhile, the D.D.I. Director speaks to Romero about the box that Woodrue designed to imprison Tefé (#169, Aug. 1996). The Director was involved in testing the trap by capturing a young Black Orchid hybrid who soon died in captivity. Romero arrives at the home of the Conways.
Swamp Thing #16
“Woman in Green”, August 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Giuseppe Camuncoli [p], Greg Staples [c]
Tefé and her friends plan to assassinate the senator at a public appearance. The disguised Heather approaches her father with a gun but Tefé is stabbed by Kudzu, causing Heather’s appearance to return to normal at a critical time. Heather is recognised and disarmed by the senator’s bodyguards. Barnabas and Pilate fight Kudzu but are overwhelmed until the USDA agents arrive and spray Kudzu with pesticide. Agent Kilroy is fatally skewered into an electric car, which Agent Orange uses to electrocute Kudzu before Tefé decapitates the assassin. Meanwhile, Romero takes the imprisoned Conways to an abandoned warehouse that also houses the box designed by Woodrue. Romero then tells Tefé where her adoptive parents are being held.
Swamp Thing #17
“Topiary”, September 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Giuseppe Camuncoli [p], Greg Staples [c]
Tefé and Barnabas travel to the warehouse while Pilate decides to save Heather. Tefé, believing that Romero has a bomb trigger connected to her heart, enters the box in exchange for the lives of her family. After Tefé is trapped in the box, Romero shoots Barnabas before detailing the murders of Tefé’s other acquaintances. Agent Orange arrives and sets Tefé free to kill Romero. Tefé offers to save the dying Barnabas but he chooses to die as a self-imposed punishment for killing his father. Swamp Thing appears in front of Tefé when she leaves the warehouse. Meanwhile, Heather is interrogated by the D.D.I. Director who recounts a story of Heather’s childhood when she once witnessed Tefé being imprisoned in the box (#169, Aug. 1996). The Director tries to convince Heather that Tefé wanted to harm her, and the Director now wants Heather to make a public statement saying that she made up the stories about her father. The Director then reveals herself to be Heather’s father, the senator, disguised in women’s clothing.
Swamp Thing #18
“Last of the Loose Ends”, October 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Giuseppe Camuncoli [p], John T. Totleben [c]
Tefé entrusts Daphne and Kudzu’s swords to Agent Orange, who takes the Conways to hospital. Tefé and her father converse, with Swamp Thing explaining that he has been reunited with the spirit of Alec Holland and has learned that humans and plants are inseparable. The pair travel through the Green to a dam in China that is threatening to burst and destroy a village. Tefé believes that they should use their powers to help the world, but Swamp Thing believes they should let events run their course even if that means humans will die. Tefé intentionally damages the dam, forcing Swamp Thing to intercede and save the village in spite of what he had previously said. Tefé explains that she never wanted to hurt humans but had believed that it was what Swamp Thing wanted. Swampy realises that Tefé has grown up and wants to leave her to make her own choices in life, and mentions that the Tree of Knowledge is possibly in Africa. Tefé returns to California and meets Pilate, who says that Heather was on the radio and seems to be happily reunited with her father.
JLA: Incarnations (2001) #5
“Crisis” (pp. 1-23), November 2001. DC Comics.
John Ostrander [w], Valdis Semeiks [p]
When Aquaman leaves the Justice League to look for his missing wife Mera, Martian Manhunter rallies the remaining, inexperienced League members to save the planet during the ‘Crisis On Infinite Earths’. Past, present and future begin to merge on Earth, causing chaos. Gypsy receives advice from her future self and is able to instruct Vibe how to use the Monitor’s ‘tuning fork’ machines to separate time again.
Swampy can be seen on the Monitor’s ship, recreating the scene from Crisis On Infinite Earths #5 (Aug. 1985).
Swamp Thing #19
“Rootless”, November 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Giuseppe Camuncoli [p], Greg Staples [c]
Pilate and Tefé attempt to help impoverished Africans while searching for the Tree of Knowledge. They encounter Mtakwishayenu (Wish), a powerful magician, who asks them to leave and let Africa resolve its own problems. Wish explains that to find the Tree of Knowledge Tefé needs to seek permission from the spirits of the murdered Herero people. The spirits refuse permission as Tefé has only been aiding Africans for selfish reasons: to atone for the murders she committed. They instruct her to kill herself but she refuses, saying that she can do more good alive. They leave her with a phrase, which Wish later translates as the Herero’s permission to seek the Tree, which Wish reveals is located in a swamp.
Swamp Thing #20
“Saga”, December 2001
Brian K. Vaughan [w], Giuseppe Camuncoli [p], Greg Staples [c]
Tefé, Pilate and Wish travel to a swamp in Botswana where they are set upon by ape-like creatures and knocked unconscious. Tefé is taken to the Tree of Knowledge and it’s protector, the Gardener, the bridge between human and non-human animals. The Gardener lets Tefé eat the fruit of the tree, which will reveal to her the greatest good and greatest evil she is capable of. Tefé meets a future version of herself who has purged Africa of the AIDS virus. However, the virus elemental, Pestilence, has infected Pilate with an illness as punishment and forces Tefé to choose between Pilate and those she has healed. Tefé returns to the present and is outraged with a future in which she is responsible for the death of another friend. She concludes that the fruit must have showed her the evil path and so takes another bite. She is again confronted with a future, this time where she becomes pregnant to Constantine in order to give birth to an Antichrist that will destroy humanity in order for the Green to flourish. Tefé again returns to the present but does not know which of the visions was good and which was evil. Wish transports her and Pilate back to the desert, where Tefé explains that she will not choose to exercise her power over the fate of the world, and will thereby avoid either future.
Planetary/JLA: Terra Occulta (2002) #1
November 2002. WildStorm.
Warren Ellis [w], Jerry Ordway [p]
In an alternate Elseworlds reality, Diana Prince, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent meet to discuss the Planetary organisation, who are responsible for killing Ma and Pa Kent, destroying Themyscira, and experimenting on heroes to derive new technologies. They break into the lab of time physicist Julius Erdel, who has created a time machine, but Erdel is killed when Ambrose Chase appears and attacks the heroes. Chase is pushed into the Time Loop and killed, and the machine is destroyed. The heroes use Chase’s portal generator to travel to the Planetary Watchtower on the moon, but their arrival is expected and Clark is sucked into space and killed. Diana kills Jakita Wagner and helps Bruce kill Elijah Snow.
Along with the bodies of other heroes, the remains of Swamp Thing are stored on the Watchtower in Snow’s office and can be seen in several panels.
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‘Lady Constantine’ miniseries Set in the 18th century, this 4-part miniseries follows the story of John Constantine’s ancestor Johanna and the plant elemental Jack-In-The-Green (Alf Oldland), who also appears in Neil Gaiman’s Midnight Days (1999) and in several issues as a member of the Parliament of Trees. Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine (2003) #1 Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine (2003) #2 Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine (2003) #3 |
Hellblazer (1988) #184
“The Wild Card”, July 2003
Mike Carey [w], Marcelo Frusin [p]
Constantine travels to the former site of the Parliament of Trees, which is now just ash following the events of Swamp Thing #167 (June 1996). Constantine asks for Swampy’s help to investigate what is chasing spirits out of the realm of the dead. In a bar in Juliema, Bokhari plays poker with Goterrez and shows interest in Goterrez’s belt, which contains the soul of Bokhari’s partner Elena. The two make a blood pact that all bets will be settled that day. Constantine arrives at the bar to meet Angie and suddenly swaps bodies with Bokhari. Goterrez believes that Bokhari is trying to run away from the card game so raises the stakes, betting his soul and that of Elena against the souls of Constantine and Angie. Constantine wins the hand and Goterrez is killed. As payment, Bokhari tells Constantine that the Shadow Dog that is chasing the spirits has come from Eden.
Hellblazer (1988) #185
“Ordeal”, August 2003
Mike Carey [w], Marcelo Frusin [p]
Constantine and Angie travel to Iran to gain access to Eden. They meet the Binei Gadol (descendants of Cain) and are brought to Ghursoon, the leader. Ghursoon explains that a Beast left the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were exiled, but she doesn’t know its name. Constantine is imprisoned due to his involvement in a theft from the Binei Gadol during his last visit. He asks Angie to bury a few of his hairs in Eden for him and, while there, she is confronted by a seraph who gives her a stick. Constantine admits to Ghursoon that he seduced a woman to learn the whereabouts of the stolen testament, but claims he didn’t steal it. He plunges his arm into boiling water to prove his honesty and is allowed to leave, but he later reveals to Angie that is arm is severely burned. Later that night, Swamp Thing visits them and explains that two creatures have recently travelled from the spirit world into the physical world.
Hellblazer (1988) #189
“Staring at the Wall: Part One of Five”, December 2003
Mike Carey [w], Marcelo Frusin [p]
As people around the world begin exhibiting signs of madness, Constantine calls a meeting of magicians in a derelict house. He asks them for help to fight the Shadow Dog but they are not interested. Alba is taken with the madness and attacks the others before being subdued. Meanwhile, Angie visits her brother Jason in a psychiatric hospital following his possession by spirits. Jason is now much better and wants to meet Constantine. On the way, Angie fends off an attack by the Shadow Dog.
Swamp Thing appears in a panel on around p. 11, watching on as evil spreads around the world. This is the first appearance (one of the few) of Nathan Arcane, but his exact relationship to Abby and Anton is unclear.
Hellblazer (1988) #192
“Staring at the Wall: Part 4 of 5”, March 2004
Mike Carey [w], Marcelo Frusin [p]
As the world descends into chaos, Chas drives the critically injured Constantine to John’s storage facility. Constantine’s niece Gemma summons Swamp Thing, who keeps Constantine alive while Gemma prepares a spell that enables her to commune with he uncle’s soul. Constantine explains that he went brain-dead on purpose to avoid being possessed by The Beast, and that he has also protected Gemma and the others. Constantine believes that they may be able to use the Shadow Dog to attack The Beast, who is the real source of the evil. The storage unit is then attacked by possessed humans.
Hellblazer (1988) #193
“Staring at the Wall: Conclusion”, April 2004
Mike Carey [w], Marcelo Frusin [p], Tim Bradstreet [c]
Angie arrives to fend off the attackers, and brings the stick that she was given in Eden. Swamp Thing absorbs the special wood and becomes armoured. Swampy seeks out and attacks The Beast, who rips Swampy’s human soul out of him. While The Beast is distracted, Chas, Gemma and Angie summon the Shadow Dog that had previously been killed by Constantine. As the Dog had originally been created from Adam’s imagination, they are able to create the Shadow Dog again by tapping into the collective unconscious of humanity. The Shadow Dog drives The Beast away. Swampy returns to the group, but they find that Constantine has disappeared. Constantine wanders the streets having lost his memory.
[w] denotes writer, [p] denotes penciller, but I have included both penciller and inker if both are credited equally as artists. [c] denotes cover artist, but I have mostly only included the last in instances where Swampy is illustrated by someone other than the inside penciller.
Another Green World 