Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing
Cover art for Swamp Thing #1 (January 2016). Art by Kelley Jones.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	(Alex Olsen) House of Secrets #92 (July 1971) (Alec Holland) Swamp Thing #1 (November 1972) (Albert Höllerer) Swamp Thing #47 (May 1986) (Tefé Holland) Swamp Thing #90 (December 1989) (Allan Hallman) Swamp Thing #102 (December 1990) (Aaron Hayley) Swamp Thing: Roots (March 1998)
Created by	(Alex Olsen) Len Wein Bernie Wrightson (Alec Holland) Len Wein Bernie Wrightson (Albert Höllerer) Alan Moore Stan Woch (Tefé Holland) Doug Wheeler Pat Broderick (Allan Hallman) Doug Wheeler Mike Hoffman (Aaron Hayley) Jon J. Muth
In-story information
Alter ego	Dr. Alec Holland
Species	Swamp monster
Team affiliations	Parliament of Trees White Lantern Corps Justice League Dark
Partnerships	John Constantine Animal Man
Abilities	Superhuman strength and durability Telepathic dominion over plant life Vegetation body granted shapeshifting and hyperelasticity Able to create new bodies out of plants
Swamp Thing
Series publication information
Schedule	(vol. 1): Bi-Monthly (vol. 2–5): Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Horror
Publication date	(vol. 1) October–November 1972 – August–September 1976 (Saga of the...) May 1982 – July 1985 (vol. 2) August 1985 – October 1996 (vol. 3) May 2000 – December 2001 (vol. 4) May 2004 – September 2006 (vol. 5) September 2011 – May 2015
Number of issues	(vol. 1): 24 (Saga of the...): 38 plus 1 Annual (vol. 2): 133 plus 6 Annuals (vol. 3): 20 (vol. 4): 29 (vol. 5): 42 (#1–40 plus issues numbered 0 and 23.1), a Swamp Thing: Futures End one-shot, and 3 Annuals
Creative team
Writer(s)	(vol. 1) Len Wein, David Michelinie (Saga of the...) Martin Pasko, Alan Moore (vol. 2) Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, Doug Wheeler, Nancy A. Collins, Mark Millar (vol. 3) Brian K. Vaughan (vol. 4) Andy Diggle, Joshua Dysart (vol. 5) Scott Snyder, Charles Soule
Penciller(s)	(vol. 1) Bernie Wrightson, Nestor Redondo (Saga of the...) Tom Yeates, Fred Carrillo, Bo Hampton, Stephen Bissette (vol. 2) Stephen Bissette, Stan Woch, Rick Veitch, Tom Mandrake, Pat Broderick, Mike Hoffman, Scot Eaton, Phil Hester (vol. 3) Roger Petersen, Giuseppe Camuncoli (vol. 4) Enrique Breccia, Richard Corben (vol. 5) Yanick Paquette, Jesus Saiz
Inker(s)	(Saga of the...) John Totleben (vol. 2) John Totleben, Alfredo Alcala, Kim DeMulder
Colorist(s)	(Saga of the..., vol. 2) Tatjana Wood (vol. 3) Alex Sinclair

The Swamp Thing is a fictional character in the DC Universe He is a humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Berni Wrightson. Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in various different storylines. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 (July 1971) in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century. The character then returned in a solo series, set in the contemporary world and in the general DC continuity. The character is a swamp monster that resembles a humanoid mass of vegetable matter. He fights to protect his swamp home, the environment in general, and humanity from various supernatural or terrorist threats.

The character found perhaps his greatest popularity during the 1970s and early 1990s. Outside of an extensive comic book history, Swamp Thing has inspired two theatrical films, a live-action television series, and a five-part animated series, among other media.

Len Wein came up with the idea for the character while riding a subway in Queens. He later recalled, "I didn't have a title for it, so I kept referring to it as 'that swamp thing I'm working on.' And that's how it got its name!" Berni Wrightson designed the character's visual image, using a rough sketch by Wein as a guideline.

The Swamp Thing character first appeared in House of Secrets #92 (June–July 1971), under the name Alex Olsen. The comic is set in the early 20th century, when Olsen, a scientist, is caught in a lab explosion caused by his co-worker, Damian Ridge, who intended to kill him to gain the hand of Olsen's wife Linda. Olsen is physically altered by chemicals and the forces within the swamp. He is transformed into a monstrous creature who kills Ridge before the latter can murder Linda, who has started to suspect Ridge of murdering Alex. Unable to make Linda realize his true identity, he returns to the swamp.