Swamp Thing #15 Review

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Marco Rudy

This series has been one of the best New 52 series I've found of late. After reading tremendous things about this series and after having it recommended I got the first volume of the series in trade paperback and loved it. I have recently caught up on the current Rotworld and although it's not quite as good as the first story it's still been an amazing read.

Plot

This issue sees Swamp Thing and Deadman confronted by William Arcane whilst travelling to Gotham City. This issue also reveals the fate of Abby Arcane, as well as featuring Anton Arcane and a weird Rot Batman like character.

Review

A great issue and I've been thoroughly enjoying this story so far. Although not as good as the last issue this was still a brilliant issue and Scott Snyder continues to work his magic on this series. I love how he's managed to keep Abby involved in the story whilst progressing Swamp Thing's journey. I also enjoyed how Snyder brought the Arcane's, especially William into this story, and look forward to seeing they bring to the story. I will talk more about the return of the Arcane's further on in my review. I've also loved how Snyder's managed to continue showing Swamp Thing's emotions towards Abby in this story whilst keeping him on his journey to defeat the Rot. I've also liked how Snyder's managed to keep Deadman as a key character in this series whilst keeping the focus mainly on Swamp Thing, Abby, and the Arcanes.

The art from Marco Rudy in this issue was good but I'm always a little disappointed when Yanick Paquette isn't doing the art on this series. Nothing against Rudy, he's the next best artist to have worked on this series, and he produces amazing art. I love how he's put more detail than others into the close-ups of Swamp Thing but also dislike the lack of detail in the panels with characters in the distance. I also like how he's drawn both Abby and William Arcane as well as the Rot creatures. It's also nice to see that Rudy incorporates ton's of great facial expressions in the characters which I like as I always love when an artist can show the character's emotions.

The way this issue started with William coming out of the water on a Rot version of Starro. I also loved that William was wielding Aquaman's Trident which was very cool. The return of William in this issue was a nice as I enjoyed him as a villain during the first volume and was a slightly disappointed not to have seen him in this story until now. Having not read issues 8-12 I don't know how he left the series but I'm happy to see him back, as he was there since the start and I love how this child villain is as evil as some of the well known villains and much better than the child versions of the Hellfire Club should have been let alone are.

The thing I enjoyed the most about this issue was that we got to see a little more about what's happened to Abby as well as the return of Anton Arcane. I've not known much about Anton as a villain having not read any issues featuring him, but have heard that he's a good villain and a worthy foe for Swamp Thing. I have however loved the Abby character, and her relationship with Holland has been what I've enjoyed most throughout this series. I don't usually care for romantic relationships in comics, neither liking or disliking them, but Snyder has done an amazing job of bringing these two characters together who should oppose each other (as Holland is an wielder of The Green, and Abby of the Rot). It was also interesting seeing Abby and Anton interact with each other as besides being family they both have a huge connection to the Rot.

SMALL SPOILER AHEAD!

Near the end of the issue it's revealed that Batman has been infected by the Rot. Another Bat like creature, similar to Man-Bat also appears and it was interesting, and learning the identity of the creature was even more interesting. I won't spoil who the creature is and apologise in advance if the picture to the right spoils the identity of the character. I was slightly disappointed not to have seen a bit more of Gotham in this issue as I was looking forward to seeing Gotham after the Rot's infected it.

Deadman's involvement in this issue was also brilliant and I've loved how Snyder's managed to keep him involved in the story so far. The drastic decision made by Deadman in this issue was also interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing what the repercussions of this decision affect the future of Deadman and this story.

Final Verdict

Although slightly poorer than the last issue this was still a very good issue and the story has been brilliant. I would recommend this to anyone who's a fan of Swamp Thing or the series so far. I would also recommend this issue to newer readers but not on it's own. You'd need to buy issues 13 and 14 to appreciate the story.

Rating: 4/5