The Complete Swamp Thing Reading Order

For anyone that has been a Vertigo fan since the beginning, there is always a soft spot for Swamp Thing.  Vertigo comics was really born out of the space created when serious British Invasion creators took the helm of lesser known and followed DC Characters.  Before Neil Gaiman re-thought Sandman and Grant Morrison re-engineered Animal Man and the Doom Patrol, Alan Moore got his hands on Swamp Thing.  This completely changed the character into a place of dark post-modern horror, and one that flowed on and off throughout the entire life of Vertigo comics up until the New 52.  These were some of the most respected and longest running issues, other than Hellblazer, at Vertigo, and certainly helped to redefine adult-oriented books.  After New 52 began, DC took all their owned characters back into the DCU, which included Swamp Thing.  Here is where Scott Snyder, of American Vampire fame, took over and walked the line between the Vertigo oriented exploration of the human psyche and the hero-centered world of the DCU.

For the ultimate fans, it may be hard to figure out where to start and what you should read and end.  We decided to create a complete Swamp Thing reading order, starting with some of the work done over at DCUGuide, then building on what wasn’t there.


Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #1 (October-November 1972): “Dark Genesis”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #2 (December 1972-January 1973): “The Man Who Wanted Forever”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #3 (February-March 1973): “The Patchwork Man”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #4 (April-May 1973): “Monster on the Moors”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #5 (July-August 1973): “Last of the Ravenwind Witches”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #6 (September-October 1973): “A Clockwork Horror”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #7 (November-December 1973): “Night of the Bat”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #8 (January-February 1974): “Lurker In Tunnel 13”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #9 (March-April 1974): “The Stalker From Beyond”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #10 (May-June 1974): “The Man Who Would Not Die”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #11 (July-August 1974): “The Conqueror Worms”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #12 (September-October 1974): “The Eternity Man”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #13 (November-December 1974): “The Leviathan Conspiracy”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #14 (January-February 1975): “The Tomorrow Children”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #15 (March-April 1975): “The Soul-Spell of Father Bliss”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #16 (May 1975): “Night of the Warring Dead”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #17 (July 1975): “The Destiny Machine”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #18 (September 1975): “Village of the Doomed”
Brave and the Bold #122 (October 1975): “The Hour of the Beast”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #19 (October 1975): “A Second Time to Die”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #20 (December 1975-January 1976): “The Mirror Monster”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #21 (February-March 1976): “Requiem”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #22 (April-May 1976): “The Solomon Plague”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #23 (June-July 1976): “Rebirth and Nightmare”
Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #24 (August-September 1976): “The Earth Below”
Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #83 (October-November 1977): “Seven Doorways to Destiny”
Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #84 (December 1977-January 1978): “To Save a Monster”
Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #85 (February-March 1978): “The Creature from the End of Time”
Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #86 (April-May 1978): “The War at Time’s End”
Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #87 (June-July 1978): “Twelve Million Years to Twilight”
DC Comics Presents #8 (April 1979): “The Sixty Deaths of Solomon Grundy”
Brave and the Bold #176 (July 1981): “The Delta Connection”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #1 (May 1982): “What Peace There May Be In Silence”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #2 (June 1982): “Something To Live For”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #3 (July 1982): “A Town Has Turned To Blood”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #4 (August 1982): “In the White Room”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #5 (September 1982): “The Screams of Hungry Flesh”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #6 (October 1982): “Sins of the Water”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #7 (November 1982): “I Have Seen the Splintered Timber of a Hundred Shattered Hulls”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #8 (December 1982): “Here’s Looking At You, Kid”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #9 (January 1983): “Prelude To Holocaust”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #10 (February 1983): “Number of the Beast”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #11 (March 1983): “Heart of Stone, Feet of Clay”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #12 (April 1983): “And Yet It Lives”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #13 (May 1983): “Lambs To the Slaughter”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #14 (June 1983): “Crystal Visions, Shattered Dreams!”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #15 (July 1983): “Empires Made of Sand”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #16 (August 1983): “Stopover in a Place of Secret Truths”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #17 (October 1983): “…And Things That Go Bump in the Night”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #18 (November 1983): “The Man Who Would Not Die!”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #19 (December 1983): “And the Meek Shall Inherit…”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #20 (January 1984): “Loose Ends”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #21 (February 1984): “The Anatomy Lesson”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #22 (March 1984): “Swamped”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #23 (April 1984): “Another Green World”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #24 (May 1984): “Roots”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #25 (June 1984): “The Sleep of Reason”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #26 (July 1984): “…A Time Of Running”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #27 (August 1984): “…By Demons Driven!”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #28 (September 1984): “The Burial”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #29 (October 1984): “Love and Death”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #30 (November 1984): “A Halo of Flies”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #31 (December 1984): “The Brimstone Ballet”
Saga of the Swamp Thing Annual #2 (1984): “Down Amongst the Dead Men”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #32 (January 1985): “Pog”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #33 (February 1985): “Abandoned Houses”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #34 (March 1985): “Rite of Spring”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #35 (April 1985): “The Nukeface Papers Part 1”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #36 (May 1985): “The Nukeface Papers Part 2”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985): “Growth Patterns”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #38 (July 1985): “Still Waters”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #39 (August 1985): “Fish Story”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #40 (September 1985): “The Curse”
DC Comics Presents #85 (September 1985): “The Jungle Line”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #41 (October 1985): “Southern Change”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #42 (November 1985): “Strange Fruit”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #43 (December 1985): “Windfall”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #44 (January 1986): “Bogeymen”
Crisis on Infinite Earths #4 (July 1985): “And Thus Shall the World Die!”
Saga of the Swamp Thing #45 (February 1986): “Ghost Dance”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #46 (March 1986): “Revelations” [Pages 1-7]
Crisis on Infinite Earths #5 (August 1985): “Worlds in Limbo” [Appearance same in part as Swamp Thing #46, pages 8-10]
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #46 (March 1986): “Revelations” [Pages 11-22]
Crisis on Infinite Earths #10 (January 1986): “Death at the Dawn of Time!”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #47 (April 1986): “The Parliament of Trees”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #48 (May 1986): “A Murder of Crows”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #49 (June 1986): “The Summoning”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #50 (July 1986): “The End”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #51 (August 1986): “Home Free”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #52 (September 1986): “Natural Consequences”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #53 (October 1986): “Garden of Earthly Delights”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #55 (December 1986): “Earth to Earth”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #56 (January 1987): “My Blue Heaven”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #57 (February 1987): “Mysteries in Space”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #58 (March 1987): “Exiles”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #60 (May 1987): “Loving the Alien”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #61 (June 1987): “All Flesh is Grass”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #62 (July 1987): “Wavelength”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #63 (August 1987): “Loose Ends (Reprise)”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #64 (September 1987): “Return of the Good Gumbo”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #65 (October 1987): “(We Could Be) Diving for Pearls”
Swamp Thing Annual Vol. 2 #3 (1987): “Distant Cousins”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #66 (November 1987): “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #67 (December 1987): “The Wisdom of Solomon”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #68 (January 1988): “Reflections In a Golden Eye”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #69 (February 1988): “Wild Thing”
Infinity, Inc. #46 (January 1988): “Swamped”
Millennium #8 (February 1988): “The Rising and Advancing of Ten Spirits”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #70 (March 1988): “The Secret Life of Plants”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #71 (April 1988): “Fear of Flying”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #72 (May 1988): “Gargles In the Rat Race Choir”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #73 (June 1988): “The Fire Next Door”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #74 (July 1988): “Center of the Cyclone”
Captain Atom #16 (June 1988): “The Big Blowout”
Captain Atom #17 (July 1988): “Battle Beyond the Green”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #75 (August 1988): “The Thinker”
Hellblazer #9 (September 1988): “Shot To Hell”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #76 (September 1988): “L’adoration De La Terre”
Hellblazer #10 (October 1988): “Sex and Death”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #77 (October 1988): “Infernal Triangles”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #78 (November 1988): “To Sow One’s Seed In the Wind”
Swamp Thing Annual Vol. 2 #4 (1988): “Threads”
Black Orchid Vol. 1 #3 (1989): “Yes…”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #79 (December 1988): “Waiting For God (Oh!)”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #80 (winter 1988): “The Longest Day”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #81 (Holiday 1988): “Widowsweed”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #82 (January 1989): “Brothers In Arms Part Two”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #83 (February 1989): “Brothers In Arms Part One”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #85 (April 1989): “My Name Is Nobody”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #86 (May 1989): “Heroes of the Revolution”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #87 (June 1989): “Fall of the House of Pendragon”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #88 (September 1989): “Survival of the Fittest”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #89 (November 1989): “Founding Fathers”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #90 (December 1989): “Journeys”
Firestorm, The Nuclear Man Vol. 1 #90 (October 1989): “Force of Nature”
Firestorm, The Nuclear Man Vol. 1 #91 (November 1989): “The Elemental War, Part 2: Confrontation”
Firestorm, The Nuclear Man Vol. 1 #92 (December 1989): “Elemental War: Vision”
Firestorm, The Nuclear Man Vol. 1 #93 (January 1990): “Storm Front”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #91 (January 1990): “Augurs and Offerings”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #92 (February 1990): “La Terre qui Disparaît”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #93 (March 1990): “Capturing the Moments of Your Life”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #94 (April 1990): “The Mysterious Axman’s Jazz”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #95 (May 1990): “Toxic Wonderland”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #96 (June 1990): “Hell To Pay”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #97 (July 1990): “Scattered Houses”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #98 (August 1990): “Family Reunion”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #99 (September 1990): “Leaves In A Tempest”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #100 (October 1990): “Tales of Eden”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #101 (November 1990): “Keepsakes”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #102 (December 1990): “And All the King’s Horses…”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #103 (January 1991): “Exodus”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #104 (February 1991): “Matango”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #105 (March 1991): “Living Sacrifices”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #106 (April 1991): “Dead Tribes and Forgotten Souls”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #107 (May 1991): “Stabs of Life Echoing In A Void”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #108 (June 1991): “Siege”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #109 (July 1991): “A Descent of Shadows”
Swamp Thing Annual Vol. 2 #6 (1991): “Les Perdu”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #110 (August 1991): “Any Deadly Thing”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #111 (September 1991): “Zydeco Ya-Ya”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #112 (October 1991): “All the Swamp Thing’s Men”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #113 (November 1991): “Fear and Loathing On the Bayou Trail”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #114 (December 1991): “Pirate’s Alley”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #115 (January 1992): “Rum, Necromancy, & the Lash”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #116 (February 1992): “The Growing Season”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #117 (March 1992): “The Lord of Misrule”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #118 (April 1992): “A Child’s Garden”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #119 (May 1992): “The Bad Man”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #120 (June 1992): “Lady Jane”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #121 (July 1992): “Laissez Les Bon Temps Rulers”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #122 (August 1992): “The Eye of the Needleman”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #123 (September 1992): “Puctures”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #124 (October 1992): “Husks”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #125 (November 1992): “Family Reunion”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #126 (December 1992): “The Big Picture”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #127 (January 1993): “Project Proteus”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #128 (February 1993): “Toxic Shock”
Hellblazer #63 (March 1993): “Forty”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #129 (March 1993): “Swamp Fever”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #130 (April 1993): “Home Sick”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #131 (May 1993): “Folk Remedy”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #132 (June 1993): “Home Body”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #133 (July 1993): “Daisy Chain”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #134 (August 1993): “She’s Leaving Houma”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #135 (September 1993): “Marital Problems”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #136 (October 1993): “Cross-Pollination”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #137 (November 1993): “Dead Relatives”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #138 (December 1993): “And In the End…”
Black Orchid Vol. 2 #5 (January 1994): “The Mind Fields Part One”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #139 (January 1994): “The Mind Fields Part Two”
Vertigo Jam #1 (1993): “The Ghost In the Green”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #140 (March 1994): “Vegetable Man”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #141 (April 1994): “Bad Gumbo”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #142 (May 1994): “Soul Train”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #143 (June 1994): “Desert Hearts”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #144 (July 1994): “A Hope In Hell”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #145 (August 1994): “Big Game”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #146 (September 1994): “Murder In the Dark”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #147 (October 1994): “Amsterdamnation”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #148 (November 1994): “Feeding Habits”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #149 (December 1994): “The Root of All Evil”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #150 (January 1995): “The Illumination”
Guy Gardner: Warrior #29 (March 1995): “It’s My Party And I’ll Fight If I Want To”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #151 (February 1995): “River Run Prologue: Flotsam and Jetsam”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #152 (March 1995): “River Run Ch. 1: City of the Dead”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #153 (April 1995): “River Run Ch. 2: Twillight of the Gods”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #154 (May 1995): “River Run Ch. 3: The Bad Seed”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #155 (June 1995): “River Run Ch. 4: The Secret of Slaughter Swamp”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #156 (July 1995): “River Run Ch. 5: Darker Genesis”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #157 (August 1995): “River Run Ch. 6: Sink Or Swim”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #158 (September 1995): “River Run Ch. 7: The Parliament of Waves”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #159 (October 1995): “Swamp Dog”
Batman #522 (September 1995): “Swamp Things”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #160 (November 1995): “Ace of Swords”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #161 (December 1995): “Many Happy Returns”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #162 (January 1996): “Telephone Calls From The Dead”
Underworld Unleashed: Abyss – Hell’s Sentinel #1 (December 1995): “Hell’s Sentinel”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #163 (February 1996): “Trees of Knowledge”
Guy Gardner: Warrior #39 (February 1996): “Merriment, Mistletoe, and Mayhem!”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #164 (March 1996): “The Parliament of Vapors”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #166 (May 1996): “Trial By Fire, Part 1: Golden Days Before The End”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #167 (June 1996): “Trial By Fire, Part 2: The Word of God”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #168 (July 1996): “Trial By Fire, Part 3: Last Temptation of Anton”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #169 (August 1996): “Trial By Fire, Part 4: Judas Tree”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #170 (September 1996): “Trial By Fire, Part 5: Apocalypse Now”
Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #171 (October 1996): “Trial By Fire: The End”
Green Lantern Vol. 3 #81 (December 1996): “Funeral For A Hero”
Aquaman Vol. 5 #32 (May 1997): “Sea of Green”
Aquaman Vol. 5 #33 (June 1997): “Vision Quest”
Spectre Vol. 3 #62 (February 1998): “Final Rites”
Swamp Thing Vol. 3 #6 (October 2000): “Killing Time, Part Three: Destiny Manifest”
Swamp Thing Vol. 3 #17 (September 2001): “Red Harvest, Conclusion: Topiary”
Swamp Thing Vol. 3 #18 (October 2001): “Last of the Loose Ends”
Hellblazer #184 (July 2003): “Third Worlds Part One: The Wild Card”
Hellblazer #189 (December 2003): “Staring at the Wall Part One”
Hellblazer #193 (April 2004): “Staring at the Wall Conclusion”

Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #1 (May 2004): “Swamp Thing: Bad Seed”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #2 (June 2004): “Bad Seed, Part Two”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #3 (July 2004): “Bad Seed, Part Three”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #4 (August 2004): “Bad Seed, Part Four”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #5 (September 2004): “Bad Seed, Part Five”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #6 (October 2004): “Bad Seed, Conclusion”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #7 (November 2004): “Missing Links, Part One”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #8 (December 2004): “Missing Links, Conclusion”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #9 (January 2005): “Love in Vain, Chapter One”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #10 (February 2005): “Love in Vain, Chapter Two”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #11 (March 2005): “Love in Vain, Chapter Three”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #12 (April 2005): “Love in Vain, Chapter Four”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #13 (May 2005): “Measure of Faith, Chapter One”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #14 (June 2005): “Measure of Faith, Chapter Two”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #15 (July 2005): “Healing the Breach, Chapter I: The Emotional Hostage”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #16 (August 2005): “Healing the Breach, Chapter II: Where the Rushing Waters Go”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #17 (September 2005): “Healing the Breach, Chapter III: While Sinking”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #18 (October 2005): “Healing the Breach, Chapter IV: Seeding Madness”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #19 (November 2005): “The Holland Mind”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #20 (December 2005): “Little Runaway”
Hellblazer #215 (February 2006): “R.S.V.P., Part 2”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #21 (January 2006): “The Bleeding Raconteur, Part 1-StoryTeller Down”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #22 (February 2006): “The Bleeding Raconteur, Part 2-A Hair-Trigger Heart”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #23 (March 2006): “The Bleeding Raconteur, Part 3-Letting Go”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #24 (April 2006): “The Bleeding Raconteur, Part 4-Emendation”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #25 (May 2006): “Meanwhile, In Houma…”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #26 (June 2006): “Burying the Bones”
Infinite Crisis #6 (May 2006): “Touchdown”
Infinite Crisis #7 (June 2006): “Finale”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #27 (July 2006): “The Prison Tree, Chapter I”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #28 (August 2006): “The Prison Tree, Chapter II”
Swamp Thing Vol. 4 #29 (September 2006): “The Prison Tree, Conclusion”

New 52 Begins

Specials

  • Swamp Thing Futures End #1
  • Convergence: Swamp Thing #1
  • Convergence: Swamp Thing #2

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