At the time there were protests -- especially from people who pointed out Moore's version of Swamp Thing's origin was contradicted by what we had seen in the Wein/Wrightson run -- but DC applied the age old rule of simply not printing those letters. What if that had not been an option?

I remember when I originally read Swamp Thing # 21 and got the "revised" version of the origin, I just thought it was a really kick in the head as it destroyed the basic storyline and premise of the series, and allowed Alan Moore to take it where he wanted.

(And before anyone jumps in to point out that Len approved the changes, let's keep in mind that, with such a volume of work behind him, it's entirely possible Len did not remember the issue of SWAMP THING that Moore's deconstruction contradicted.)

Len's Swamp Thing was very entertaining, Alan Moore's version really didn't appeal to me.

it's entirely possible Len did not remember the issue of SWAMP THING that Moore's deconstruction contradicted

***

Which one is it? I thought I remembered a story where Swamp Thing's arm is somehow freed of it's vegetable-matter covering - but I flicked through my copy of "Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis", and it's not there. Do you mean the first Arcane story, with the soul jar?

Reading up on the thread - I believe the Peanuts strips that are being reprinted were chosen by the creator specifically to be the ones repeated. Prepared to be wrong.

And doesn't a work for hire arrangement, like most major superheroes were created under, mean that the creator doesn't have any say on what happens next? To an extent it doesn't matter if the creator disagrees or not when it's not creator owned.

And I've just watched a belting episode of Doctor Who that was funny, exciting, sweet, moving, romantic and a million miles away from the core concept the creators shaped in the 1960's. If that series, when relaunched last year, didn't take the good bits and abandon the bad whilst reashaping the series for the audience of now it would never have worked. A drama thats purpose is to be educative on science and history within a serial format? Never work. There's a legendary annecdote of the first producer of Who being summoned to a bigger boss' office and being bawled out beacuse she had varied from the core concept. When she was proved right and it was a hit she was summoned back and got an apology and a promise never to be told how to do her job again. If those invovled over the last 43 years had stuck rigidly to the core concept would I be typing this now. Doubtul.

The SWAMP THING Moore stuff up until issue 50 is some of the most poignant writing I've come across (well, it was hard to end that American Gothic storyline satisfactorily, so ish 50 feels a little hollow). I don't think a lot of people at the time were getting their panties in a bunch because Moore took a character marginally known from a tongue-in-cheek (but very fine b-movie) film, and made some damn great work out of it. I came in at the beginning of the AG storyline and discovered a writer and a couple of artists worth their weight. I will never shirk on this score, as SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING was of a time and a place of excellence rarely seen. I had merely dabbled in DC comics up until that point, but Perez on CRISIS and SAGA hooked the Marvelite. It's easy to crap on DARK KNIGHT and CRISIS and Moore's WATCHMEN and so on, but it doesn't diminish how I felt when I first read them. And it didn't make me dismiss all the great comics from all the great creators I knew about. In fact, without Moore and CRISIS, I'd have split on comics even earlier than I did. Did I dig his cold, vicious protrayal of Superman/Batman/ect; I didn't, but then it didn't bother me in the context of SWAMP THING. This is another one of those time and place things: Moore was necessary for ME at that time to continue interest in comics. At THAT time, I was tired of the formula, tired of ten Spider-Man titles, tired of mediocre art (Ron Wilson anyone? And hell, I'm nostaligic for Wilson in today's comics, where the art looks like Technicolor spooge on slick magazine paper)and already tired of post-DARK KNIGHT uber violence wankery (Punisher ect). So to find the Moore Swamp Thing was a revelation, there wasn't anything else like it, and it spoke to my own writerly desires. I don't know about the other people who argue that Alan Moore's a god of some sort, but it was necessary I think at that time on a personal level to find out comics could spike in fascinating ways.

Would the comics world be a better place had Moore never touched it? Hell no. And hell yes. Who knows? Alan Moore's not to blame for the state of comics today. Blame your mediocre overall culture and the creators who pander to it.

Would the comics world be a better place had Moore never touched it? Hell no. And hell yes. Who knows? Alan Moore's not to blame for the state of comics today. Blame your mediocre overall culture and the creators who pander to it.

And Moore would obviously be one of those "creators" who deserves some of the blame...not all of it but he ceratinly has his share to choke down and has even said as much.