Swamp Thing is losing control of his powers, showing a new and disgusting side to them in a new variant cover for Swamp Thing 10, on sale this week.
Warning: contains preview pages for Swamp Thing #10!
In a gorgeous variant cover for Swamp Thing #10, on sale December 7 in print and digital, readers see a new and disgusting side to the character’s powers. The series, which recently saw its run extended, will go on a short hiatus after this issue, but it will return in the spring to start a second season.
At the dawn of Infinite Frontier, a new Swamp Thing debuted in the form of Levi Kamen. Unlike his immediate predecessor, Alec Holland, Levi had control over his transformations, able to slip back and forth between human and monster. Kamen’s abilities with plants and nature runs in his family as well, as the past issues have seen the new Swamp Thing tangle not only with his brother, now super-charged with power as well. He's also recently faced off with the Peacemaker and the Suicide Squad, who were seeking to enslave Swamp Thing. Jacob, Levi’s brother, feels the Green, from which Swamp Thing derives his powers, has grown complacent and he will show them a better way—whether they want it or not. Now, Levi is all that stands between the Green and total destruction, and readers can see it in a preview for Swamp Thing #10, written by Ram V with art by Mike Perkins, colors by Mike Spicer, and letters by Aditya Bidikar.
DC Comics provided AIPT with a special first look at the issue’s interior art, shared below, as well as celebrated artist Brian Bolland’s variant cover. The variant cover shows Swamp Thing losing control, with his hands stretched into the air—and they convert into tree branches, infested by a variety of animals including grubs, caterpillars, spiders, and even birds. The preview pages show Levi and Jacob playing carefree as children, which is contrasted with their battle in the present.
A central theme that runs through any incarnation of Swamp Thing is the body horror aspect, and this most recent run has played this trope well. Body horror is a sub-genre of horror that focuses on body transformation, and the traumas it can inflict—perfect for a character such as Swamp Thing. Ram V and Mike Perkins have taken readers on a body horror odyssey, showing a man (Levi) struggling to come to terms with what he has become. Brian Bolland, himself no stranger to Swamp Thing, perfectly captures this body horror element in his variant cover. Swamp Thing has lost control, his arms turning into tree branches that are now home to wildlife. The agonized look on his face speaks volumes to the horrors he is facing—in both body and soul.
With his ability to seemingly control his transformations, Levi Kamen has been a Swamp Thing unlike any other. Yet, much like predecessors, he perfectly embodies the body horror genre, and fans can get a glimpse of it in a variant cover for Swamp Thing #10, showing a disgusting use for his powers.
Source: AIPT
