Swamp Thing #21 "The Anatomy Lesson", A game changer

This is my 69th post on my blog, The Great Comic book Heroes. 69 is a special number for me because it was the year I was born, 1969. It seems appropriate that I would post my all time favorite comic, The Saga of the Swamp Thing #21 on this special 69th installment of The Great Comic Book Heroes.

I don’t know if it’s possible to communicate the significance of Swamp Thing #21, "The Anatomy Lesson" adequately to someone who wasn't there. Simply speaking it was a game changer. It changed everything else that came after it. I know what a big statement this sounds like and I can appreciate that some would be incredulous and will disagree but in this post I will try to communicate the significance of it and give some reasons for this boastful statement.

Crisis on Other Earth by Perez and Englehart

Before there was Crisis on Infinite Earths

Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, April 1985

there was Crisis on Other Earth!

from Avengers #144, February 1976

This is a precious little gem I uncovered while reading through the Serpent Crown saga of Avengers #141 - #149.

Chris Ware’s “Thrilling Adventure Stories”

With “Thrilling Adventure Stories” Chris Ware shows his intentions right on the title page. A heroic figure, stands boldly in his brightly colored long underwear while lightning peels out of the foreboding cloudy sky! And across this image is the bold title, “I Guess” adorned in the usual bright primary colors. It’s an image we are all very familiar with, though the title “I Guess” is a little jarring. “Isn’t that a lame title for a comic? Is that supposed to be a joke?” your mind screams at you. And Yeah, it kind of is, but it’s suppose to be because this is no ordinary super hero comic. This is a study in what makes comics work the way they do.

Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman and crew

Cover by John Bolton

In the late 80’s and the early 90’s there was a trend in the business to create sophisticated “adult” books. There were those in the business that wanted it to grow up fast. As a result many fully painted mini series and graphic novels produced by a group of “mature” writers like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and Neil Gaiman and illustrated by the best artists of that time.

Afrodisiac by Jim Rugg

Like the best comic creators, Jim Rugg is an amazing blend of low brow pop culture and high brow conceptual art.

Patton by Robert Crumb

R. Crumb is famous for being a controversial, eccentric artist who likes to ride the calves of women with big butts and thighs but he is also an amazing draftsman with a beautiful sensitivity

Jack Cole’s True Crime Comics

Mr. Monster's True Crime no. 2 (Mr. Monster's Super-Duper Special no. 4) Nov 1986

Jack Cole was a master craftsman. He was a triple threat of writer, artist, and letterer whose work was as good as any of his Golden Age contemporaries like Will Eisner and Jack Kirby.