- "This body imprisons me in more ways than one... refuses to help me rid myself of it...! Well... if I can't effect a cure alone... I'll find someone willing to work with me...!"
- ―Alec Holland
| "The Original Swamp Thing Saga" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| DC Special Series | |
| Title: | "The Original Swamp Thing Saga" |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Number: | 14 |
| Cover price: | .60 |
| Cover date: | 1978 |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Credits | |
| Ex. Ed: | Joe Orlando |
| Writers: | Len Wein |
| Pencilers: | Bernie Wrightson |
| Inkers: | Bernie Wrightson |
| Cover artists: | Bernie Wrightson |
| Cover inker: | Bernie Wrightson |
| Letterers: | Gaspar Saladino |
| Editors: | Joe Orlando |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | DC Special Series #13 |
| Next: | DC Special Series #15 |
DC Special Series reprints classic comic book stories from previous issues of titles published by DC Comics. Issue #14 reprints the stories from issues #3-4 of the first Swamp Thing ongoing comic book series. The stories included in this issue are "The Patchwork Man" and "Monster on the Moors!". The stories are written by Len Wein with artwork by Bernie Wrightson, who also provided embellishment work for this issue. The cover art features an originalcover penciled and inked by Wrightson. The colorist for these stories is unknown. They were lettered by Gaspar Saladino and edited by Joe Orlando. This issue shipped with a Summer, 1978 cover date and carried a cover price of 60 cents per copy (US).
- Swamp Thing 3 - "The Patchwork Man"
- Swamp Thing 4 - "Monster on the Moors!"
"The Patchwork Man"[]
Swamp Thing scales the cliffs leading to the ancient castle of his late nemesis, Anton Arcane. Upon reaching its peak, Swampy begins exploring Anton's laboratory, but a flagstone floor gives way beneath him threatening to drop him into some unknown abyss. A zombie-like Patchwork Man is present in the lab and tries to pull the Swamp Thing to safety. But he cannot keep his grip and Swampy falls down to the bottom of a vast cavern. The Patchwork Man then sets to destroying the lab causing the entire castle to explode.
Down in the nearby Balkan village, D.D.I. agent Matt Cable continues searching for the Swamp Thing. He blames him for the deaths of Alec and Linda Holland and wants revenge. He meets a medic at a nearby clinic named Abigail. Abigail just happens to be the niece of the mad scientist Anton Arcane. Matt and Abigail see the explosion of the castle and begin making their way towards the bridge that leads to the castle's cliff-side.
The Patchwork Man appears and Abigail faints from fright. He gingerly picks her up and begins taking her across the bridge. Swamp Thing appears (having climbed through the wreckage of the castle) and begins fighting the Patchwork Man. Abigail is about to fall from the bridge, but the Patchwork Man rescues her. As she looks into his eyes, she realizes that it is her father, Gregori Arcane – another sad experiment of her demented uncle.
Matt catches up with Abigail and the two take a sea-plane away from the Balkan village.
Appearances[]
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
Organizations
Races
Locations
Items
- None
Vehicles
Powers
"Monster on the Moors!"[]
| "Monster on the Moors!" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title: | "Monster on the Moors!" |
| Credits | |
| Writers: | Len Wein |
| Pencilers: | Bernie Wrightson |
| Inkers: | Bernie Wrightson |
| Letterers: | Gaspar Saladino |
| Editors: | Joe Orlando |
The seaplane carrying Matt Cable and Abigail Arcane crashes into the moors of Scotland. What they don't realize is that the plane has a stowaway. Swamp Thing has been clinging to one of the plane's pontoons ever since they left the Balkans.
Angus and Jenna MacCobb find Matt and Abby and offer them shelter at their ancestral home. They spend the night inside the house while Swamp Thing remains outside silently observing them.
That night, Mister Rodman, the pilot of the plane goes out to check on the plane when he is attacked and killed by a mysterious creature. The MacCobbs discover his body, and Matt and Abigail are forced to impose upon their hosts even longer than they intended.
That same evening, the Swamp Thing finds a werewolf stalking the moors outside the MacCobb house. The two get into a fight that ends in a stalemate.
The following evening, Matt and Abigail meet Ian MacCobb, Angus and Jenna's son. Jenna later poisons Matt and takes him to a secret basement laboratory. She has both Matt and Ian strapped to a table. She intends on performing a blood transfusion, hoping to transfer the curse of the werewolf from her son's body into Matthew's. Ian transforms into the werewolf and goes berserk. Swamp Thing bursts into the house and fights the werewolf. He kills him by impaling him on a silver-tipped chandelier.
Appearances[]
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
- Ian MacCobb
- Angus MacCobb
- Jenna MacCobb
Minor characters
Organizations
- None
Races
Locations
Items
- None
Vehicles
- Paul Rodman's seaplane
- MaCobb family carriage
Powers
Notes & Trivia[]
- Stories from this volume are also reprinted in Roots of the Swamp Thing #2 and DC Comics Classics Library: Roots of the Swamp Thing.
- Gaspar Saladino provides the lettering for both stories from this issue, but is uncredited for his work.
- First full appearance of Gregori Arcane as the Patchwork Man. He mad a previous one-panel appearance at the end of Swamp Thing #2.
- First appearance of Abigail Arcane. She becomes a regular supporting character on the title from this point forward.
- Anton Arcane appears in flashback only.
- First and only appearance to date of Angus MacCobb.
- First and only appearance to date of Jenna MacCobb.
- First and only appearance of Ian MacCobb; dies in this issue.
- First appearance of werewolves in the Swamp Thing mythos, making them the fourth supernatural creature to appear in the series after swamp monsters, Un-Men and reanimates.
- Anton Arcane appears in a flashback origin of the Patchwork Man that takes place shortly before his death. Arcane appears next as one of the Un-Men in Swamp Thing #10.