There are countless sentences from the near century-long run of superhero comics that, when said out of context, sound absolutely unhinged. The combination of words I am about to type are definitely among that list: DC’s Swamp Thing is about to meet Jesus Christ, and I couldn’t be happier.
The news came during the panel centered around DC’s upcoming Vertigo relaunch, which had already captivated the room by announcing ten new books from creators like Deniz Camp, Brian Azzarello, and Mariko Tamaki. DC editor (and the panel’s moderator) Chris Conroy used the event to repeatedly confirm that DC Black Label — the imprint that has been the home for a number of Vertigo-esque titles since its launch in 2018 — will continue, and will focus more on characters within the DC universe. This culminated in the announcement of Swamp Thing 1989, an upcoming Black Label miniseries that will (finally, after decades) conclude Rick Veitch’s run on the title in 2026.
For context: Veitch was closely involved with the Swamp Thing title in the 1980s, eventually taking over as writer after Alan Moore’s departure on issue #64. He not only carried the genre-bending and thematically-dense tone that had been established by Moore, but arguably elevated it. After introducing a MacGuffin that allowed Swamp Thing to travel through time, the book became a crossover series with some of the weirdest characters in DC’s arsenal.
This brings us to Veitch’s pitch for Swamp Thing #88, which was set to take Swampy to ancient Jerusalem, where he would have crossed paths with a number of well-known Christian figures. Mary Magdalene, in particular, was set to be introduced as a sex worker whose clients include the superhero Golden Gladiator. By the end of the issue, titled “Morning of the Magician”, Swampy would have met Jesus Christ, offering him water during his time suffering on the cross.
A crossover decades in the making…
Swamp Thing #88 got pretty far into production, with artist Michael Zulli completing a good amount of the pencils for the issue. But things hit a snag once DC’s Editor-in-Chief and President Jenette Kahn read the script and axed it, worrying that it would be too inflammatory for the general public.
“The subject was handled with integrity and respect,” Kahn wrote at the time, “but we believe that the story concept itself would be offensive to many of our readers.”
Given the culture at the time, with incidents like the Satanic Panic and the backlash over media like The Last Temptation of Christ, some could understand DC’s decision to cancel (and essentially censor) Swamp Thing #88. In response, Veitch quit working for DC (and mainstream superhero comics, outside of two Marvel issues in the 2000s) and insisted that he would not return until the story was published.
While there are a number of comic storylines (partially complete or otherwise) that have never seen the light of day, some fans have particularly held onto the controversy that surrounded “Morning of the Magician.” Partial glimpses, and a cover design of Swampy physically becoming the cross, have emerged in the decades since, and the plotline has been referenced here and there in subsequent Swamp Thing stories. Beyond that, the whole ordeal has become a piece of DC trivia to baffle your non-comic-savvy friends. Even with shifting real-life views around religion, and a shift in DC’s reputation as a company, many had resigned themselves to the notion that Veitch’s remaining work on Swamp Thing would never fully be published.
Now, as was confirmed during the panel announcement, “Morning of the Magician” will not only be published, but published with a precise attention to detail. Veitch’s original scripts and Zulli’s original pencils will serve as a starting point, with Tom Mandrake contributing new art for the arc’s remaining three issues.
The goal seems to be for the Swamp Thing 1989 issues to feel like they were actually published in the ’80s, to the point of Conroy insisting that fans can slot them into their Swamp Thing short boxes and not have them feel out of place. The trade dress will look like DC’s logo did at the time, colorist Trish Mulvihill is intentionally using techniques from the era, and they hope to even include ’80s advertisements, instead of the modern ones slotted into most of DC’s books.
It can’t be overstated how big of a deal this is: for fans of Swampy and Veitch, for the history of artistic integrity in comics, and just for further showcasing how much DC is crushing it right now. (Seriously, I can’t wait to read every single Vertigo title that was announced during the panel.) We’ll finally get to see how the story takes shape in early 2026, and I can’t wait.
(featured image: DC)
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