Neil Gaiman wrote SWAMP THING ANNUAL #5, in which Swamp Thing does not appear, since the character was involved in a time-travel story at the time. Nonetheless it's a great story about the supporting cast...and perhaps the most unexpected guest star ever. The same issue has a backup story starring Woodrue (the Floronic Man) which alludes to the "Swamp Thing Meets Jesus" story which never got printed.

With artist Dave McKean (ST cover #71), Gaiman created the BLACK ORCHID mini-series, reinterpreting the character in a style inspired by Moore's SWAMP THING. The story includes brief appearances by characters featured in SWAMP THING, such as Jason Woodrue and Lex Luthor, and even Swamp Thing himself shows up at the end. This story advances the idea that Woodrue was a scientific colleague of Alec Holland, whose body became the Swamp Thing. McKean later illustrated a number of Gaiman's books and did the covers for every issue of SANDMAN.

From BLACK ORCHID

Gaiman also penned a "lost" Swamp Thing story (about the earlier plant elemental Jack-in-the-Green, who was first seen in #47) that was finally produced and printed in the "Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days" trade book (Cover at right by Dave McKean.), illustrated by Steve Bissette and John Totleben. "Midnight Days" also reprints SWAMP THING ANNUAL #5.

Gaiman also wrote one of the introductions for the trade paperback collection SWAMP THING: LOVE AND DEATH as well as introductions for some of the SWAMP THING reprint series by Titan Books in the UK.

Alan Moore was a mentor to Gaiman. Gaiman's classic comic series SANDMAN owes much to Moore's SWAMP THING, including the way Heaven and Hell are depicted. SWAMP THING characters like Cain & Abel became supporting characters of Gaiman's series. The Sandman character makes a very rare appearance outside of his own series in SWAMP THING #84 to adopt Matt Cable into his realm.

Neil and Alan

Early issues of SANDMAN really show Moore's influence on Gaiman's writing style, although Gaiman later fully developed his own style. The dream sequences in SANDMAN (issue #10 especially) remind one of ST's fever dream in SWAMP THING #22. The Bogeyman from SWAMP THING #44 appears (sort of) in SANDMAN #14 and Gaiman even uses the idea of showing the killer's point of view and not his face in SANDMAN #10. Moore's SWAMP THING set the stage for DC Comics Vertigo line "for mature readers" and SANDMAN fully launched it. (Issue #81 of SWAMP THING contained a full-page advertisement for the launch of SANDMAN.)

Moore gave over to Gaiman his position as writer (and owner....and object of Todd McFarlane's wrath) on the classic MIRACLEMAN series. Gaiman won a significant lawsuit against McFarlane in 2002 over the rights to MIRACLEMAN.

Gaiman was slated to take over as writer, along with Jamie Delano,on SWAMP THING after Rick Veitch, but given the hard feelings over Veitch's quitting over the "Jesus Issue", they declined, out of respect for Veitch.

Brian Hibbs interviewed Gaiman in 1989 about his SWAMP THING ideas.


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