2:4 First appearance of Nukeface and "Diagonal" Bob. Bob is based on Larry Loc, Steve Bissette's second-year roommate while at the Kubert School. Loc says that he was also the visual inspiration for the Chester character.
Nukeface's footprints look like they're glowing.

4:3 "Mrs. Morel", Bob's landlady, first appears in the next issue.

5:4 "Hair of the dog that bit ya" = slang term meaning an alcoholic chaser which will help relieve the symptoms of a hangover, usually needed on the morning after a drinking binge.

6:2 Bob Smith, a visitor to this website, pointed out a Wikipedia entry about this Pennsylvania fire:  

"An exposed vein of coal ignited in 1962 due to a trash fire in the borough landfill, located in an abandoned mine pit in the southeast portion of Centralia. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, and it continued to burn throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Adverse health effects were reported by several people due to the carbon monoxide produced."   "During the 1970s, people became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner inserted a stick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot, so he lowered a thermometer down on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was 180 degrees Fahrenheit (82.2°C). Attention to the fire began to increase, culminating in 1981 when 12-year-old Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole that suddenly opened beneath his feet. He was saved after a relative pulled him out of the hole, eighty feet deep. The incident brought national attention to Centralia. In 1984, Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Most of the residents accepted buyout offers and moved to nearby Mount Carmel and Ashland."

7:5 Wallace & Treasure Monroe are new characters. Treasure's cross pendant indicates her christian faith.

11:3 This vision of a distant place may be the first indication of ST's expanded consciousness, which will be revealed in issue #37.

17:1 Frank Gill may be the first investigator mentioned on 10:4, (Nukeface called him Ed, but he calls everyone Ed.) It sounds like he disappeared. Perhaps part of a company cover-up scheme?

22:2 "One over the eight" = slang term meaning drunk

COMMENT: Artist Steve Bissette proposed a spin-off story about Nukeface to DC Comics. You can view John Totleben's first sketches of Nukeface, which he submitted with Bissette as audition pages before working on SWAMP THING at Bissette's blog.

COMMENT: In 2001, DC Comics collected/reprinted ST #35-42 in a book titled "Swamp Thing: The Curse".

COMMENT: This issue is reprinted in black and white as ESSENTIAL VERTIGO: SWAMP THING #16, February 1998.