Original cover proposal

Click image to see Totleben's notes at bottom for the editor.

1:2 The shift in Good and Evil happened in SWAMP THING #50.

1:3 These are the Phantom Stranger and the Demon.

1:4 The taint of the demon Nergal lies "hidden in the blood" of John Constantine since he received his transfusion in HELLBLAZER #8.

2-3:2 This building is the British Parliament and the Big Ben clock tower in London.

2-3:5 Constantine is part of the so-called "Trenchcoat Brigade", along with the Phantom Stranger, Mr. E, and Dr. Occult, formed in Neil Gaiman's BOOKS OF MAGIC mini-series.

2-3:7 The cigarette rolling papers are the "Zig Zag" brand.

4:2 "Silk Cuts" are Constantine's favorite brand of cigarettes.

4:4 This issue continues directly from the end of HELLBLAZER #9, where Swampy materialized from John's tobacco.

4:5 If only ST had given Constantine a chance to explain that he had a similar plan on the final page of HELLBLAZER #9... In his own series, John learned of a prophecy of a special child being born soon. John wants to help Swampy and Abby have a baby to fulfill the prophecy before the demon Nergal and the Damnation Army fulfill it with the birth of an evil child. Swampy knows nothing of the prophecy nor of Nergal's plans, though.

5:1 The reggae song being played is "Johnny Too Bad" by the Slickers. It was on the soundtrack to the 1972 film "Harder They Fall".

5:2 This is Mighty Mouse, a supporting character from HELLBLAZER.

5:4 Mrs. McGuire is Constantine's landlady.

6:1 Link form 5:6 - feet on home steps

6:5 Swampy proposed having a baby to Abby in last issue.

6:8 Chester lent Liz a typewriter to help her overcome her paranoia and resume her writing career in #70.

7:3 Chester noticed the mail in #?.

Flashman and Smilin' Stan

8:2 Funky Flashman was created in 1972 by comics legend Jack Kirby as a parody of Stan Lee, with whom he created Marvel Comics in the 1960's. Quarterbin.com had a look at this phenomenon. (The site no longer runs, but the page is archived here.) He first appeared in MISTER MIRACLE #6 with a sidekick named "Houseroy", based on Roy Thomas, who was then a major Marvel writer/editor under Stan.

8:4 Darkseid is the most powerful of the evil NEW GODS created by Jack Kirby. Swampy met him in #62.

8:5 The fueling truck bears the name of Sunderland Industries, owned by Swamp Thing's old enemy. The plane is the supersonic Concorde. J'onn J'onzz is the MARTIAN MANHUNTER, a perrenial member of the Justice League.

9:1 Lex Luthor, Superman's archenemy, instructed the DDI on how to eliminate Swamp Thing in issue #53. Swampy goes to confront him in #79,
Maxwell Lord is another shifty businessman, who acted as the manager for the Justice League.

9:4 These buildings are the Washington Monument and the Capitol Dome in Washington, D.C.

9:6 Constantine led ST to encounter a werewolf in issue #40, underwater vampires in #38-39, a house of ghosts in #45 and the Brujería's invunche in #47, all during the "American Gothic" saga.

10:1 Anton Arcane was last seen in issue #59

11:1 Link from 10:6 - view through bottle of blood

11:2 Matt Cable has been in a coma since #31.

13:5 ST found John Constantine critically injured in #74 after Constantine stepped off a moving train in HELLBLAZER #7. Constantine was healed by Nergal's blood transfusion in HELLBLAZER #8.

14:3 Chester made Abby bring lots of supplies to the swamp in #67.

17:1 Barnacle Bill is a legendary sailor who had a reputation for promiscuity, as sailors do in general.

17:3 Constantine hid the demon Nergal's taint in his blood with a mystic sigil at the end of HELLBLAZER #9.

18:6 Abby was understandably traumatized when her discovered that her husband's body was actually posessed by her Uncle Anton in issue #29.

19:3 This panel reveals where Swampy got the tattoo on Constantine's body.

22:1 Link from 21:6 "bong"="bells to toll"

23:6 Good and Evil joined hands in issue #50.

Comment: The title of this issue ("The Adoration Of The Earth") is from the first half of the musical composition "The Rite of Spring" by Igor Stravinski (1882-1971), which many will recognize from the "Greek myth" sequence of the Disney film Fantasia. Stravinski envisioned it as "a solemn pagan rite: sage elders, seated in a circle, watched a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of Spring." "Rite of Spring" is the title of issue #34.

COMMENT: SWAMP THING ANNUAL #4 guest-starring Batman, was published between this issue and the next issue.

COMMENT: In 2006, DC Comics collected issues 71-76 in the trade book "Swamp Thing: Spontaneous Generation". SWAMP THING ANNUAL #4 is not reprinted in any trade paperbacks yet.