Cover sketch by Totleben

2:3 "votte" is an Old French word that means "omelet", or "crepe." ???????

2:4 "c'est normal"="it is normal"

2:5 "dix-huit heures"="18 hours"
"mais tu" = "but you"
"ou more" = "or more"

2:6 Link to 3:1 = bowl

3:2 "Curate's Egg" is a Briitish term meaning that something is partly good and partly bad, implying that it is generally spoiled. The phrase comes from a cartoon (art at left) by George du Maurier in the November 9, 1895 issue of the British magazine Punch. The cartoon depicts a curate (a lowly minister's assistant) denying the spoiled condition of an egg he's been served at his bishop's home. "Oh no, my Lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent!" he insists.

3:3 Ming the acupuncturist sent Constantine to her uncle in last issue.

3:4 "Codswallop" is a British slang term meaning "nonsense".

4:4 The round shape is part of Eyam, one of the first three Earth elementals from last issue.

5:3 This oriental practice may be considered a form of alectyromancy, which is fortune-telling based on the study of animal behavior. What do these cards say?

5:6 "Gwylow" is a Chinese term for "westerner".
What do these cards mean?

6:1 In anticipation of the ownership of Hong Kong being returned from the British to Chinese government, posters saying "Hong Kong is Watching" were posted around the city. The purpose was to encourage citizens to take pride in their city and make the best of upcoming changes.

6:2 This scene and the others like it in this issue show what Swamp Thing is seeing from his point of view trapped within the amber crystal. We saw these scenes from the point of view of OUTSIDE of the crystal in the past several issues.
In issue #88 Rheelai the caveman told how his ancestor chiseled the amber crystal.

7:3 General Sunderland was killed in issue #21, where we also saw his toy with the swinging balls. We saw him being punished in hell this way in issue ??? .

7:5 Anton Arcane is babbling about when he posessed the body of Matt Cable, the husband of his niece Abby.

7:7 Matt overpowered Arcane and sent him back to hell in issue #31, although Matt was left in a coma.

8:2 Matt's finally gone. His body died and his spirit went to the Sandman's realm in issue #84.

8:4 Does this refer to the Neanderthal spirits being released from their skulls at the end of issue #88? Or is it spirits travelling to the afterlife as seen at the end of #71?

9:3 "Rejette après tous c'que tu peux" = "Push out all that you can"

9:3 "L'enlargissement c'est après cinq centimeteres" = "The dilation is past five centimeters"

10:3 This looks to me like the amber crystal was apparently kept in a Jewish temple, for a time.

10:6 In the aborted issue, Swamp Thing witnessed Jesus' crucifixion (hence the Cross, seen here) in which the amber crystal was placed in the Holy Grail.

13:1 Swampy met Rheelai & his Neanderthal tribe in #88.

13:3 This panel may be meant to refer to Swampy's time in Camelot, seen in SWAMP THING #87.

13:4 The amber crystal was removed from the Holy Grail and tied to the neck of a giant bat in SWAMP THING #87.

13:6 The amber crystal was grabbed momentarily by Lord Shilling in SWAMP THING #86.

15:6 Tomahawk and Moon Fawn (seen here) used the amber crystal to free Swamp Thing from a quartz formation in SWAMP THING #86

19:3 The amber crystal was used against Swampy during World War Two by Anton Arcane in SWAMP THING #82.

19:5 "Gormless" is a British slang term meaning "foolish". A greengage is a type of plum.

20:2 Mantango first appeared in SWAMP THING ANNUAL #4 and was glimpsed in last issue.

COMMENT: This ends the time-travel story arc, which was thrown off course when writer Rick Veitch's "Swamp Thing Meets Jesus" issue was censored, prompting him to quit. Now that DC has been reprinting the issues written by Veitch, there are hopes that he will finally be allowed to write his own end to this storyline.

Comment: Issues #82 and beyond have not yet been reprinted in a trade paperback.