One Of The Most Infamous Lost DC Superhero Comics Is Finally Being Published

At New York Comic-Con 2025, DC Comics announced several new series that will launch under its revived "Vertigo" publishing imprint next year. The most exciting announcement for longtime DC fans, though, is a story decades in the making.

DC will be publishing the lost final four issues of Rick Veitch's "Swamp Thing" run, under the title "Swamp Thing 1989," i.e. the year it was meant to first be published. At NYCC, DC Executive Editor Chris Conroy reportedly said the issues, #88-91, will be styled and published so that "you're going to be able to put [them] into your long boxes as if this run had never ended."

Why the long delay? This story, "Morning of the Magician," would've seen Swamp Thing travel back in time and meet Jesus Christ. According to Rick Veitch, Swamp Thing would've appeared before Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus spends his last hours before his arrest. The story would've also featured obscure Roman-era DC hero Golden Gladiator and told the origin of Etrigan the Demon.

The story was written, drawn by Michael Zulli, and ready to go, but apparently the concept and imagery (like Veitch's cover showing Swamp Thing transformed into the crucifix) attracted criticism from some religious employees at DC. Indeed, stories about Christ are rarely without controversy. DC's President/Editor-in-Chief Jenette Kahn said at the time, "We believed that the story concept would be offensive to many of our readers."

The story was pulled, and Veitch departed "Swamp Thing," leaving the character in limbo for a bit and this run unfinished ... until now. Photos at NYCC show Veitch, with colorist Trish Mulvihill, has drawn a new cover for issue #88, featuring Swamp Thing holding a lamb, as in the lamb of God. Zulli has also drawn a variant showing Swamp Thing in a crucifixion pose wearing a crown of thorns. Once binned for being too controversial, Veitch is now getting to finish his story, with no hiding what it's about.

What is "Vertigo?" Started in 1993 by DC Editor Karen Berger, Vertigo was the company's publishing imprint for mature, creator-driven comics. It's where acclaimed comics like Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's profane road trip Western "Preacher," or Brian K Vaughan's post-apocalyptic epic "Y: The Last Man," were published.

Vertigo was discontinued in 2020 and largely folded into the "DC Black Label" brand (which is what "Swamp Thing 1989" will be published under). However, DC quickly reversed that decision and revived Vertigo in 2024. Vertigo 2.0 has recruited some of the best writers in American comics, such as Ram V (writing "Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy," a spy thriller with wizards drawn by Mike Perkins) and Deniz Camp (penning "Bleeding Hearts," art by Stipan Morian, and Matt Hollingsworth, about a zombie who discovers his heart beats again).

Created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson in 1971, Swamp Thing is part of the mainstream universe; unlike "Preacher" or "Y," Batman can pop into a Swamp Thing adventure, no questions asked. However, Alan Moore's run on "Swamp Thing" in the 1980s is often cited as a proto Vertigo comic. Moore turned the series from a simple "Frankenstein"-esque monster comic into something weirder (and more romantic). 

Moore's second issue, "The Anatomy Lesson" (drawn by Steve Bissette), crucially revised Swamp Thing's origin. He wasn't Dr. Alec Holland transformed into a plant being, he was a collection of living plant matter that had been animated with the late Holland's memories. The book's previous narrative drive, Swamp Thing trying to become human again, was discarded as he accepted living, and loving, as a plant.

Veitch drew several issues of Moore's "Swamp Thing" and took over as the book's writer after Moore finished his story with issue #64. Veitch's run very much followed Moore's example. We can't judge the ending just yet, but the concept sounds like one that would do Moore's "Swamp Thing" proud.

"Swamp Thing 1989" is scheduled for publication in 2026.