Thanks to Joe Bongiorno, who first dragged me kicking and screaming into the mucky mythos of Swamp Thing, and to Paul Giachetti, who created the amazing header banner.
Thanks also to reader 'Alec Holland,' whose support has been invaluable; Mike Sterling, for promoting Swamp Thing and this site; and Kevin Church, for his excellent optimization advice.
And thanks to Len Wein, Bernie Wrightson, Alan Moore, John Totelben, Stephen Bissette, Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis and all the other creators whose work inspired this site. |
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In the Swamplight
Swamp Thing Series 1 #3
| Story Title | Pub. Date |
| "The Patchwork Man" | Feb.-March 1973 |
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| Writer | Artist |
| Len Wein | Bernie Wrightson |
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| Cover | Editor |
| Bernie Wrightson | Joe Orlando |
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| Chronological Breakdown |
| • 1965: Two weeks after the tenth birthday of his daughter Abigail, businessman Gregori Arcane discovers that the Transylvanian government wants to take custody of Abby since his constant business trips make him an unfit father. His brother Anton offers to help him retain custody, and Gregori rushes to Anton's Balkan castle to formulate a plan of action. Upon arrival, however, he steps on a landmine near the castle, left over from World War II, and is terribly injured. Two weeks later (a month after Abby's birthday), Gregori awakens to find that Anton has transformed him into a misshapen monster—a Patchwork Man of sorts. Furious, Gregori thrashes about in fury until Anton sedates him and locks him away in a dungeon, where he remains for the next eight years. |
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| • 1973: After defeating Anton Arcane, Swamp Thing returns to Castle Arcane hoping to find a cure for his condition, but cannot handle the deceased scientist's equipment. As the rotted floor gives way, the Patchwork Man tries vainly to save him. Matt Cable and Mutt (a stray dog once owned by Alec and Linda Holland) track the Swamp Thing to Arcane's Balkan village, unaware that Conclave leader Nathan Ellery (a.k.a. Mister E) is monitoring their every move. There, Cable meets the beautiful Abigail Arcane, now age 18 and the only medic in the village. Meanwhile, the Patchwork Man toys with his brother's equipment and causes an explosion that levels the castle. Thrown free, he sees Abby but is unable to speak, so he grabs his long-lost daughter and runs. Cable and a local mob, however, mistake his motives and give chase. Swamp Thing confronts Gregori on the bridge, and Abby nearly falls. Gregori saves her life and falls instead...but with a smile on his face, knowing his daughter recognized him at the last moment. Swamp Thing wanders off, leaving Abby with Cable. The DDI agent returns to the United States and she accompanies him, hoping to join Interpol. Cable vows to find Swamp Thing some day, unaware his quarry has hitched a ride outside their sea-plane. |
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| Trivia |
| • The Swamp Thing Sourcebook places Gregori's injury from the landmine when Abby was fifteen years old, claiming she tried to run away and that Gregori stepped on the mine while running after her. However, that explanation contradicts other evidence, such as Abby having been 10 at the time, and the fact that no other account mentions her being a runaway. As such, I have chosen to discard that information. |
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| • The Patchwork Man next appeared in The House of Secrets #140. A followup tale was slated for The House of Secets #141, with future issues intended to feature the character on an ongoing basis. However, these plans were scrapped, and the followup was published only in a Swedish-langunage comic entitled Gigant #3/1983. The latter has never been published in English. The Patchwork Man has also appeared in issue #59 of the second Swamp Thing series—his final appearance before dying—while his image has shown up in visions in issues #43 and #129. |
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| Reprints and Collections |
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DC Special Series #14—
The Original Swamp
Thing Saga | | Roots of the
Swamp Thing #2 | | The Award-Winning
Saga of the Swamp Thing | | |
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Swamp Thing:
Dark Genesis | | Swamp Thing:
Dark Genesis | | The Secret the
Swamp Thing | | |
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