Whether you’re a die-hard fan or just someone who enjoys a good piece of comic book lore, you’ve probably heard whispers about the “lost” issue of Swamp Thing. For decades, “Morning of the Magician” was the ultimate “what if” of the industry. Back in the late ’80s, Rick Veitch was on a legendary run, taking the baton from Alan Moore and pushing Alec Holland into some seriously wild, metaphysical territory. But then, the trail went cold. DC got spooked by a story that put our favorite Avatar of the Green right in the middle of the New Testament. Now, here we are in 2026, and we finally have the finished product under the DC Black Label banner and… it’s every bit as beautiful and provocative as we hoped it would be.
- Title: Swamp Thing 1989 #1
- Creatives: Rick Veitch, Trish Mulvihill, Todd Klein, Michael Zulli, Vince Locke
- Characters: Swamp Thing (Alec Holland), The Nazarene, Mary Magdalene, Marcus (Golden Gladiator), Abby Arcane
- Villain: Belial, Anton Arcane, Three Sorcerers
- Format: Miniseries
- Our Rating: 9.4/10 Stars
The Time-Traveling Plant in the Garden of Gethsemane
The story picks up with Alec Holland in a bit of a temporal drift. He’s essentially bouncing through different eras of reality before landing squarely in the Garden of Gethsemane. There, he finds the Nazarene meditating just before the events of the crucifixion. What really struck me about this whole series was the decision to describe Jesus as a “magician.” It’s hard to articulate why, but it just works in the context of this weird, mystical world that is the DC Universe. What’s even cooler is that, unlike everyone else Swamp Thing encounters, this man isn’t fazed at all. He knows the elemental is there, watching from the shadows, and he’s totally at peace with it.
But while things are zen in the garden, some dark forces are at work. We see three sorcerers summoning the demon Belial to take the Nazarene down, mostly because they can’t stand his goody-two-shoes energy. They use a demon-possessed Roman centurion (Etrigan) named Marcus to do their dirty work, and the imagery is genuinely unsettling, and I loved every second of it.
Fresh Eyes on Old Pencils: The Zulli and Locke Team-Up
The visuals are a cool time capsule that links 1989 and 2026. Michael Zulli did the original pencils, and his style is very light and dreamy. It captures the story’s time-traveling nature well. Since some of the original team members passed away during the long wait, Vince Locke and Trish Mulvihill finished the book. Locke’s inks are sharp and help ground Zulli’s sketches in that classic Vertigo style we love.
Mulvihill uses a lot of moody, dark colors. There are deep browns and supernatural greens that remind me of Bernie Wrightson’s legendary work. One specific scene shows the Nazarene drinking nectar from Swamp Thing. The way the colors shift when Alec realizes he’s part of a “magnificent design” is beautiful. Even the lettering from Todd Klein feels like a shout-out to the old John Costanza style. It all just looks like it came straight out of a time machine.
The Corporate Drama That Killed the Original Release
If you’re wondering why we had to wait forty years for this, the back of the issue includes an essay by Stephen R. Bissette that lays it all out. In 1989, the cultural climate was a total powder keg. Between Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ and Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, religious tensions were at an all-time high. DC was also navigating the Time-Warner merger and didn’t want any trouble from the religious right.
Rick Veitch had the script and pencils approved, but the cover art (which depicted Swamp Thing as the actual wood of the cross) was the breaking point. When DC pulled the plug, Veitch walked. It was a move that actually derailed planned runs by Neil Gaiman and Jamie Delano, effectively ending one of the most creative eras in what would become Vertigo before the imprint even had a name.
The Verdict: Is Swamp Thing 1988 #1 Worth the Hype?
After four decades of waiting, “Morning of the Magician” finally gives readers the closure they’ve been craving. It’s a dense, unapologetically bold piece of storytelling that doesn’t bother holding your hand, and it’s better for it. If you’ve been on the fence, definitely pick this one up. It’s one of those rare cases where the legend actually lives up to the reality.
‘Swamp Thing 1989′ #1 officially unveils Rick Veitch’s Banned “Morning of the Magician” Story
After four decades of waiting, “Morning of the Magician” finally gives readers the closure they’ve been craving. It’s a dense, unapologetically bold piece of storytelling that doesn’t bother holding your hand, and it’s better for it. If you’ve been on the fence, definitely pick this one up. It’s one of those rare cases where the legend actually lives up to the reality.
