Swamp Thing gets gruesome in Green Hell #1 nine-page preview

Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1 excerpt (Image credit: Doug Mahnke (DC/Black Label))

Alec Holland is back as Swamp Thing.

Or is he?

Holland is indeed returning in the new DC Black Label three-part series Swamp Thing: Green Hell by writer Jeff Lemire and artist Doug Mahnke, who the publisher calls "one of the greatest artists in modern DC history."

Swamp Thing Green Hell #1 cover by Doug Mahnke (Image credit: DC)

Holland has been replaced in the current DC Universe continuity (albeit as loosely defined as that is) by Levi Kamei in the current Swamp Thing series. Holland surprisingly resurfaced in human form in the series and serves as a mentor to Kamei.

But in what DC refers to as a new, twisted take on the mythos and a "gory, gruesome monster mash," the fate of all of humanity is in Holland's hands.

Although all this said, Swamp Thing: Green Hell takes place in some unspecified dystopian future.

On an Earth that is "all but done," the last remnants of the human race survive on a mountain top that peaks over "endless floodwater."

Check out this unlettered preview of Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1:

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Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1 preview

When the Parliaments of the Green, the Red, and the Rot all agree that humanity has had its shot and it's time to start fresh and begin the cycle of life over again, they combine its powers to summon an avatar to finish the job - "one of the most horrific monsters to ever stalk the surface of this forsaken planet."

Mahnke has drawn the primary cover to Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1, and he's joined with variants from Christian Ward and Francesco Francavilla. Check them out here:

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Swamp Thing; Green Hell #1 variant covers

Might not be an exaggeration based on the preview artwork right above, which is not for the squeamish.

Enter Alec Holland, who DC says in this story has been dead for decades. But will he be fighting this new monster as the Swamp Thing or does Holland have to fight this new monstrous version of the Swamp Thing?

Sounds like maybe it's the latter, as in DC's announcement it explains that Holland understands the enemy and has used its tactics before.

The 48-page Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1 which is published in the Prestige Plus format goes on sale on December 28.

That image above alone qualifies this story as an appropriate place to remind you of Newsarama's list of the best horror comics of all time.

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.