Swamp Thing: The Parliament of Trees

[alicemacher]

From Swamp Thing #47 (Apr. 1986). Art by Stan Woch and Ron Randall.

Howard Fleck, a sleazy freelance photographer, visits the office of the Houma Daily Courier (a real-life newspaper, by the way). He explains that while taking nature photos in the wetlands, he spotted an attractive white-haired young woman and decided to take snaps of her instead, because "there's more 'n one kinda magazine buys pictures."







The Swamp Thing travels through the Green to the Tefé River source in Brazil, where he finds Constantine, as well as some natives guarding his destination: the Parliament of Trees, where Earth elementals take root when they decide to retire. He ventures forth alone, as humans aren't allowed in the sacred grove. Alec is surprised and disappointed that the giant, vaguely human-faced trees appear to have nothing to say... until one of them, reading his mind, finally speaks.





The former Olsen recaps his story (the original 1971 "Swamp Thing" tale, as reprinted in Issue 33), and also tells of Alec's immediate predecessor, Albert Höllerer (who was in fact the Golden Age character called the Heap).

The Swamp Thing says he's come not to retire but to seek advice regarding a danger to the world. As Olsen is the only Parliament member who still remembers how to speak out loud, he tells his visitor to sit quietly and "let your mind... intertwine... with our mind." Alec does so and, coasting through the Parliament's collective memory, learns of still other predecessors. And more than that:







Despite the Swamp Thing's protestations that he doesn't understand their advice, and that he has many more questions, the Parliament declares the audience over and shuts him out. Olsen maintains they told him what he needed to hear, and that he must not have been listening "as wood should listen." Alec leaves the grove and tells Constantine what the Parliament said.

Comments

[mastermahan]

"If you think... turning into... a tree is bad... you should... meet my nephew Jimmy. Always... becoming a turtle or... a porcupine."

[laughing_tree]

In Scott Snyder's run he made Albert Hollerer's full name Calbraith A.H. Rogers, and portrayed him as a dashing, wholesome *Allied* fighter pilot. I assume that was because the character had a significant role in his run and Snyder didn't want it to go to a Nazi.

[tcampbell1000]

Interesting!

[tripodeca113]

Apparently the first Heap was a German World War One flying ace called Baron von Emmelmann, who crashed in a Polish swamp, then woke up during World War Two in Air Fighters Comics.

[tcampbell1000]

The "time travel" bit is unusual in that it's a loose end Moore won't be picking up again. However, his successor will.

On the other hand, everything the Parliament actually says to Alec will reach its dramatic payoff a lot sooner. Constantine's reaction to it is a bit curious, though, given certain developments near the climax of this arc.

Not much else to say on this one, really. The Abby arc is just getting under way this issue and the next, and there's nothing I can say about it now that I couldn't say better later. The rest of the book is one of Alan's Cool Big Concepts given the entire issue to breathe instead of pulled out in one page, but that suits the nature of the idea. If you're going to show a group of slow-moving, slow-thinking elders and have their culture dominate the issue, you've got to give them some space.

[alicemacher]

This is definitely a much less "busy" issue than the ones on either side of it.

Given the SF direction Moore took the comic in beginning with #56, and that he left the title sooner than he'd originally planned (but cordially), I think it's possible that if he'd stayed longer he would've brought time travel in at some point.