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Rick Veitch On DC Vertigo Finally Publishing His Cancelled Swamp Thing

Rick Veitch on DC Vertigo finally publishing his cancelled Swamp Thing thirty-seven years late

At the DC/Vertigo panel at New York Comic Con, DC confirmed the publication of Rick Veitch's run on Swamp Thing from 1989. With the four final, unpublished issues… and credited to Rick Veitch, the late Michael Zulli, Vince Locke, Tom Mandrake and Trish Mulvihill. Bleeding Cool understands that Vince Locke is inking from photocopies of the late Zulli's pencils.

Rick Veitch posted to social media, "So yesterday was a wild ride. After DC announced the upcoming publication of SWAMP THING 88 as well as 89, 90 and 91, finishing the Time Travel storyline, my Facebook feed has been jumping with happy comic book readers. I've got a bunch of folks I want to thank, but especially want to start with those who responded to the letter-writing campaign from last year. At the time, DC was still undecided. They gave me an email address and said they would read any messages they got about ST 88. I posted it here on FB and the response was immediate and overwhelming, with over 500 people voicing their opinions, many of them very eloquently and forcefully. After three days, DC got the idea and pulled the plug, asking me to drop the campaign. So I did, but the message got through and was instrumental in helping them make the final decision to publish. So thank you to those who took the time to write (and were probably wondering why I stopped mentioning it). You guys and gals stepped up at a critical moment and put it over the top. I also want to thank my editor on the project, Alex Galer, whose absolutely heroic efforts at DC made this finally happen in the best way possible. He and Editor in Chief Marie Javins deserve a big round of applause for pulling off the impossible. I also want to thank Neil Gaiman and Jamie Delano, who stood in solidarity with me back when I resigned in 1989, by refusing to take over writing the book as had been planned. More soon." His Swamp Thing collaborator Steve Bissette wrote, "I dunno what to say, except: WHEW. Kudos & congrats, Rick Veitch & all concerned."

Rick Veitch followed Alan Moore on the series, Swamp Thing, which he had previously drawn alongside Steve Bissette and John Totleben. It came to a rapid halt when DC Comics chose not to publish the editorially greenlit and finished Swamp Thing #88 in 1989, drawn by Michael Zulli, featuring Swamp Thing travelling through time, meeting Jesus Christ and becoming the cross on Calvary. Rick Veitch left the book as a result of the decision, swearing off DC and other creators who had been ready to take over the book after Rick Veitch's run, and Neil Gaiman and Jamie Delano dropped out in sympathy. The book then went on hiatus until one Doug Wheeler, who didn't know about the controversy, took it over, Rick's story incomplete. Until now.

In March last year, Bleeding Cool ran the story "Might DC Comics Finally Publish Rick Veitch's Swamp Thing #88 In 2025?" in which Rick Veitch stated, "So I am told a Gmail account has been set up to collect opinions on whether or not DC should publish Swamp Thing 88. And that these will be read by folks at DC. So if you have an opinion, let them know at: publishswampthing88@gmail.com. Obviously, I e-mailed it. As it seems did quite a few folk. Rick Veitch then basically pleaded the fifth when the listing for the final Rick Veitch Swamp Thing collection included four issues of a comic book that simply does not exist. Swamp Thing/Vertigo Special #1-4.

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