Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater (review)

Stiefvater, Maggie Swamp Thing: Twin Branches; illus. by Morgan Beem. DC Comics/Random House, 2020 [208p] Paper ed. ISBN 9781401293239 $16.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 6-10

After finding their dad in a compromising position with another woman, twins Alec and Walker are shipped off to their relatives, where Walker fits right in, doing keg stands and racing through the backwoods in a giant pickup, while nerdy Alec tries to refocus on his experiments with plants. When his prime specimen is destroyed by his cousins' dogs, Alec is both furious and bereft—until he finds the dogs sometime later, turned into what appears to be canine-like plants. He continues to cautiously experiment, eventually tapping into his plant's energy and thoughts, but soon an attack on his brother brings him to fully transform into a monster. This graphic novel origin story of the Swamp Thing strikes a nice balance of creepiness and compassion, making Alec a sympathetic kid with family drama and insecurities but giving him a slightly dark, unstable aura that tips toward menace. The art echoes this shakiness with harsh, angular figures and panels that oscillate between ordered and cluttered, while the palette of lush, verdant greens is occasionally interrupted with overwhelming flares of oranges and purples. Unfortunately, the exaggerated portrayal of their cousins as backwater roughnecks is a broad stereotype, and a story of ghostly sisters and their heartbreak is awkwardly and unnecessarily inserted. Still, fans of the latest spate of DC comics with well known YA authors will be pleased to see Stiefvater make her contribution.