The first non-stop flights across the Atlantic was in a group of seaplanes. It depended on the type; but, yes, several types could cross in one go. The Pan Am Clippers did it all of the time. The Pacific was a different story and was part of the reason for US involvement in several of the Pacific Islands, prior to WW2 (though many were originally coaling stations). The Navy's PBY Catalina had an operational range of 2500 miles, and set a distance record of 3400 miles, in testing. Wrightson's drawing isn't a recognizable model; but, the wingtip pylons suggest a PBY, which had retractable pylons (though so did many seaplanes).



Catalinas are still in use as firefighting planes, in some areas. In the war, they were used for air/sea rescue, convoy escort, patrol, transport and other duties. The PBYs were the first to spot the Japanese fleet, at the beginning of the Battle of Midway. They were also used by Quantas, to fly across the Indian Ocean, to Colombo, in Sri Lanka.

As much as I love this series (90% 'cause of Wrightson), it always bugged me that Swamp Thing is taken from the swamp in issue 2 and doesn't make it back 'til 9. Then Wrightson leaves after 10.

You know what they say, you can take the Thing out of the swamp...

As Prince Hal noted above, Len Wein's agenda was to have Swamp Thing encounter lots of classic horror archetypes. That was easier done if Swamp Thing went on a tour rather than trying to justify bringing each of those monsters in turn to the Louisiana Bayou. Some of them really need their own local color: a werewolf on the Scottish moor, a warlock in his mountaintop castle, etc. I guess he never got as far as Egypt for a good mummy story. I agree that sticking around Louisiana for the first few issues would have made more sense. But having taken Swamp Thing all the way as far as the Balkans in issue #2, there was logic at work in showing Swamp Thing make his gradual way back to Louisiana.  As opposed to the break between issues 12 and 13, which get him from Washington D.C. back to Louisiana in the blink of an eye, apparently without incident.

The Glob was an old Kirby Monster



Hulk ran into a few of these early Marvel Monsters.

Swamp Thing #3 “The Patchwork Man” (March 1973)


The Story: Swamp Thing tries to use Arcane’s laboratory to make a potion to restore him to humanity, but his fingers are too stubby to operate the equipment. The floor collapses beneath him, and he falls several stories.

In a flashback, Arcane’s brother Gregori, father of Abigail, steps on a forest land mine, presumably a relic of WW2. Arcane uses science and magic to patch him back together as well as he can, which is none too well. He goes berserk and must be imprisoned in Arcane’s dungeon, until the confrontation between Arcane and Swamp Thing sets him free in present day. He wanders into Arcane’s laboratory and accidentally starts a fire that explodes the castle.

Lt. Matt Cable continues his vendetta, following Swamp Thing’s trail to a Balkan village where he meets Arcane’s niece Abigail, a friendly, beautiful nurse practitioner. She’s taking Cable to her uncle’s mountaintop castle when it explodes in a ball of flame. Gregori the Patchwork Man, having escaped the blaze, encounters Cable and Abigail on the trail, smacks Cable unconscious, and carries his fainting daughter Abigail away.

Swamp Thing, having recovered from the fall that took him out of his own book for ten pages, attempts to rescue Abigail from the “monster,” leading to a grappling match on a decaying bridge. The two creatures collaborate to save Abby from falling into the chasm, but the Patchwork Man plunges into the darkness. Swamp Thing returns Abigail to a baffled Cable. She asks to accompany Cable back to America; Swamp Thing hitches a ride too, holding on to the wing of the airplane.



My Two Cents: How do you tell a story with a mute central character? You use lots of captions and thought balloons, obviously. But you also tell stories around him rather than about him. This happened a lot with Marvel’s Man-Thing as well, making both titles into a backdoor anthology series, with the monster as the host rather than the protagonist. In this case, the protagonist is The Patchwork Man, an even more direct homage to Frankenstein’s monster than Swamp Thing himself is. Thematically this issue is replaying the “who could ever love… a monster?” notes from the first two Swamp Thing stories, not to mention Ben Grimm, Beauty and the Beast, etc. Then there’s the added irony that Swamp Thing, himself falsely accused, mistakes the Patchwork Man’s snatching of Abigail for malign intent. Swamp Thing is both the misunderstood monster and the persecuting villager at the same time, which perhaps sums up the human condition about as well as anything.

Lt. Cable’s tale is full of contrivances. He gets himself assigned to Interpol for a purpose of his own choosing, then charters a sea-plane to take him from Louisiana to the Balkans; surely he would have used commercial air. The motive for his vendetta remains murky; he apparently would not be satisfied if Swamp Thing died in the castle fire, preferring to destroy him personally. Nor do I believe that Swamp Thing (“89 inches tall, 549 pounds” according to Arcane last issue) could ride secretly on the wing of the small sea-plane without destabilizing it and killing the passengers on take-off.



Abigail Arcane is cast as the damsel here. I assume that her white hair with two black zigags is an homage to the Bride of Frankenstein, whose hair was black with two white zigzags.

I think this was more to give Wrightson the opportunity to draw a Frankenstein story, a Lovecraft story, etc, (as well as a Batman story.)

Interesting to remember that one of the Universal Mummy pictures was set in Louisiana swamp country, so they could've made that connection.

"Inspired by" covers so much ground, doesn't it?