Early Reader Review: Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater

Source:  From Netgalley and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review. this in no way alters my opinion or review.

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater, Illustrated by Morgan Beem

Publisher:  DC Comics
Publication Date: October 13, 2020

 

Format: Ebook


Rating: 

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Twins Alec and Walker Holland have a reputation around town. One is quiet and the other is the life of any party, but they are inseparable. For their last summer before college, the two leave the city to live with their rural cousins, where they find that the swamp holds far darker depths than they could have imagined.

While Walker carves their names into the new social scene, Alec recedes into a summer school laboratory, because he brought something from home on their trip—it’s an experiment that will soon consume him. This season, both brothers must confront truths, ancient and familial, and as their lives diverge, tensions increase and dormant memories claw to the surface.

Review: 

I will preface this review with noting that I have never read any comics of graphic novels about Swamp Thing, nor have I watched the new TV show (yet). However, I have read books by Maggie Stiefvater and I like her style so I decided why not give this one a read. I was happy that DC Comics gave me that opportunity. 

The book follows twins Alec and Walker, the nerd and the socialite, they are twins but very very different aside from looks. Alec does not like people, parties, just his science and plants, as an introvert I can get behind that. The book follows them moving form the summer and Alec bringing his work with him, trying to transfer memories of plants and eventually causing a solution that allows for these memories to be carrier to a new plant. His experiments are impressive and eerie and it takes the whole book to get to Swamp Thing.  The book is really an origin story and a pretty good one. 

Alec cares for his brother even through they are so different, he is the only person he really cares about and that means a lot. The book was full of emotion - from Alec, from the plants, and the various emotions of the plot of the story as well. It was a lot in a graphic novel but the lead up was very well done. 

I am not sure how this relates to other origin stories or what piece it is in the grand scheme of the Swamp Thing lore, but for a one off, for a first-timer, I enjoyed it. 

About The Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Raven Cycle, the Shiver trilogy, and other novels for young people and adults. She is also an artist, an auto enthusiast, and a bagpiper. She lives on a farm in the Shenandoah Valley with her husband, her two children, and an assortment of fainting goats. Find her online at www.maggiestiefvater.com.

About the illustrator: Morgan Beem

Morgan Beem is a freelance artist and member of the Jam House collective located in Denver, Colorado. Her work is predominantly in comics and illustration. She has worked on such properties as Adventure Time, Planet of the Apes, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and is the co-creator, alongside writers Justin Jordan and Nikki Ryan, of the series The Family Trade from Image Comics.

About DC’s YA Graphic Novels

DC’s young adult graphic novels introduce DC’s most iconic Super Heroes to a new generation of fans with stories told by some of the most successful authors from the young adult publishing space. The YA titles are standalone stories, not part of DC’s ongoing continuity, and completely accessible to new readers who have no previous knowledge of DC characters.