Popverse's top stories

• DC brings back the younger Jon Kent in a 2010s-Style Superman Unlimited this April
• Don’t trust the 2026 release dates for GTA 6, Wolverine, or Elder Scrolls 6 [Gamify My Life]
• The biggest differences between A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and George R.R. Martin's The Hedge Knight (so far)

As 1989 began, DC Comics’ Swamp Thing was one of the publishers’ flagship titles, as writer Rick Veitch continued his critically acclaimed run following Alan Moore’s career-making time on the series and acting as both anchor and inspiration to the then-nascent ‘mature readers’ line of comics that including The Sandman and John Constantine: Hellblazer. By the midpoint of the year, however, everything had changed: Veitch had resigned from the title mid-story following censorship by the publisher, leaving fans to rely on rumor and speculation about where he’d originally planned to take Swamp Thing — the comic and the character. 37 years later, Veitch and DC have made up, and his run is finally about to continue… as if it had never ended in the first place.

Originally announced at New York Comic Con 2025, Swamp Thing 1989 will be a four-issue continuation and completion of Veitch’s original storyline that was abandoned, including work originally created for Swamp Thing #88 back in 1989. The first issue will complete Swamp Thing #88 by Veitch and the late artist Michael Zulli — Zulli even contributed work to the project before his death in 2024; his painting of the lead character will serve as a variant cover for the first issue — with longtime collaborator Vince Locke working to finish Zulli’s work, as chosen by Zulli’s widow.

The subsequent issues will see Veitch team with Tom Mandrake, whose work on Swamp Thing in the 1980s saw him collaborate with both Moore and Veitch. Colorist Trish Mulvihill and letterer Todd Klein will work on all issues of the series, specifically pushing to evoke the work of their 1980s counterparts Tatjana Wood and John Costanza, respectively — and, to keep the period feel alive, each issue will be printed on paper stock similar to that used in 1989, include vintage advertisements, and even feature trade dress and issue numbering to suggest that it is, in fact, the completion of Veitch’s vision as originally intended.

“The restoration of this material honors the spirit of the original creative team and allows readers to experience a defining chapter exactly where it always belonged,” said DC executive editor Chris Conroy in a statement. “You will be able to put these into your long boxes as if this run had never ended.” He described the mission to complete Veitch’s run as “a historic moment for fans of Swamp Thing and of DC’s legacy.”

Veitch himself is thrilled by the response from fans to the NYCC 2025 announcement of the project, saying, “The response from readers was immediate and overwhelming. It helped make the final decision to publish these issues.” He added, “I am grateful to the fans for stepping up, and to DC’s team, especially editor Alex Galer and Editor-in-Chief Marie Javins, for pulling off the impossible.”

At this point, with both DC and Marvel releasing “facsimile” versions of previously published material on a monthly basis, fans are well aware of how period accurate publishers are able to be in evoking comics history. Swamp Thing 1989 is something more than just a facsimile, however; it’s correcting the record, and fixing a mistake made almost four decades ago. In many ways, it’s what all the facsimiles have been rehearsing for all this time, and restoring an important but lost moment to comics history.

Swamp Thing 1989 #1 will be released under the DC Black Label imprint on April 29.

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:

• Upcoming movies
• Upcoming TV shows
• Upcoming comics
• Upcoming games
• Upcoming fiction books
• Upcoming comic conventions