Swamp Thing (Volume 2) Issue 1

## "What Peace There May Be in Silence"

"*My hand...! You... cut off... my hand...! You dirty, spineless little... creep!*"
―Swamp Thing
## Synopsis

### "What Peace There May Be in Silence"

**Origin:**

Doctors Alec and Linda Holland had been working in a small laboratory in the bayous of Houma, Louisiana trying to perfect a bio-restorative formula for plant life. But an unsavory group of individuals sought to muscle the formula from Holland. When Alec refused, they killed Linda and set the lab to explode. Alec was caught in the blast of the explosion and fled into the swamps. When his consciousness re-emerged, he found that the bio-restorative formula (that had exploded onto him) had transformed him into a swamp thing.

**The Present:**

The Swamp Thing has traveled to Limbo, North Carolina. He fights off a bear that had been preparing to strike down three hunters. But the hunters are equally startled by the Swamp Thing's appearance as much as the bear, and they turn their weapons on him. The weapons are meaningless to Swamp Thing, and he easily disarms the men.

Back in town, a man named Harry Kay rents a motel room and telephones his superior, Mister Grasp of the Sunderland Corporation. He tells him that Alec Holland has been sighted outside the town.

The Swamp Thing wanders on until he finds a man ready to kill his own daughter. He believes the young girl, Karen Clancy, to be a witch. Swamp Thing tries to disarm the father, but the gun goes off, killing him.

Swamp Thing befriends Casey and begins walking her back to town. Some of the locals catch sight of him and become agitated. A street racer named Henderson, failing to see Swamp Thing standing in the middle of the road, nearly runs him down. Swampy smashes the car, but Henderson is propelled through the window and dies.

Later, Harry Kay makes another phone call to his employer. He has in his possession, a box containing a dismembered hand of the Swamp Thing. He tells Mister Grasp that Alec Holland is dying.

### "...In Shadowed Depths"

Reverend David Foster is a Baptist preacher in a small town. He urges his congregation to donate as much money as he can to a proposed children's center project. One of his parishioners, Mama Balloo used to be a former voodoo cultist, but has since converted to Christianity.

Reverend Foster is not what he seems however. He is merely playing the role of a preacher in order to use the church as a front for his heroin distribution ring. The Phantom Stranger approaches Foster and warns him of the path he is on. But Foster ignores him and continues to ply his trade.

Mama Balloo learns the truth about Foster and finds that he has been using her to move his drugs for him. She returns to her voodoo arts and conjures a swarm of cockroaches to attack Reverend Foster.

## Appearances

### "What Peace There May Be in Silence"

#### Individuals

* Swamp Thing ***(Flashback and main story)***
* Karen Clancy ***(First Appearance)***
* Linda Holland ***(Flashback Only)***
* Harry Kay ***(First Appearance)***
* Mister Grasp ***(First Appearance)***
* Abigail Arcane ***(Flashback Only)***
* Matthew Cable ***(Flashback Only)***
* Bruno ***(Flashback Only)***
* Clete (A hunter)
* Gully (A hunter)
* Maxwell Ferrett ***(Flashback Only)***
* The Henderson Kid

#### Locations

* Louisiana ***(Flashback Only)***
	+ Houma
* North Carolina
	+ Limbo
* Sunderland Corporation

#### Items

* Bio-Restorative Formula ***(Flashback Only)***

### "...In Shadowed Depths"

#### Individuals

* Phantom Stranger
* Mama Balloo
* Reverend David Foster

## Notes

* Includes flashbacks to the origin of the Swamp Thing as first chronicled in *Swamp Thing* #1.
* Maxwell Ferrett and Bruno were the thugs responsible for the deaths of Alec and Linda Holland.
* The Phantom Stranger back-up features begin with this issue.

## Trivia

* One of the residents of Limbo owns a copy of the book, *Swamp-Man: Fact or Myth?*, written by Lizabeth Tremayne. Tremayne is introduced in issue #3 and becomes a regular supporting character for the series.

## External links

* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 1 on DC Wiki
* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 1 on Comic Vine