Swamp Thing (Volume 2) Issue 48

## "A Murder of Crows"

"*There must have been hundreds of them. Crows... they're an omen, aren't they? They mean bad luck. A great big cloud of bad luck. Fanning out across the sky. Covering the world. Not that I'm superstitious personally, you understand. I mean these aren't the Dark Ages. At least, not yet.*"
―John Constantine
## Synopsis

### "A Murder of Crows"

In the jungles of Argentina, John Constantine, and what remains of his Newcastle Crew prepare to invade the caves of the Brujería. When Swamp Thing reveals that he has been there waiting for them for a whole already, the small band sets out.

The plan is to have Swamp Thing regrow himself in the Brujería's central chamber, allowing him to get the jump on them, while Constantine, Judith, and Frank enter the dark caves slowly, hoping to prevent anyone from leaving. When the path forked, however, Constantine split the party up, leaving himself alone in the darkness. Shrouded in blackness and struggling to light a match, he spies a light in the distance. What approaches is not a friend, but the horrifying Invunche, a mangled creation of the Brujeria, meant for killing. The creature knocks him against the wall, but he is merely knocked unconscious. Elsewhere, Judith and Frank seem to be flirting, and eventually, she convinces him to have sex there in the darkness.

Meanwhile, Swamp Thing discovers a black barrier within The Green which prevents him from materializing in the Brujeria's chambers. He realizes that he was expected. He searches desperately for any form of plant life near the chambers, but there is nothing. He continues searching, knowing that failing to get in will leave Constantine and the others at the mercy of whatever evil lies within the caves.

Constantine wakes in the Brujeria's chamber, a captive. Their leader taunts him, explaining that there is nothing that grows there to allow Swamp Thing to get to them. It is further revealed that John is all out of allies. Judith appears, revealing that she is in league with the Brujeria, and has killed both Benjamin Cox and his mother, and also Frank. Judith is unmoved by Constantine's warnings that the Brujeria will kill her anyway, claiming that they have promised her that she will become a bird – a messenger for them.

As the pit in which Constantine is trapped slowly fills with liquid, Judith strips and follows the Bjeria's instructions in becoming a bird. She is given a foul tasting root which causes her to vomit out her innards until only her still conscious head remains. He then begins shaping her into a bird. They put an ominous black pearl into her mouth, and begin shaping her into a bird form, with legs and a tale, and eventually a beak.

Unexpectedly, a yellow flower which Judith had been wearing begins sprouting into the form of the Swamp Thing. Angrily, the Brujeria calls upon the Invunche to fight him. Meanwhile, Constantine is close to drowning, and warns against allowing Judith to be transformed into a bird. With time running out, Swamp Thing chooses to save Constantine rather than prevent Judith from flying away with the black pearl. Constantine then knows that the decision will lead to a one-way losing streak for them.

Back in Louisiana, Abby Holland arrives at work to discover that images of her being intimate with the Swamp Thing have been published in the local newspaper. With little explanation, the police arrest her, and take her away, claiming that she is a sex offender.

## Appearances

### "A Murder of Crows"

* Swamp Thing
* Abby Holland
* Newcastle Crew
	+ John Constantine
	+ Judith
	+ Frank North ***(Dies)***
* Brujería
* Invunche
* Deanna French
* Tim
* Officer Madden
* Officer Long

#### Locations

* Louisiana
	+ Houma
	+ Elysium Lawns Residential School
* South America
	+ Chile

## External links

* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 48 on DC Wiki
* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 48 on Comic Vine