First surprise announced at New York Comic Con, Rick Veitch’s “lost” issues of Swamp Thing will finally be published as Swamp Thing 1989. And now we know when the first issue will be released: starting in April, under DC Comics‘ Black Label imprint, published monthly through July.
“This is a historic moment for fans of Swamp Thing and of DC’s legacy,” said Chris Conroy, Executive Editor, DC via press release. “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. You will be able to put these into your long boxes as if this run had never ended.”
In case you’re not totally familiar, Veitch and penciler Michael Zulli took over Swamp Thing from Alan Moore back in the ’80s, but the run was halted with Swamp Thing #88, aka the issue where Swamp Thing meets Jesus. Or as DC describes it, “In this issue, Swamp Thing is cast back through time and encounters a humble carpenter whose presence will alter the creature’s destiny and send ripples through the DC Universe. The issue also sets the stage for the long-anticipated origin of Etrigan the Demon and catapults Swamp Thing on his mythic journey back to the Big Bang and beyond.”
DC is clearly showing a lot of care here, including two covers for the first issue — one by Rick Veitch, the other a variant and foil cover by the late Michael Zulli. And while the four issues will be published as Swamp Thing 1989, DC will release them with their “original trade dress, period-accurate numbering on the cover, facsimile-style paper stock, and vintage ads.” So, basically how the title would have been published back in 1989.
While the four issues were never finished, Zulli did return to work on it before he passed away in 2024. DC notes that they have been working “closely with Zulli’s wife, Karen Zulli, DC selected Vince Locke, Zulli’s longtime inker, to complete the issue over his original pencils while preserving the integrity of Zulli’s original vision.”
That’s for the first issue. The next three will be illustrated by Tom Mandrake, alongside colorist Trish Mulvhill, who “honors the palette and spirit of legendary series colorist Tatjana Wood while letterer Todd Klein brings the same reverence to the work of original Swamp Thing series letterer John Costanza.”
And how did this happens? The fans. “The response from readers was immediate and overwhelming,” said Veitch. “It helped make the final decision to publish these issues. 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.”
Swamp Thing 1989 #1 hits stores on April 29, 2026. Check out the two covers below:
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