I loved the quirky art style throughout this story. The sharp angles made the character’s emotions pop on the page. Overall, I didn’t know what to expect out of this story. But, having enjoyed Maggie Stievater’s work before, I was intrigued. The overall story arc ran quite a bit deeper than I initially expected. The relationship between the brothers was so intimate and close, and yet with their opposing personalities, you never would have guessed they’d be so close. As the plot unfolds and the two brothers are forced to confront the truths of their lives, this story will leave you feeling your own kind of haunted.

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by @maggie_stiefvater, illustrated by @morganbeem was awesome! Many thanks to @dcccomics for including me on this tour and providing me with an E-Copy to enjoy! This graphic novel is a bit more on the mature side! My 14 year old self AND 32 year old self gave this 5 stars! I loved all of the illustrations, I loved the story line... it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting! I enjoy a good graphic novel to clean my palate after a full length novel! I think that people who really like graphic novels and seeing different sides to "heroes and villians" makes for an exciting read!

A somber origin story about nature and finding one's own path.

Alec is the silent twin who struggles living life while his twin Walker succeeds. The two spend the summer with their cousins after catching their dad cheating. Alec uses this time to focus on his experiment but experiences growth along the way.

The story carries a somber but adventurous tone throughout the book. The twins are very different and the colors used in the illustrations highlight those differences. There is a good dynamic between the cast of characters and readers grow attached to Alec. I was not a fan of the illustration style but I could appreciate how the details in the illustrations reflected the text and plant descriptions. There was movement between panels and the swamp vibe was present throughout the book.

This is a good start to a series and hopefully, there will be more!

*Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
So... what can I say? This book hit a few feels. First and foremost was the sibling relationship. I'm not a twin, but my older sister and I were only a year and a few months apart. Oftentimes we were mistaken as twins, at one point when we were younger, we even dressed alike. Anyway, Walker and Alec couldn't be more different. One's a social butterfly and the other is not. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Yet, Walker is always looking out for his brother, keeping tabs on his diabetes and trying to include him in the social scene. While it's not actively shown, I feel like on some level Alec appreciates the effort Walker makes to include him. Even if the social scene isn't his thing. Alex prefers to spend his time with plants and people who are like-minded. Alec is more of an introvert, I am too. But there is a bond between the brothers, that despite their differences, will not be broken. Alex proves just how far one will sometimes go for a loved one. How willing we are to sometimes lose ourselves in order to protect those we love. The art is pretty cool! I loved the plant animals and how the plants themselves had a *voice*.

This was outside of my comfort zone, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. The artwork was haunting and beautiful, with color choices that managed to evoke a mood and not seem overly monochromatic. The origin story was one I had never heard of before, and honestly one I had never really wondered about! It felt genuine and full of raw emotions, and I was drawn in to the story. The end came so abruptly that I really feel like there could have been more content. Thank you for the opportunity to review this, it was a nice trip off the beaten path.

I really enjoyed the art in this book. I felt that it fit the story nicely and the colors and character depictions were very detailed and added to the overall experience of the story. I would say that the story in general felt... rushed. The last chapter felt like it could have been dragged out way more than a few pages. That very much hindered my enjoyment of the story overall. I was longing more, and was left sinking my teeth into a hollow donut.

Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.

Twins Alec and Walker spend their last summer before college at their cousin’s home in the Southern United States. But, Alec was in the middle of some really in-depth experiments on plants and memory, so he’s brought them with him. When the dogs get into the boxes, they slowly start to change into the plants Alec has been experimenting on. Walker is a socialite and tries to get introverted Alec to join the party scene, but Alec isn’t interested in being with people. Alec makes one friend, another student using the school science lab over summer, and she shares her research on an extremely old oak tree that has been in the town since its founding. A boneheaded prank destroys a prized plant, and Alec uses puts his experimental formula into action to save what he can.

Alec's experiments are interesting, and the way they affect other living things gives this story its uniqueness. I could have used several more pages dedicated specifically to the botanical aspects of this story. As it is, Stiefvater spends a lot of time on the relationships between Alec and Walker, and a decent amount of time between Alec and his new friend, but the experiments and plant world could use some more love. The ending was really quick and over extremely fast without much resolution. I'm not sure if there's supposed to be another volume after this, but the abruptness leaves me wishing there was more to the ending. There was a lot of build up and the conflict was set up nicely, but then it was over within two pages.

Artist Morgan Beem made some interesting choices in illustrating this title. The scenes with plants are lush and invoke the feeling of being in a rainforest, but the characters are drawn a little rougher. In some of the action sequences, Beem employs long, skinny panels to simulate a fast-paced sequence, but these panels made it difficult to see what was happening since you're only given a tiny sliver of the scene.

There is quite a bit of swearing and some violent moments, so this title is best suited for teens.

Sara's Rating: 6/10
​Suitability Level: Grades 9-12
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This review was made possible with a digital reader copy from the publisher through Net Galley.

I love Maggie Stiefvater and collected DC comics back in the day, so this is a perfect blend for me.

I don't have any previous knowledge of the Swamp Thing, but this is his origin story, full of tragedy and the life-changing decision one twin makes for the sake of his brother.

I enjoyed the story, but would have liked more insight into the brothers' relationship with each other. Overall, a very quick and atmospheric read. I ended up buying a physical copy!

Swamp Thing is a character about whom I knew nothing before reading this graphic novel. Can't say I've ever watched a Swamp Thing movie or read any comic with this character. It's certainly a unique origin story for a superhero, if that's who he turns out to be (reluctant hero? Antihero?): shy introspective antisocial science-geek teen, obsessed with plants, ends up ingesting his own experiment and turning into a giant sentient plant. Huh. Okay then. I liked the art, although it was a little tough sometimes to tell the two twins apart, you really had to pay close attention to the hair. The deep-South swampy setting was nicely rendered. Not sure I'd read more of these, even with Stiefvater authoring them. But a good book for Swamp Thing fans, I'm sure.

I am not a huge graphic novel fan but this book has convinced me to read more. The artwork was absolutely amazing. It was a quick light read that had a very enjoyable plot. Although it is shorter (typical length for a graphic novel) I felt like I really knew the characters and their personalities. I really enjoyed the twin dynamic that was presented in this book. It is a little bit spooky but I would not qualify it as horror. I really enjoyed the backwoods, middle-of-nowhere, dead-heat of summer vibe that I got from the setting. Growing up in a town that is similar to the town presented made me very nostalgic. This is a great read and I would highly recommend for anyone, especially readers who want to get into reading graphic novels more! It's a great starter.

Very haunting and creepy!

The illustrations were very detailed and I liked the color palette!

I enjoyed the this book until the very end. I thought the was very rushed and I felt like I didn’t get a good conclusion.

I did like the characters and I LOVED the type 1 rep!

If there's one thing that Maggie Stiefvater excels at, it's creating atmospheric stories. Swamp Thing: Twin Branches was one of those stories that has a practically tangible vibe, both the writing and the art. It was a bit of a peculiar story, twining echoes of science fiction, supernatural elements, and an undercurrent of something a little darker. I described this to a friend as edging towards eco-horror: it's not quite horror, but it's got some thematic similarities, and the ecology part is such a fundamental part of the story in a unique but well-done way.

The duality of the Holland brothers is the core of the story; Alec is absorbed in his research, whereas Walker is outgoing and though he looks out for his brother, he also tries to push Alec out of his comfort zone. This is shown perfectly throughout the story, little moments where you can see the cracks but also the bond between the two of them. In a way, their relationship was inextricable from the plot, and it makes the ending so bittersweet and so perfect.

While I didn't completely 100% love the art, I thought that it suited the tone of the graphic novel well. The green throughout and the plant motifs helped build up the story in a way that is unique to the graphic novel medium. Contrast and shading added depth to the story, and the panel arrangement made the story flow beautifully. When the art especially shone was when the parts that I labelled eco-horror began appearing: there was something so chilling and yet compelling about it.

Twin Branches is an unusual origin story, but it accomplishes its purpose of showing us who Alec is and why he took the path he did. It was perhaps a little on the short side, but it packs a lot into it, and is so visceral in its imagery and tone that it works really well. It's definitely not the lightest of origin stories, but it's a memorable one that leaves a lot of possibility.

Thank you DC comics and NetGalley for sharing this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved the nature in this book, the diverse characters, the science, and the story. It is more mature, so definitely for high schoolers. Great book.

I'm not a big comics reader, but I do love graphic novels, and I love what DC has been doing recently with remixing their stories for YA audiences. I was drawn to this book because while I don't know much about comics, I do enjoy the character of Swamp Thing. I'm intrigued by the way the character kind of brings the vibe of old movie monsters into the superhero space. I was not disappointed by this tale. First of all, the art is gorgeous.

The story itself is also really well-done. While one of the twins, Alec, and his plant research is the main focus of the story, the relationship between the brothers is very well depicted. I liked the idea of Alec being drawn to plants due to his feeling of being an outsider and the conflict that created with his more extroverted brother. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I thought it was perfect. While not super happy, it tied the themes of family and outsiderness together well. I would recommend this book if you appreciate the emotional power of comics and graphic novels.
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I received an ARC copy of this graphic novel for free from DC for review, but based this review on a purchased finished copy.

Hello, hi, how is everyone doing?

I feel like I have not had a second to read in forever. Things have been so crazy between work and graduate classes (the semester ending) and just adulting life that it feels like by the time reading time comes around at night, I am so sleepy. However, we are one week away from a holiday break and that will mean a ton of reading time. I am way behind on my Goodreads goal for the year, but I am not giving up yet! My semester is ending soon and work will be hitting break time for the holidays so I will have much more reading time very soon (and maybe I can even get my goal back on track)! Last night, I decided it was finally time to pick up a graphic novel, it has been forever since I have had the chance to read let alone pick a graphic novel. So when I had a little time I hopped onto Hoopla and picked out the new Swamp Thing (which I have been dying to read again)!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Alec and Walker’s life gets turned upside down for the summer when they walk into their dad cheating on their mom. The teenage twin duo get sent to stay with family for the summer and Alec brings along his work (he spends a lot of his time working on a science project). One the way back to their aunt’s house from the airport one of Alec’s project boxes bounces off of the back of the truck and no one notices. Alec’s work is mainly with plants but no one in his family really knows what he planning to do with his work. When Alec and Walker wake up their first morning at their aunt’s house they find that the rest of Alec’s work has been eaten by the family dogs. After this the dogs change, in ways that even Alec was not expecting. Eventually Alec begins his work again in this new town, and even makes some friends but what about his cousin’s dogs and the box that fell off the truck on the way from the airport?

This was my second time reading this story, I was super fortunate to receive an E-ARC of this book from the publisher and that was my first experience with this story. I am still really enjoying getting to know the DC universe through these graphic novels. I think this one might be one of my favorites (out of all the ones I have read so far). I would love to see a sequel and see where things go for Alec and Walker especially considering the ending. One final note about this graphic novel, I really really love the illustrations in this graphic novel! They were amazing and the colors popped off the page for me.

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

**P.S. thank you so much to the publisher for the chance to read an E-ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the art and the story but because it was a graphic novel I felt that it was lacking. The art is beautiful and the story is interesting but I needed more details for me to feel fully devoted for this. I felt that the brothers both had such interesting personalities and I would've liked to learned more about them and their character and relationship to each other. I think over all it went by way too fast. I didn't really have time to get attached to anyone or really feel for the characters or the story. I was left wanting more!!
But Maggie Stiefvater has such a way with writing magical stories so I loved that aspect. Also, just getting something new from her is always exciting to me. I just wish it was longer and more fleshed out.

I had never read any graphic novel on Swamp Thing and I really enjoyed this. Not only was the art really well done, but the story was well written as well too. I recommend this book.

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.- Goodreads

This graphic novel was too short. It ended way sooner than it needed to and it took too long to get to the heart of the story.

There is a lot of good meat in this story but it just skims everything including the relationship with the brothers. In all honesty, their relationship does not really add anything to the story other than showing how different the twins actually are. It isn't really needed. I expected much more drama between the two or at least more history. None of that was actually there.

The artwork was fantastic. It was colorful, detailed and followed very well with the story. I couldn't have asked for better artwork.

Overall, I was expecting something much more detailed from Maggie Stiefvater. Her Linger series are one of the first books that introduced me to fantasy. I was expecting something else with this read.

2 Pickles

REVIEW: Swamp Thing Twin Branches

Twins Alec and Walker Holland see their father cheating on their mother. They are sent to Louisiana to live with their cousins in the swamp and this move starts to cause tension in their relationship.

The art by Morgan Beem is beautiful. At one-point Alec’s experiment goes wrong and even that was drawn beautifully. There are also silly touches like when Alec was wearing a t-shirt that just said “Ironic Band Shirt”. The entire book is in shades of green which fit Swamp Thing so well.

Alec is diabetic and has an insulin pump and monitor. I loved the relationship between the two twins. The way Walker reminded Alec to check on his blood sugar and take care of him during the times he was too distracted to care for himself was so sweet.

The book also included a ton of information about plants. I feel like I learned things, but it was part of the story so it didn’t feel like I was reading a text book.

This will be a welcome addition to my classroom library.


Creative Team:
Written by Maggie Stiefvater
Illustrated by Morgan Beem
Colors by Jeremy Lawson
Letters by Ariana Mather

I received a free copy for honest review from the publisher. Thank you DC Comics for giving me the chance to read this one early.
This was weird. I am probably at a disadvantage because I know next to nothing about Swamp Thing. I don't know the backstory, the current story, nothing. I really didn't know what I was going into.
So this story has twins, Alec and Walker Holland, who are sent to stay with their aunt and cousins for the summer. Walker is Mr. Popular, he can make friends anywhere. He likes to party and live life. Alec is an introvert and a scientist. He's obsessed with his research regarding plant feelings. Walker tries to pull Alec out of his shell, to have some fun.
I don't know how I feel about Alec. As a fellow introvert, I can definitely sympathize, but he seemed to take things to the extreme. It was like he didn't try. I just felt kind of distant from his character.
There was also a lot of science plant stuff in here which I didn't always understand, or found the most fun.
There was a lot of weirdness in this story and I don't know if it was good weird. It was kind of like, what's going on? And just to put it out there, I would side with Alec's cousins about what happened to the dogs. You don't mess with dogs. Alec could have shown a lot more sympathy about that.
The art was okay. It was its own style, which I didn't hate. The colors were good too.
The ending was very weird, almost off the rails strange. It probably wouldn't have come as much of a shock if I actually knew things about Swamp Thing. That was probably my number one problem.
This comic was strange, weird, and I'm not sure I loved it. I should have had more Swamp Thing knowledge before I read this.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5
Weird.