Skybound and Act 4 have announced the latest entry in their prestige, oversized Artist’s Editions line celebrating the work of Stephen Bissette and John Totleben with the upcoming release of Bissette and Totleben’s Swamp Thing Artist’s Edition. This new artbook features the pair’s work with Alan Moore on The Saga of the Swamp Thing, collecting over 170 pieces of original art from the series. This Artist’s Edition measures at 12 inches by 17 inches and retails for $150.
The artwork in this edition includes interior pages and covers from Saga of the Swamp Thing. The duo joined the series with issue #16, with Moore joining them in #20. The series developed by the trio has become an important piece of horror comic history. From the press release, “Never thought I’d live long enough to see this volume exist but overjoyed and gratified that I have, and that it does,” remarked Stephen R. Bissette. “Back in the mid-1980s, John and I basically subsidized our ongoing work on Swamp Thing by selling the original art (at what were, at the time, affordable prices) and as many sketches as we could muster—having this book is happily putting some of the artwork that we’d let go long ago back into our hands. And, thankfully, all of yours.” The contents of the collection include pages from storylines such as “Anatomy Lesson” and “American Gothic,” as well as the entire “Jack in the Green” story, which was the last collaborative work between Totleben and Bissette at DC. There are also plenty of extras in the book including covers, sketches, and introductions by both Bissette and former DC editor, Karen Berger.
The Artist’s Editions published by Skybound feature pre-color artwork but are printed in color allowing readers to see fine details. From the press release, “Although appearing to be in black and white, all the art is scanned in color, enabling the reader to see the work as closely to the original as possible – ink gradients, blue pencil, and all the unique nuances that make original art so special – are all clearly visible and printed at the same size as drawn.” Totleben wrote, “These comic art reproductions come closer than anything else to represent the look and feel of the actual physical pages, warts and all, without the usual pre-printing clean-ups and preparations necessary for publication. Almost like having a collection of the original pages, and… you don’t need to be a billionaire to afford it!”
This latest edition joins others in the Skybound/Act 4 line such as the Doctor Strange by Paul Smith Artist’s Edition, George Pérez’s The New Teen Titans, and José Luis García-López’s DC Classics Artist’s Edition. Bissette and Totleben’s Swamp Thing Artist’s Edition releases in comic shops on July 7th and the book market on August 3rd.
