Readers will recall during New York Comic Con, DC announced that it would at long lost be completing the Swamp Thing run of comic creator Rick Veitch with a four-issue series called Swamp Thing 1989. Today the publisher unveiled details for the much-anticipated project that will be released under the DC Black Label imprint across four issues, published monthly from April through July.
As most fans are well aware, in 1989 Rick Veitch penned an issue of Swamp Thing wherein the title character was present at Jesus’ crucifixion, but the management at the time deemed it too inflammatory and decided not to publish it resulting in Veitch departing the book and leaving his run unfinished. To say that this project was one of the biggest announcements at NYCC is no exaggeration. So it’s not surprising that DC is pulling out all the stops with one of the most anticipated restorations in modern comics history going so far as to publish with the original trade dress and even vintage ads of the time.
This restoration has been has literally been decades in the making. Although artist Michael Zulli sadly passed away in 2024, he was able to return to work on the previously unpublished Swamp Thing #88 and complete the painting that will be used as a variant cover before his death.
Full press release details below:
Written by Rick Veitch, with art by original penciler Michael Zulli and inked by Vince Locke, Swamp Thing 1989 #1 completes the comic Veitch and Zulli intended to deliver as Swamp Thing #88. 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.
The main cover by Rick Veitch reflects the quiet tension and symbolic weight of the story’s historical setting. Variant and foil covers by Michael Zulli present painterly imagery of Swamp Thing that captures the emotional and mythic intensity surrounding this pivotal moment in Swamp Thing’s saga.
One of the most talked-about moments of New York Comic Con 2025 was DC’s confirmation that it would finally publish Veitch’s then-controversial storyline, originally pulled before publication. Now presented with its original trade dress, period-accurate numbering on the cover, facsimile-style paper stock, and vintage ads, Swamp Thing 1989 #1 begins the journey to Veitch’s final Swamp Thing saga, running as it would have been published in 1989.
When Alan Moore concluded his landmark run on Swamp Thing, he personally selected Rick Veitch to continue the series. Veitch’s work quickly earned its own acclaim. In 1989, the original plans for Swamp Thing #88 were halted during production. Veitch left the title, and the unpublished issue marked the abrupt end of Veitch’s three-year saga.
More than three decades later, DC Black Label is completing the work exactly as it was intended. The long-lost Swamp Thing #88, now called Swamp Thing 1989 #1, features art by the late Michael Zulli, who returned to work on the issue before his passing in 2024, completing the painting featured here as the variant cover. 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.
Veteran Swamp Thing series artist Tom Mandrake will illustrate the brand-new Swamp Thing 1989 #2-4, which would have been Swamp Thing #89–91, bringing Veitch’s never-published storyline to its intended conclusion. For Swamp Thing 1989 #2-4, colorist Trish Mulvihill 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.
Responding to years of fan campaigns urging DC to publish this lost issue and allow Veitch to complete his run, “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.”
“This is a historic moment for fans of Swamp Thing and of DC’s legacy,” said Chris Conroy, Executive Editor, DC. “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.”
Swamp Thing 1989 #1 is a 32-page comic book priced at $4.99 US, with a card-stock variant available for $5.99 US and a foil variant for $7.99 US. The new series was first revealed at New York Comic Con 2025 and begins in April 2026 to deliver one of the most anticipated restorations in modern comics history. Swamp Thing 1989 is published under DC Black Label and carries an Ages 17+ content descriptor for mature readers.
Swamp Thing 1989 #1 arrives in comic book shops, and everywhere comics are sold, on April 29, 2026.
