Swamp Thing No. 25 Unpublished Cover by Ernie Chan

Those first 10 issues of Swamp Thing by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson were something special. Horror was enjoying a revival in comics thanks to a relaxation of rules enforced by the Comics Code Authority. Wrightson had emerged as one of the young stars of the moment and his work demonstrated mastery and continuous improvement.

After 10 issues, though, Wrightson left. Wein continued as writer for a while, working with the Filipino comics master Nestor Redondo. But soon they were gone as well. With horror’s boom fading by the mid 1970s, other writers and artists tried to find ways to tell interesting stories with the character. The book was cancelled with No. 24. A half-finished No. 25 went unpublished. Swamp Thing would return a few years later, but that’s another story for another time.

Here’s the unpublished cover to No. 25 with colour by me.

Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.

Art made production ready.

Colour version.

Re-created trade dress added.