The forbidden story where Swamp Thing crosses paths with Jesus Christ will finally hit bookstores in 2026
The cursed comic
The announcement has arrived DC/Vertigo panel at New York Comic Conwhere the publisher confirmed it in March 2026 will come Swamp Thing by Rick Veitch Book Three: Time Upon a Oncea volume that will include numbers from 88 to 91never published until today. These comics, completed in 1989, were shelved by DC themselves due to their content considered “controversial”.
The story behind these lost episodes is one of the most fascinating and sad in the history of American comics. After the monumental phase of AlgorithmRick Veitch took the reins Swamp thing and continued to expand the character’s mythology with increasingly ambitious ideas.
In 1989, the author already had a story ready that led him to swamp monster in timeuntil you reach Biblical Jerusalemwhere the protagonist He crossed paths with Jesus Christ and, in a symbolic and poetic key, it had become the very cross of Calvary.
The story was editorially approved and designed by Michael Zullibut at the last minute DC has decided to block its publicationfearing a negative reaction from Christian public opinion and the press. The blow was so strong that Veitch he left the series and vowed never to work with DC again. For solidarity, Neil Gaiman and Jamie Delano They, who were ready to continue the story, also withdrew from the project.
A ghost that has never stopped haunting
The number 88 Swamp thing It has become an urban legend. At comic book conventions and forums, readers wondered whether the originals had been destroyed or whether DC had kept them in some lost drawer in Burbank.
Veitch himself confirmed this years later the comics were finished and there it was tried for decades to recover them. In 2024, he even encouraged fans to write to an email called [email protected] formally request its publication. Apparently, that campaign workedand now DC has decided close the oldest editorial wound of the Vertigo label.
An edition rich in history
The volume Swamp Thing by Rick Veitch Book Three: Time Upon a Once will include not only unpublished numbers, but also restored material and unpublished extras. The volume will have contributions from artists such as Vince Locke, Tom Mandrake and Trish Mulvihillas well as the last works of the deceased Michele Zulli.
The book will have a price $39.99 —ten more than previous deliveries— and will also include The New Titans #0, The Swamp Thing #80-87, Swamp Thing Annual #5 Yes Midnight Days Deluxe Edition by Neil Gaiman #1.
With this publication, DC not only closes a chapter in its publishing history, but also reclaims the creative freedom of an era when the writers of Vertigo were redefining comics for adults.
The immortal creature
Created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson in the 70s, Swamp thing he evolved from being a horror monster to a philosophical metaphor about nature, consciousness and the human soul. Moore’s stage transformed the series into an absolute point of reference and Veitch’s, although truncated, took the character down more metaphysical and experimental paths.
The recovery of these numbers is not just a nostalgic gesture, but an opportunity to rediscover one of the boldest phases of modern comicsin which the supernatural and the spiritual intertwine without fear.
Many wonder whether DC will include a prologue that contextualizes the controversy or publish its pages exactly as they were conceived in 1989. Be that as it may, the fact that Veitch is being credited again – after years of silence and disagreements – It’s already a small redemption for the author and for the readers he grew up with Swamp thing.
The return of the swamp
With this news, DC continues its recovery line classical and experimental materialas he already did with the reprint of Sandman Mystery Theatre or the unpublished works of Hellblazer. But this time, the return of Swamp thing has something special: It’s the culmination of a story that refused to diejust like its protagonist.
As of March 2026, readers will finally be able to immerse themselves in Rick Veitch’s complete visionthat journey through time, horror and faith that the world has never read… until now.
