FACTOID FROM THE BOG
In the next issue, Abby mentions that Nukeface has reportedly died, however artist Steve Bissette proposed a spin-off story about Nukeface to DC Comics.
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3:5 The shouting man is revealed on 8:2 and the praying woman on 13:1
A story slightly similar to "The Nukeface Papers", entitled "Doom in the Air", was published in THE THING #14 (Charlton Comics, 1954). The story depicts a hobo, wrongly accused of murder, who is buried alive in a lead mine out west. Much later, an atomic bomb test reanimates him and he avenges himself on the lynch mob one by one by exposing them to the lethal radiation his body now exudes. He is last seen boarding a train, planning to travel the world seeking his final victim. It was drawn by Steve Ditko and the writer is unknown. In his June 10, 2010 blog, Bissette explains that the creative team had not known of the story while he was working on SWAMP THING. | |
10:3 That's Bob's t-shirt What does the slogan "We are not cows" signify? Artist Steve Bissette says he based Bob on his friend, Larry Loc, who used to wear that shirt. It may be a non-conformist statement and/or a vegetarian statement. People who advocate the eating of meat and drinking of milk sometimes argue that they help build muscle and bones. The vegetarian rebuttal is that since "we are not cows", humans foster necessary amino acids through exercise and do not require the massive bone structure of cattle.
21:7 Why is Bob in Nukeface's vision of Blossomville? Sam (guyincognito4@comcast.net) wrote to me with this theory: "I took this to mean that he was seeing all of the derelicts that he had encountered since leaving Blossomville. There are representations of different people there, most likely other unfortunates who Nukeface came across, and accidentally killed."
23:1 Odd as it seems, that's the last appearance of Nukeface, but the horrifying point is that what he symbolizes still lives on.
COMMENT: Wallace Monroe returns in issue #53. Learn Treasure Monroe's fate in issue #63.
COMMENT: Yet another innovative concept: incorporating dozens of (presumably) real newspaper clippings into a comic book story. Without the news clippings which litter (pun intended) this story, readers could assume that the threat of toxic waste is merely an exaggeration for the sake of a story. Guess again! See some of the original art at the Comic Art Fans Gallery page.
COMMENT: This issue was reprinted in black & white as ESSENTIAL VERTIGO: SWAMP THING #17, March 1998.
COMMENT: In 2001, DC Comics collected/reprinted ST #35-42 in a book titled "Swamp Thing: The Curse".
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