REVIEW: The Secret Spiral of Swamp Kid

As part of DC“s young reader comic series, I had the pleasure of reading The Secret Spiral of Swamp Kid. This engaging, funny and very well written story comes to you from the talented mind of Kirk Scroggs and Steve Ward.

The comic focuses on Russel Weinwright a young boy finding his way through school, friendships and self-discovery.Â Russel isn“t like the other kids in his class or in his town or even in his world, Russel is half human half plant. Â He has always been this way, but it still doesn“t stop people staring or making commits on his appearance. This is hard enough for any child growing up and being so different needs a strong family and good friends to help him grow. (by the way so does the sun, Photosynthesis baby yeah!)

This comes in the form of his loving mum and dad, and his best friend Charlotte. His loving supporting parents are kind, welcoming to his friends and just down right cool people. His best friend Charlotte is a sassy, confident, intelligent and funny. She sees Russel for what he is, a good friend. She is full of crazy life lessons eloquently delivered in the style of her mum, my mum always says “Mope rhymes with Nope, as in, Nope, I ain’t gonna watch you Mope”“ Genius! She is fiercely loyal and stands up for Russel when others try to put him down, she tries to help him not get into trouble in class especially in Mr Finneca“ as Russel tends to either doodle and not listen or fall asleep in this particular class. She supports him in his adventures and is always by his side to listen when he needs it.

Russel“s other close friend comes in the form of Preston, the school“s year book videographer and wannabe reporter. They didn“t always get along, Preston had a habit of popping up everywhere asking all kinds of questions, wanting to make a feature for the year book based on Russel. Unfortunately, Russel didn“t always want to be recorded and after some embarrassing video was released, they had to talk about boundaries issues. Â After a full apology they made their peace with each other and become solid friends.

The story follows this rag tag group on their adventure through school, social interactions, finding themselves and finding Swamp Thing.

Yes, you heard me right, Swamp Thing leave the green and make several appearances in this well thought out comic.

The writing and Illustrations by Kirk Scroggs are engaging, funny and will appeal to audiences both young and old. The style of the comic is very reminiscent of the likes of diary of the wimpy kid or captain underpants. The illustrations run from simple doodles to detailed line art. It fits the aesthetic of the comic perfectly. The lettering is also extremely well done. Since this comic reads like a diary (though Russel will argue with you that its not). It is simple to follow; the font selection and placement flows seamlessly with the illustrations. It is broken up into small readable chunks so it will not overwhelm any young reader.

So, if like me you have some young readers in your family, (I“m getting a copy of this for my 7 year old nephew) this is a fantastic book to get them interested in comics. Having Swamp Thing as part of the will entice the older readers too. Younger readers will want to find out more, who is Swamp Thing, why is Russel like him, why are crazy people wearing shades inside following them? All this and more will have the reader hooked and wanting more. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing what“s next to SWAMP KID! 4.5/5 stars!

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Written and Illustrated by Kirk Scroggs and Lettered by Steve Wards
DC Comics / DC Zoom