Swamp Thing, you make my heart sing?

Today I pay hommage to one of my favorite monsters, who hasn't had as much screen time as other monsters, like vampires or werewolves, but can still be just as spooky and has some interesting roots.

Swamp thing came from comic books, created in the DC comic book world by Len Wein. His first appearance was in 1971, and the story line has changed a few times (those familiar with the workings of comic books are probably used to this). Basically it envolves an experiment gone wrong, and the after math leaves the scientist Alex Olson to live in the swamp. He is half man, half vegetable matter, and he fights to protect his new swamp home.

A few years later the story is updated again where a scientist named Alec Holland gets hit by a bomb intending to kill him, and the burning chemicals and him running into the swamp somehow later turn him into a half man half plant beast thing. It happens, I suppose.

Swamp thing later got a t.v. series that ran from 1990 for only 3 seasons. Swamp thing was played by Dick Durock, and swamp thing even has a couple of movies.

So far as I have found, this is the earliest of Swamp thing origins, that he was created in the world of comic books, and wasn't around in any mythology.

So let's look at the creature from the black lagoon.

There's something about this face that I can't help but love. It reminds me of the game Call of Cthulhu and what I imagine a Deep One to look like. 

Where swamp thing gets its roots from the comic book world, the Creature from the Black Lagoon owns its heritage to a South American legend of a creature lurking in the waters, part fish, park alligator, part man. 

Rumors of this strange creature were heard by Universal Picture's William Alland, who produced the movie Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954. This movie makes the monster somewhat human, having an attraction to the heroine (much like in King Kong) and the movie has an excellent stalking scene where he watches the woman swim, follows her, and when he has the chance to touch her....he hesitates. 

Better yet, when she thinks there's something there and she dives under the water to check, the creature hides while she passes over head, as if SHE'S the monster. It's a short but well put together scene. 

Though Swamp thing has not made many appearances outside of the comic book world, the Creature from the Black Lagoon has continued to be seen, from movies like :

*The Monster Squad, 1987

*Abbot and Costello Meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon

* and even, Hotel Transylvania, 2012

There are a few Creature from the Black Lagoon looking monsters in this, but they made it very generic looking. The one in this photo on the left sort of looks like a giant frog. 

As a side note, the Monster Squad's version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon is my favorite, as he has a scary looking face with obvious, nasty looking teeth, and better yet, he's in COLOR! (as oppose to the black and white creatures we saw in Universal Studios). 

So this is the basic history of each of this relatively similar monsters (they both live in water...that's about it for how similar they are) and hopefully we will see more of both of these awesome monsters in future movies and shows.