First of all, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this!

I love Maggie's writing and this seemed like a super cool concept EXCEPT the download is a mess! I literally couldn't read ANY of this eARC, which was pretty frustrating. The art looks amazing, but it was flipped, pages were split in half and itty bitty, so I literally couldn't read any of it.

I'm just going to give this 4 Stars and assume it was pretty good until I can read a physical copy!

A curious first step into the world of comic book writing that could have benefited from a few more panels.

“Swamp Thing” follows twin brothers who share only their likeness as one is very popular and works to get his brother out of his shell and out of the lab where he works with his plants. When they discover a family scandal they head off to meet with their cousins where a series of unfortunate events and new advances in science lead to a change for the duo that no one saw coming.

I think that this is a solid story and had the potential to be something really cool especially with the illustrations and color palette was stunning but it felt like there was a lot of jumping around or worse skipping ahead which for me hindered the overall story telling.

I think the brother dynamic was nice and I understand that it was trying to show us this pattern with them of one pulling his brother along and trying to show him what it means to live and protect him from others but it also at times felt rather cliché if that makes sense? Especially because once the brother engages with other people in a way where he feels comfortable his brother does a 180 and now wishes it was just the two of them.

The experiment stuff is cool and I like the incorporation of botany and how it can easily turn into a type of mad science and like I how the illustrations slowly showed that descent and don’t let the cover fool you this is less pretty and more downright scary.

Not a bad debut into the world of comic book writing but also not the best writing I’ve seen from her though I do think I will be in the minority there.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches is a unique origin story for the Swamp Thing. Alec and Walker are twins and best friends. But Alec is withdrawn and awkward while Walker is very sociable and popular. Alec devotes his time to his plants and experiments and Walker devotes his time to trying to get Alec to fit in. The story focuses mainly on the dynamic between the brothers and takes place mostly before the Swamp Thing comes into being. The story moves quickly with interesting characters and there's something about an awkward hero that always causes me to wear my heart on my sleeve. The art is eye catching and pleasing to deliver a good graphic novel read for the upper teen to adult range of readers who love the Swamp Thing. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

A really fun and interesting read. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

This origin story for DC's Swamp Thing, Alec and his twin brother, Walker, is a good story of how twins can be close but also quite different. It's an interesting story about plants and science, but it falls a little flat. It did not keep my attention well at all. I found Alec to be an intriguing enough character, loved that he is awkward and struggles with diabetes. That was nice representation. However, he still fell sort of flat for me. I also do not care for the art style of this which might have been an issue. This will probably be quite popular with teens, especially DC fans, but it wasn't for me.

From the beginning I knew I was going to love this graphic novel. Alex and I are so similar. I could feel his want to fit in and his anxieties around other people.

The drawing style was beautiful and magical and Stiefvater’s writing complimented the art so wonderfully. I especially loved the plant creatures and how they were constructed. The way plants feel and think was expertly conveyed to the reader and you not only felt for the characters but also for the plants and trees.

The story itself really resonated with me since I was never that keen on going out, drinking and doing stupid teenager things. All I wanted to do is be left alone to read in a cozy corner. I loved interesting and obscure information and was always mocked for my bursts of ‘did you know’ facts. So seeing Alec going through something similar, with people around him pressuring him to do things and drink alcohol made me feel for him because I’ve been in countless similar situations.

I also loved how Alec’s diabetes was represented and how his brother was always looking out for him and accommodated his chronic illness.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this graphic novel to anyone who is keen on reading a heartfelt portrayal of brotherhood and exploring nature like never before.

I really enjoyed this origin story. The relationship between the twins was really well written, particularly considering the short time frame of the events in the book. I also appreciated the pacing of the book, it didn’t feel like it was rushing to the point when the Swamp Thing was created and gave everything time to unfold. The artwork though out is excellent and I particularly loved the gorgeous plants. All around it is a satisfying story that made me excited to read more.

I'm not normally intro graphic novels, but I was interested because I love Maggie Stiefvater. I didn't previously know anything about the Swamp Thing before, but I am definitely interested in it now! Swamp Things is the backstory of two twins, Alec and Walker Holland. Walker is popular and Alec is more of a nerd who's obsessed with plants. I loved the artwork of the novel. It was beautiful but also gloomy, moody and creepy.

*I was given an arc by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
There was so much I loved about this graphic novel. The setting of a small town by the bayou was brought to life with the art and coloring really establishing the atmosphere. I loved the exploration and love for science that serves as the background for the whole novel, focusing on the love of discovery and nature for what it is rather than what it can do. The character of Alec was fully realized with Walker being one step behind him, their bond feeling so authentic and real. The only thing I didn't like was that the ending felt a bit rushed plotwise, but I'm unsure if that means a sequel will be following (although I would love a sequel for this book!) or if that's just how the conclusion will remain. The other side characters didn't have much depth to them, which is mainly due to the lack of screentime (pagetime?) for the characters on the pages. The ones with more focus felt realistic and raw. Overall, the illustrations were beautiful and haunting, making me wish all of nature could resemble it. This was a great read that explores the bonds of friendship, family, and science.

Gorgeous and weird graphic novel centered around an introvert twin bringing his research on plant to a rural swamp.

Content warnings include: bullying, violence, body horror, character has diabetes; mentions of cheating, divorce

As a twin myself I am always torn between rolling my eyes at the depiction of twins in media and just enjoying the common twin tropes because, frankly, they are fun.

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches did a good job of taking the fun elements of popular twin tropes without overdoing them. Alex and Walker might be identical on the outside and polar opposites on the inside, but they are neither attached at the hip, nor bitter enemies or rivals.

Plot wise the book developed in a completely different direction than expected. I’m not familiar with any of the Swamp Thing comics, so I didn’t even really have expectation, but I still found the story unique. There’s a stark contrast between everyday subjects, like the banality of Alec and Walker spending the summer with their cousins, their family dynamics, or Alec’s introvertedness not getting accepted, and the grotesque, plant-based beauty and horror of Alex’s experiment when it got dropped in the swamp.

There were both light and heavy moments. The bullying and antagonistm Alex faced for being introverted and preferring plants over people stung, and I was quite frankly shocked at the violence in the finale.

The book is a graphic novel: I liked the art a lot. Particularly the artwork of the plants and the background behind the panels was beautiful.
However I couldn’t always read what was of import in the art. It wasn’t always clear to me if the discoloration of Alec’s skin was an injury or just a stylistic choice, and this sort of confusion happened in other contexts too (both in the art and plot – like I didn’t always know what was part of the experiment’s consequences and what was predetermined).

The text also didn’t seem very well integrated with the artwork, and often stood out sharply in the panels – not so much in speech bubbles, but in labels and other written words that are part of the background.
This might be fixed in the final version, however, and wasn’t too big of a bother.

Overall an entertaining read that I guarantee will go completely different from whatever you go in expecting. I loved the way the plot developed, though there was an implication in the ending that I wasn’t the biggest fan of.

Some of the opening pictures were boring. Then I started to like it more . The dialogue was okay. The pictures and print were hard to read without zoom. Interesting idea.liked the characters.

There's really no other writer like Maggie Stiefvater; she has such a deep grasp on her own voice, a voice that is both truly magnificent and deeply unsettling. I'm shocked that I was moved so deeply by a DC comic of all things, but if anyone can manage to do that it's Maggie. Yet as a die-hard Maggie Stiefvater fan (clearly), I was shocked to find that, while Maggie is in fine form as always, the real star of "Swamp Thing: Twin Branches" was Morgan Beem's illustrations. With gorgeous illustrations and a color scheme to die for, Beem brings the story to life, her style complementing Maggie's perfectly.

A sibling rivalry story featuring Swamp Thing Is an odd inclusions for DC’s line of teen graphic novels, but then he a character that has always thrived on reinvention. Stiefvater does have an interesting new take on Alec Holland and throws a lot of ideas into the story but there are a bit too many in the end and the story just doesn’t have enough space to properly respect them all.

Young adults will be drawn to the colorful graphics, unique characters and dark comedic storyline. Overall, interesting, unusual, creative graphic novel. Stiefvater's creative storylines continue to impress.

Not knowing much about DC, I dove into Maggie's foray into graphic novels without realizing that it was an origin story for Swamp Thing - silly me. I knew nothing about the DC Ink project, and so many of my thoughts formed before I realized this; the context definitely helped after the fact. My only criticism? It's too short. This book could have been twice as long, because the ending felt so sudden (perhaps it wouldn't have if I'd known what was coming). That being said, Twin Branches is wonderful. Like any of Maggie's work, it hooked me from the start. I love her dedication to the bizarre, to the unexplained and inexplicable, to the underbellies of the world. Morgan Beem's illustrations perfectly complemented the eerie pallor of Maggie's words, casting the whole book in a sickly shade of green. The color usually indicates life - and it's not that it doesn't here, but it's a misunderstood life. A light with darkness underneath. Despite the book's length, the characters felt lived in and solid, and despite my lack of knowledge of what precisely the book was written for, it was still incredibly enjoyable. I hope this is not the last graphic novel that Maggie writes.

I picked this up because I adore Maggie Stiefvater's writing and work. Admittedly, I had never heard of Swamp Thing as a comic/superhero, so I looked it up a bit before reading just in case I needed some context.
I liked:
-- all of the green in the art, and the abundant plants! i liked the coloring
-- the diverse cast of characters
-- the focus on family/brothers
-- the facts about plants and how they were tied in with the plot/themes
-- the potential in the following volumes. where will the story go?
-- diabetes representation

I didn't like the art style as much in general, and the time jumps in the narrative could be confusing/seemingly irrelevant at times. Given that I only picked up the book because of the writer, and not the artist and the superhero's background, I think 3 stars is about right! I would recommend this to fans of the Swamp Thing character and comic book/graphic novel fans.

Worth a look! Liked the story & may have a little more appeal to teens than it did for me. I really did enjoy the science education that was incorporated with the story!

I was really excited to see a graphic novel/DC adaptation from Maggie. I have no previous knowledge of Swamp Thing, so it took me a little bit to get into the story and follow what was going on, but overall I liked it. Maggie’s writing style is so beautiful that reading her writing about plants was fun! The art was different from what I am used to seeing in YA graphic novels, but I really loved the coloring! This was an enjoyable graphic novel from an awesome author!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I loved this book. It is a story of a geeky, shy teen who is struggling to socialize with the dominant culture of growing up. It is different than my experience from 30 years ago, but the essentials are still true. Intelligence is made into outcast, strangeness is not tolerated, and as a bonus this book has great sci-fi/horror story. The art is evocative, the characters diverse and distinctive, and I really enjoyed this short read.

I love Maggie Stiefvater's novels. Her writing style is gorgeous and luscious and envelops me in her phenomenal worldbuilding.
...However gorgeous and descriptive writing doesn't really translate well in the graphic novel world. Although the story was fine, I often felt bogged down by text and frustrated. The art was fine, but felt like more of an adult style than the teen graphic novel styles I am used to seeing. I am sad to say that I don't think this one will appeal to the teens at my library the way Garcia's Raven or Anderson's Wonder Woman will.