I really enjoyed this new comic book series by Maggie Stiefvater. I loved the duality of the swamp thing and the fun illustrations. Great new series!

Swamp Thing is a character I’m quite unfamiliar with. Atmospheric, eerie, and injected with a whole lot of Maggie, Twin Branches made me want to look into previous stories and check out the current TV show. I hope we get more from this character (and Maggie!) in the line.

Plus, the colors and page usage are to die for. Pick this one up, out now!

I am a huge fan of Maggie Stiefvater however I think this graphic novel will divide her fans, sadly I am the side of ones who did not enjoy this comic. The art was interesting as well as the overall concept but there was definitely a lack of dialogue which didn't help to explain the characters thought processes and the story in general. Sadly I couldn't gel with this graphic novel at all, it just seemed to miss it's mark.

Swamp Thing: Twin branches was an interesting read. I can't say I enjoyed the storyline or the graphics but I do think it will go over well with readers. It was certainly a weird tale that had some interesting turns and I always appreciate originality!

This was an okay read for me. I think that the story was interesting enough but the pacing for me was off a bit. However, I did like the characters and think it is worth reading.

Love love love this book! So much so that I had to get it into my hands in print as well. Maggie Stiefvater has been a long time favorite author of mine and with this new graphic novel she did not disappoint! Twins Alec and Walker decide to spend their last summer together before college with their cousins after a situation with their parents leads to their separation. One twin loves science and plants and the other twin is the partying type. Both are going through their own pain during this time and struggle to communicate. Add to that an experiment gone wrong and the brothers are going to have a summer that will change the way they know things forever.

'Swamp Thing: Twin Branches' by Maggie Stiefvater with art by Morgan Beem is a YA graphic novel about the origins of DCs Swamp Thing.

Alec and Walker Holland are twins, but very different. On their last summer before college, they go to visit cousins in the country. Alec brings a school experiment along but Walker is more interested in socializing with the locals. When Alec's experiment seems ruined, it turns up in unexpected ways.

I always sort of refer to these as alternate histories, and it's really interesting to see where new writers take the known characters. In this case, I really liked what was done with Alec and Walker. The art was also pretty unique and I enjoyed it.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Update: I finally got the full copy to download and loved the story. Very interested to see what happens next and how this stuff mutates. Thank you for the review copy NetGalley!
Now it's 4 stars :)

Loved the artwork and the bit of brief story that I was able to review and will be looking to order this book for sure.

Only giving it 3 stars at the moment since I was not able to review the entire story.

Twin brothers Alec and Walker Holland are sent off to spend their last summer before college with their rural cousins after catching their father having an affair. Alec, the studious one, buries himself in a lab where he continues working on a project that takes everything in him - a bit literally - to keep going, while Walker hits the social scene. The two brothers find themselves diverging this summer, with tensions and memories forcing their way between the two. And the swamp... well, that's just waiting for someone, isn't it? Maggie Stiefvater is an amazing YA writer, and Morgan Beem has a nice list of comics illustration to her credit. She creates an eerie atmosphere with her green and murky artwork, giving Maggie Stiefvater's creepy storytelling a wonderfully oogie vibe. I'll be honest, the story dipped for me a few times when Alec gets caught up in his botany discussions, but the overall storytelling is strong and macabre; very American Gothic.

Real talk: going into this Swamp Thing origin story, I had almost no knowledge of the character. But I know that I love Maggie Stiefvater, and the creepy weirdness of Swamp Thing seemed to be a perfect fit for her. Sure enough, this has been my favorite of this DC origin comics for teens so far! Since it's out, I been recommending it on Hoopla through virtual classroom outreaches. For teens who like superheroes and don't mind a little plant-based horror. 4 stars - I really liked it!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A short and sweet tale of twin brothers and a science experiment -- with beautiful illustrations and a poignant narrative from Maggie Stiefvater. I don't know anything about DC characters, but I still enjoyed the story. I'm not the biggest graphic novel person, so while I enjoyed the illustrations, I tended to glance over them and continue on. The ending was too abrupt for my liking, but otherwise I loved this beautiful bite-sized story!

First I want to thank Netgalley and DC for providing me with the e-arc & physical copy of Swamp Thing: Twins Branches for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️

Swamp Thing: Twin branches was such an exciting reveal for me. As someone who is a huge fan of Maggie Stiefvater and a DC lover, the two comings together was honestly a dream come true. With the absence of the second book of the dreamers' trilogy this year, having something from Maggie to read this year was super exciting for me.

As much as I love DC, I was never familiar with Swamp Thing so this entire world was completely new to me. The basics behind this story are twin siblings alec and walker holland, early on you notice the key differences between the two brothers and what familial issues the two are undergoing. Swamp Thing: Twin Branches touches briefly on bullying, adultery, and trying hard to fit in.

One of my favorite things about this graphic novel is the plot interwoven with the plants. And as the author who literally created the most breathtaking forest literature – in my opinion – Maggie was perfect for this role.

This graphic novel is gorgeous. The illustrations are so different than what you expect from a DC graphic novel yet I felt that Morgan Beems' art style fits the uniqueness of maggie's storytelling perfectly. For a short graphic novel, the story is stunning, I didn't expect a finished plot nor super intriguing characterization. Yet in the shortness, Maggie and Morgan deliver characters that aren't easily forgotten.

The downside of this novel for me was the ending, it came so quickly. I wish it would have been left on a better cliffhanger than it was, leaving more to the imagination would have been more ideal than the abrupt sequence of events at the end.

Overall Swamp Thing: Twin Branches is a wonderful and quick read. It has all the vibes The Raven Cycle has intermixed in its gorgeously colorful pages.

𝘼𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙀-𝘼𝙍𝘾 & 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙘 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘿𝘾 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚.

A love story wrapped up in a tale about plants. Brothers Alec and Walker are different as night and day, but they are tied together forever as twins. The summer before college changes them forever when Alec's experimental plant research accelerates.

So DC Comics kindly sent me a copy of Swamp Thing: Twin Branches for review and I was actually pretty excited since it would be firs comic ever that I’d be reading. I’ve seen plenty shows/movies based on DC Comics but I had never actually taken the time to read a comic.

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches revolves around to twin boys (young men) who go and stay with their aunt after they catch their father in a very compromising position and must now lean on each other more so going forward.


This was definitely a good mix of humor, laughters and plenty of plant facts that having me wishing I had a green thumb!

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a graphic novel and it was such a nice change of pace. I’m always a fan of Stiefvater’s writing and it worked especially well along with the illustrations here. It’s a suspenseful and family-centric story that keeps you engaged. I finished the book in one sitting and it left me wanting more of these characters.

I love Maggie Stiefvater, and she can do no wrong in my eyes. Swamp Thing was an interesting story to tackle, but I enjoyed her writing and the illustrations.

Maggie Stiefvater plants new seeds for Alec Holland in Swamp Thing: Twin Branches, a delightful young adult graphic novel that puts a new spin on a classic DC comic book hero in a joint effort that includes the eerie, punk-rock style of Morgan Beem’s illustrations and the gorgeous color play of Jermey Lawson.

Vibrant potted plants, atmospheric and eye-catching, invite the reader to explore Alec Holland’s work-in-progress, an undergraduate research project on the potential for thought transference in plant life, beginning with a mimosa pudica specimen named Boris, submerged in purple liquid.

Content to spend hours in the quiet solitude of a lab, jotting down notes on new iterations of Boris, Alec finds himself unceremoniously uprooted when he and his twin brother, Walker, catch their father in the midst of an affair after Alec is ripped from an afternoon of research, torn at the idea of submitting findings to U.C. Berkeley.

Forced to leave home for the summer (plant life included), Alec and Walker head out to rural Virginia, the city landscape transforming into the dense back wood, alive with tangling vines, overabundant foliage, and curious wildlife. While Walker is excited to make a name for himself in a new party scene, headlined by the rivalry between his cousins and a trouble making sibling duo from out of town, Alec seeks solitude in a high school science lab after his research is destroyed by his seemingly oblivious extended family.

Upended boxes, spilling purple liquid on a bumpy ride home compete with pricked fingers when Alec attempts to use insulin, creating a distinct lack of compassion that errs on the side of bullying when the family dogs rip into the remaining cardboard research boxes in the garage. The inconsiderate attitude of the twins’ teen cousins, not to mention their ridiculous antics, make for an irritating extended cast of characters, though the party scene and competition for “man points” feel natural in a way that teens, especially those on the fringes of cliques – and societal expectations – will understand.

Past collides with present seamlessly as Alec navigates the party scene – a scene that he is forced into, by his brother, his aunt, and even his own mother – despite his desire to continue working on research in the wee hours of the night, where Alec’s affinity for botany is explored during a moment of bullying in grade school, the scene transitioning as Alec gravitates toward the town’s largest tree (Fancy Sam), and later, clusters of ivy on a secluded balcony. It is in this moment of heartbreak as young Alec listens in, sitting outside a faculty office with nothing but a plant for company, that we share in the comfort of leafy foliage and experimentation, leaves between fingers a balm to Alec’s soul.

In describing Alec’s relationship to plant life, Stiefvater excels, drawing parallels between experimentation and knowledge that coincide with the teen’s emotional state – on life, romance, and brotherly love – from the inclusion of facts on trees (Japanese Larch, Black Walnut) in regard to his shyness in social situations, to the idea that you never know what a plant might become, drawing a correlation between himself and his brother. Factoids – on experimentation and beyond – play a role in creating a cohesive and fascinating plot line, one that draws subtle parallels to the Swamp Thing of old, while developing Alec’s character, made possible by the inclusion of subtle lettering differences by Ariana Maher and beautiful illustrations.

"Many plants look identical when they begin life. They may continue to look identical even after they emerge. But it’s an illusion. These first leaves, or cotyledon leaves, bear little resemblance […] to the adults they will become."

Although Swamp Thing: Twin Branches offers an examination into the life and personality of Alec Holland, Stiefvater breathes life into the side characters as well, all new additions unheard of in DC lore, though subtle nods are made toward the original, in the eerie disappearance of a girl, in the shadows that lurk beneath the canopies of trees, and in the camouflage costume of a high school science teacher. In exploring the dynamic between two twin brothers, Stiefvater reimagines the Swamp Thing canon, proving that, in the end, love trumps all, even when differences drive us apart.

"Maybe the biggest difference between humans and plants isn’t whether plants think […] but what they think about."

Complete with imaginative, yet eerie imagery – a beautiful reimagining of the grotesque, Beem and Lawson create stunning nightmares rather than the grotesquely dark monster of Swamp Thing lore, all while Stiefvater plays with the importance of knowledge, understanding, and acceptance, breathing new life into an old classic. Accessible for all audiences, Swamp Thing: Twin Branches plants seeds of hope for Alec Holland, even though a rather abrupt ending leaves readers searching for more.

What?!? That's it?!? Will there be more???

I'm a sucker for a good sibling story and although this had a slow start, the ending felt rushed. I really need to know what happens next.

Special shout out to Netgalley & DC Comics for an advanced copy of this book.

This is a gorgeously illustrated graphic novel with a creepy, dark vibe that will likely resonate with teenagers that feel out of place in society. I don’t usually read graphic novels but requested this one as I enjoy Maggie Steifvater’s writing. After reading it, I think my 13 year old would really enjoy this book.

Alec and Walker are twins who couldn’t be more different but are also inseparable. When they discover their father is cheating on their mother, it is decided that they will spend the summer with their rural cousins in the swamp. Walker has no problem making friends with the locals, but Alec is consumed by the experiment that he brought with them. After some tragic accidents, both brothers must face truths that they were suppressing all along.

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches is a graphic novel origin story about this iconic character. Once again, I didn’t know much about his character before reading the book. It is definitely an origin story with 95% of the book focusing on what happened before the final event. There is a lot of science (which I enjoyed), but this may be a turn off for some readers. The graphics were great and added so much depth to the overall storyline. Swamp Thing: Twin Branches would not be my first choice to read, but a fun addition to superhero origin stories.