| Rick Veitch |
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EARLY CAREER Veitch studied cartooning at the parody ''Two-Fisted Zombies'' (written by his brother Tom Veitch ), but this one-shot failed to make a splash in the fading underground comics field of the '70s. His next major project was an adaptation, with Bissette, of the film '' 1941 ''. During the 1980s, Veitch became known as a distinctive Fantasy artist and writer for Marvel 's Epic Comics line, which serialized his first two graphic novels, ''Heartburst'' and '' The One ''. ''Heartburst'' was straightforward Science Fiction , while ''The One'' was an ambitious and bizarre fantasy-adventure involving monstrous Superhero es, the Cold War , and spiritual evolution; obvious influences on ''The One'' included Alan Moore 's '' Miracleman '' and Arthur C. Clarke 's '' Childhood's End '', but treated in a more humorous manner with often surreal imagery. SWAMP THING Veitch's highest-profile title was DC 's '' Swamp Thing ''. His friends Totleben and Bissette had both illustrated the series since Alan Moore took over as writer; Veitch joined the team for issue #37, in which Moore's popular character John Constantine was introduced, and appeared regularly after issue #50. He had previously worked with Moore on ''Miracleman'', illustrating the notorious story that graphically depicted the birth of Miracleman's child—not the last time Veitch found himself at the center of controversy. When Moore left the series after issue #64, Veitch took over as writer, dividing art duties between himself and Alfredo Alcala . His ''Swamp Thing'' stories took a similar approach to Moore's, combining horror-fantasy, ecological concerns, and an encyclopedic knowledge of DC Comics fantasy characters; however, he gradually turned his attention from the DC Universe to History and Mythology , using Time Travel to introduce his hero to a variety of legendary figures. This was to conclude in issue #91. However Veitch quit after his plan for #88, a story in which Swamp Thing met Jesus, was scrapped by DC's editors. Although DC had approved Veitch's initial script for the Jesus story, the issue was later deemed too inflammatory and was cancelled at the last minute, a decision which may have been influenced by the then-recent criticism of the film '' The Last Temptation Of Christ ''. The publisher and writer were unable to reach a compromise; Veitch quit, and vowed never to work for DC until the story saw print. (Though it has still never been printed, he eventually did return to DC; see below.) |
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