Reviewed by Brent A. Keane

To understand the impact of Alan Moore's debut on the American comicbook scene, one only has to look to this statement by Neil Gaiman, referring to the influx of British writers and artists that followed in Moore's wake: "Compared to Alan Moore, we were (Herman and the Hermits) to his Rolling Stones."

The musical analogy is a valid and vital one, as reading "The Anatomy Lesson" from SWAMP THING #21 - albeit some seventeen years after its initial release - is akin to hearing your favorite song, by your favorite band, for the very first time. It spins your world right around, opens up new vistas and horizons, and instills in you the potential for a future unhindered by boundaries.

Admittedly, "The Anatomy Lesson" is a simply-designed (but not simplistic) horror story, its potency lying in its familiar premise: that Everything You Know Is Wrong. Dr. Jason Woodrue - the narrator of the tale - has been hired by one General Sunderland in order to discover the secrets of the captured, and inert, Swamp Thing. Woodrue - also known as the Floronic Man - has an innate understanding of plants and plantlife, but is at a loss as to any idea how Swamp Thing functioned as it did, until the answer comes to him by accident.

The monster, who had previously thought itself to be dead scientist Alec Holland reincarnate as some verdant Frankenstein, never was human; it was, for all intents and purposes, "a ghost dressed in weeds." Sunderland meets this revelation with scepticism, but when the creature itself finds out, Sunderland comes to regret it...

Moore's script is at once illuminating, challenging and menacing; the tale is slowly unfurled, ensnaring the reader, dragging him along and under the threshold of disbelief. The art, moody and detailed, supplements the script like bourbon matches Coke; it adds to the flavor, but doesn't overwhelm the palate.

"The Anatomy Lesson" has been reprinted any number of times, but age hasn't lessened its impact; much like "Satisfaction," "Jumping Jack Flash" or "Start Me Up," it's as fresh as the day it was conceived. A cornerstone of modern comics, a horror masterpiece and a heckuva read, "The Anatomy Lesson" is a bonafide classic.

Highly Recommended

Brent A. Keane had an anatomy lesson of his own not too long ago. His lawyer and therapist still won't let him talk about it...