YMMV / Swamp Thing Volume 2 Issue 40 The Curse

• Broken Base: "The Curse" was perhaps the most controversial issue of Moore's run on Swamp Thing.
  • Bissette, in his introduction to a trade collection containing this issue, claims that at the time of its publication "The Curse" drew criticism from comic industry insiders for its discussion of menstruation, which they considered an unseemly, taboo topic even for non-Code comics.
  • Some feminist readers and critics took issue with Moore's portrayal of Native American menstrual huts (see the Artistic License – History entry on the main recap page).
  • Most notably, a number of readers objected to Phoebe's suicide, claiming that, intentionally or not, it sent the message that women are helpless to do anything about gender oppression and, worse, that suicide is the only way out of their predicament. This prompted a rare response from Moore, in which he said the story depicted one woman's response to her own unique "curse" and that he didn't intend it as a model for women to follow in real life.

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