"It" is a
horror short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
by American writer
Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...
, first published in ''
Unknown
Unknown or The Unknown may refer to:
Film
* ''The Unknown'' (1915 comedy film), a silent boxing film
* ''The Unknown'' (1915 drama film)
* ''The Unknown'' (1927 film), a silent horror film starring Lon Chaney
* ''The Unknown'' (1936 film), a ...
'' of August 1940 (volume 3, number 6). The story deals with a
muck-monster that emerges from a swamp, and terrorizes a family who lives nearby. The creature has no emotions, and is simply curious about the things that it observes. Its terrifying strength allows it to grab animals and people and tear them apart, to see how they work. Ultimately, the creature is revealed to have formed around a human skeleton.
P. Schuyler Miller described "It" as "probably the most unforgettable story ever published in ''Unknown''". The story was published in book form in Sturgeon's first short story collection, ''
Without Sorcery'' (1948).
The story inspired many similar characters in comic books, including
Swamp Thing
The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...
and
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...
.
Similar characters
![Airboy Comics v9 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Airboy_Comics_v9_5.jpg)
Plant-based swamp monsters similar to that in the story appear in various comic books. Among these characters are
Hillman Comics' the
Heap in ''Airboy Comics'', who debuted in what was intended as a one-time appearance in the feature "Skywolf" in ''Air Fighters'' #3 (December 1942).
Early depictions of the Heap look highly similar to the
Looney Tunes/
Merrie Melodies character
Gossamer, an orange-furred, practically featureless monster in
sneakers who menaced
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...
in the 1946
animated short "Hair-Raising Hare" before going on to other appearances (and named "Rudolph" in one).
Solomon Grundy in ''
All-American Comics'' is the result of a criminal having fallen in a swamp, though he did not have a plant-like appearance.
Sturgeon's story continued to show influence after the relaxation of the
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...
's restrictions on horror late in 1971. The
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...
first appeared (in an unrestricted black and white magazine-size comic) from
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
in May 1971, and
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
introduced the
Swamp Thing
The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...
in the anthology comic
''House of Secrets'' #92 in June 1971. A different character, based upon the ''House of Secrets'' story and also called the Swamp Thing, debuted in issue #1 of its own title (November 1972).
Marvel also published an adaptation of the original story in ''
Supernatural Thrillers
''Supernatural Thrillers'' was an American horror fiction comic book published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s that adapted classic stories of that genre, including works by Robert Louis Stevenson and H. G. Wells, before becoming a vehicle for a su ...
'' #1. Supernatural Thrillers #1 sold very well; Marvel wanted an "It!" comic book.
Roy Thomas and
Tony Isabella
Tony Isabella (born December 22, 1951) is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath; DC Comics' first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning; and as ...
discussed this and determined they could not do a continuation of the Sturgeon story since they were already publishing Man-Thing as an ongoing series. Isabella suggested he and Thomas look at the sales of their monster reprint titles and discovered that the two issues that reprinted the Colossus stories by Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby had sold better than other issues of those titles. Isabella started developing what became It! The Living Colossus!
The 1980s saw the introduction of Bog Swamp Demon and two Swamp Thing movies, as well as
Dave Sim
Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, best known for his comic book '' Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical ...
's Man-Thing and Swamp Thing parodies, Woman-Thing and Sump-Thing, in the pages of ''
Cerebus
''Cerebus'' (; also ''Cerebus the Aardvark'') is a comic book series created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes on ...
''.
The 1990s introduced more parodies, including Swamp Beast in
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...
' ''
Monster in My Pocket
''Monster in My Pocket'' is a media franchise developed by American company Morrison Entertainment Group, headed by Joe Morrison and John Weems, two former senior executives at Mattel.
The focus is on monsters and fantastical and legendary cr ...
'' and Man-Thang and Swamp-Thang in Marvel's ''
What The--?!
''What The--?!'' is a Marvel Comics comic book series self-parodying the Marvel Universe, similar in vein to the 1960s series '' Not Brand Echh''. It was billed as "The Marvel mag of mirth and mayhem!" The series ran for 26 issues, from August 19 ...
''.
References
{{Theodore Sturgeon
1940 short stories
Horror short stories
Short stories by Theodore Sturgeon
Works originally published in Unknown (magazine)