Big Cypress Swamp: Best Location For Man-Thing Fantasies

I’ve been reading so much Man-Thing, I might as well make a post in relation to it. The Murk Monster dwells in a swamp in the Florida Everglades between two key locations. It just so happens that a very real swamp exists between a Seminole Reservation and Lake Okeechobee. Thankfully the Big Cypress Swamp has neither a giant plant man or a nexus of all realities. Or at least as far was we know.

Big Cypress Swamp: Comic Accuracy

Not to be confused with Delaware’s swamp, it currently exists as a nature preserve and national park. For that matter, it’s one of the first national preserves in 1974. Funnily enough, that coincides with events in Steve Gerber’s Man-Thing run. One of the first major arcs of Gerber’s saga involves an airport trying to be built in the swamp. It even features green protestors and Seminoles standing against it. Yeah, Gerber made the real story behind a Transition Airport his own. Though to be clear, neither the Nexus of All Realities or the Fountain of Youth are in the Big Cyprus Swamp.

But it does have a lot of oil with even more legal battles to prevent the privatization of it. Not that it would’ve helped the airport’s magnate, F. A. Schist. Yes, seriously… the oil economy wasn’t in his favor.

Besides who’s going to protect all of the alligators and bears from the comics? Definitely not the Man-Thing, those critters tend to get on his bad side. Gotta say, I find it funny that nobody comments about the American crocodiles living there. Are artists too afraid to confuse them with the gators? I doubt any of the hunters around Cypress would mind. Relax they’re protected unlike the hogs; not as much as the Florida panther but still.

Anything Else?

Okay so the Big Cypress Swamp is only part of the larger Everglades. There’re plenty of pieces that make it up; you could find yourself in the prairies all the way down to Florida bay. I’m sure a few fans would like to emulate Man-Thing shambling around to his next adventure. But if you ever comes across signs of a monster in the Everglades, you’re more likely to find the Skunk Ape. Also mind anybody living in the swamps, while they’re probably not mages please respect their home. That especially goes for the Seminole people, they’ve got a history with that place.

Side note: Are you looking for a real Citrusville, the town neighbor of Man-Thing’s Swamp? The closest I could find was Clewiston, Florida.

Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.