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Guillermo del Toro: 14 Influences That Shaped My Style

Del Toro's favorite superhero is a misunderstood mound of sentient muck named Swamp Thing (later made into a movie misfire), which was created by writer Len Wein and artist Berni Wrightson. As a kid, del Toro would bike to the drugstore to buy the latest issue of the comic, ''and never complete the ride back. I would always stop half a block away and read it on the sidewalk.''