Comics
Review: Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth Is Not To Be Overlooked
Often times it is easy to overlook things that might seem small or even miniscule when compared to the things around them. It is too true that in many cases these seemingly small, inferior things possess far more potential than their peers. This is the case for many aspects of our lives. Literature is a prime example. With so many stories glutting store shelves, with everybody and their mother writing a story (and even the dog & cat seem to get in on the action these days), and publishers clamoring to find the next “TWILIGHT” or “HARRY POTTER”, the ultimate loser just could wind up being the consumers themselves. After all, quantity isn’t quality and no matter how deep you look you might not ever find that needle in the haystack. That is unless or until it drives itself into your finger and makes you notice.
So was the case for “Sweet Tooth”, a series that up until recently had been swallowed up in the waves of consumerist, post Hollywood comic book discovery. Written by Jeff Lemire (“ESSEX COUNTY”, “NOBODY”) “SWEET TOOTH” often pushes the boundaries of what one might perceive as comprehendible at times. Long story short the series is set in a world that has been ravaged by a terrible pandemic. One that has caused odd deformities in those that have survived it causing them to undergo changes that make them look like something you would see on National Geographic. Gus is one such child. A scared little boy that unlike those that developed their deformities, was born with odd, antler like petrusions on his temples and as such must live his life in isolation and fear from “The Hunters”. Gus’s only companion is the hulking brute of a man named Jeppard, who isn’t good at much of anything except hurting people. And while Jeppard may have an odd immunity to the disease that has left the world devastated, he isn’t without his own loss. Unable to let go of his now dead wife, Jeppard keeps her mummified corpse in a duffle he carries with him. Together the broken lives of the odd coupling of boy and man result in one mans quest to find meaning in his existence by guiding the boy to the fabled safe haven for people with his affliction where he can find refuge from the ever searching guns of the hunters.
This months issue is the beginning of the “IN CAPTIVITY” arc, finding Gus caught in a camp by the hunters thrown in a stable with other afflicted children. The ultimate haunting revelation brought forth in this issue is whether or not the haven that he so desperately clings to for sanity and hope truly exists, or if he is doomed to the same fate as those unlucky souls around him. Meanwhile we gain more insight into the fractured life of Jeppard who has returned (with the corpse of his wife) to their old farmhouse.
Lemire’s avant-gard style is something that is both refreshing and downright confusing. It might be a sin to say that the only downside to his brainchild project (Lemire both writes and donates art to the story) from DC’s flagship Vertigo is that it sometimes flounders under the weight of its own oddities. But like any great fairy tale, though more of Brothers Grimm offering than Mother Goose, it is to be expected an at times endearing. And even if the art style is an acquired taste for most it is something that by the first few issues you will have gotten used to, and like myself, learn to enjoy.
For readers who have not yet gotten themselves acquainted with Jeff Lemire this months’ issue of “SWEET TOOTH” is the time to start. The review snippet on the cover reads ‘I would crawl over broken glass to read this’ and though it may not be the case for everyone, myself included, I will say that this little title has not only a lot of heart, but a ton of guts. Not for the weak of mind or of stomach, but if you want a truly interesting and fresh read, then you could not go wrong with “Sweet Tooth”.
4 Out of 5 Skulls
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
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