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
‘Werewolf By Night’ Returns This Summer in Brutal “Red Band” Series from Marvel Comics
In the wake of the Halloween special on Disney+ back in 2022, Marvel Comics is bringing their Werewolf by Night back to life with a brand new RED BAND comic book series!
What does that mean? Marvel previews, “This summer, Werewolf By Night embarks on new adventures so violent and bloody, it can only be told in Marvel’s new Red Band format!”
Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell’s new solo ongoing series, will be written by Jason Loo, writer of the upcoming Werewolf by Night: Blood Hunt one-shot, and drawn by artist Sergio Dávila, known for his bold work on titles like Venom and Thor.
Marvel’s premier horror icon will undergo a startling transformation during Blood Hunt that will cause his upcoming battles and hunts to be too graphic for some readers.
Labeled with a Parental Advisory and polybagged to keep those weak of heart from experiencing its intensity, Werewolf by Night will mark a new chapter in the character’s 50-year storytelling history as Jack gets his claws, fangs, and fur blood-soaked like never before!
“Full moon rise—werewolf kill! Jack Russell has been trying to live a simple life—but in the deadly and dramatic wake of the Blood Hunt, his life is about to be turned upside down in ways he never imagined! With new enemies hoping to extract a (literal) pound of flesh and Jack unsure if he can be trusted around old allies and a lost love, the original Werewolf by Night is in for the fight of his life… and he’s in it alone!”
“I give Jack Russell a taste of the life he wants before the Blood Hunt event rips it away and leaves blood on his hands,” Loo shared. “His new journey is to find redemption while figuring out his new lycanthropic transformation. No one is safe when the full moon is out. But luckily, Elsa Bloodstone is around to keep him in check.”
“Our team is delivering a very metal, monster comic and we’re not holding back,” Loo continued. “I’m both shocked and impressed at myself for conjuring up these gruesome scenes from the dark recesses of my mind, then seeing them come to life with every gory detail thanks to penciler Sergio Dávila and inker JP Mayer, as our editors keep giving us the thumbs up of approval. This is literally our smash room in a Red Band comic.”
“This has been a great experience,” Dávila added. “Jason Loo is writing a very wild Werewolf By Night and I’m having a lot of fun with the character. I’ve always enjoyed taking characters to the extreme and Werewolf By Night is someone very much tormented by his inner self, so this is a book full of intense action and lots of blood!”
Werewolf by Night #1 will be unleashed on August 14!
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