These days, the post-apocalyptic story has been pretty much done to death, which is what makes Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth all the more surprising. Set in the years after a global plague has wiped out most of humanity, Sweet Tooth follows a young boy as he ventures out from the relative safety of his home into the barren wasteland. Oh, and he happens to have antlers and fur.
For reasons scientists have yet to comprehend, all children born after the outbreak of the plague were bizarre human-animal hybrids. Moreover, these new hybrid children are apparently completely immune to the plague, which leads to some new conflicts…Ok, that’s all you’re getting.The main character is the aforementioned deer-boy named Gus, who at the start of the story leaves the immediate area around the house where he grew up, with no idea of what has been happening in the outside world. His sheltered optimism and understandable confusion at what he sees, when contrasted with the cynicism of the few survivors, forms one of the main conflicts of the series.
Jeff Lemire has such a distinctive art style, and it perfectly complements the grim tone of the comic. His rough, inky lines will be familiar to fans of the excellent Essex County Trilogy (which I’ll probably review in the near future), and his abilities have only grown stronger since that series. Though his art can look rough or sketchy at times, it’s also clear that he’s always in total control of his art, and the pages look exactly how he wants them to. His expressions are top-notch, too; nobody draws sadness like Lemire, and Sweet Tooth has plenty of it to go around. The series isn’t all doom and gloom though; it’s the glimmers of irrational compassion that make the story really worthwhile. The story is also going in some really interesting places, and I’m excited to see where he ends up taking it.
The characters are great, the art’s great, and the concept is unique. Plus the volumes are pretty inexpensive, so go pick it up!
Happy reading,
-Nate
Tired of Superheroes 
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