Sweet Tooth #13

Story and Art: Jeff Lemire
Colors: Jose Villarrubia
Publisher: Vertigo
Price: $2.99

Darkness and more darkness.  Every issue of this title just gives me a feeling of unease.  I don’t think this is the only comic I read each month that I enjoy each month, but still have a feeling of dread when I am about to start reading it.  Each time I think, “surely things are going to brighten up this issue.”  I think that I’d be more upset if Lemire went the cheery route rather than continuing this great storyline the way it is.

This is the start of a new story arc.  In issue 12, we learned that Gus may have been the cause of the disease that wiped out a lot of the human race.  At least that’s what Dr. Singh thinks, and he’s moved off to Gus’s home to learn more about his origin.  I don’t really trust Singh, but then again, there isn’t really anyone that I can full on trust in this story.  The other  characters we’ve been introduced to have been separated and we’re following them on their own journeys.  Gus is still stuck in the prison/lab with all of his hybrid friends.  They’ve met someone that works there that doesn’t seem them as freaks, but as humans Of course, he’s not really rewarded for treating them well and it ends up hurting the other hybrids too.  And Jepperd and his new allies are off in the Lost City looking for more recruits to go and break Gus out, I’m assuming.

I know one of the reasons why this series is so haunting is because of Lemire’s art.  When I was first introduced to him, with Essex County, I wasn’t sure if I liked the style or not.  (If you haven’t read Essex, I highly recommend checking it out.)  His art for me always has the feeling of sadness and it can be little draining at times.  His character expressions have this emotional pull on my senses.  I’ve found that now after having read him for awhile that his style fits perfectly for the stories he tells.  It’s stark and eerie and he doesn’t do more within the panel than he needs to do.  His lines are dark and rough, and they are at their harshest during violence.  It makes me feel something and draws me in more and more with each page.

I feel terrible for Gus and the other hybrids.  The scenes with them are just like a punch to the gut.  You get the feeling that you have been locked in these cages the whole time with them.  Again, it goes back to the art.  There is so much pain and anger in each character’s expression and gestures that you can’t help but feel sorry for them.

At the beginning of this series, I thought it was just going to be another end of the world scenario that would let us tag along with characters as they struggled through it.  In a way it has, but it also has such a different feeling to it than what other stories have done with this type of plot.  It’s because it’s more about the effects that are taking place around the world, rather than a story about survival.  There hasn’t been a lot of full on action scenes in this first 13 issues, and I think that only brings out more empathy from me for these characters.  Jepperd is the big strong man of the series, but he has so much pain and loss in past, that he’s not really someone that we look to for leadership.  He’s just trying to make it through the day like everyone else.

I know that I haven’t really painted a rosy picture of title that will bring a smile to your face.  But at the end of each issue, it will make you feel something.  For me, it’s the need to see Gus make it through this unharmed.  I have to get each issue to see if Gus finds an escape from this situation he’s been placed in.  I think the best compliment you can give a comic is that you care about what happens to the characters.  I’d say check out the first couple trades or pick up this issue if you had a small stack this week.  There isn’t anything else like it being published right now.