Sweet Tooth (Vertigo)
| Sweet Tooth | |
|---|---|
Cover of Sweet Tooth 1 (November 2009).
by Jeff Lemire |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Vertigo |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | September 2009 – January 2013 |
| Number of issues | 40 |
| Main character(s) | Gus Jepperd |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Jeff Lemire |
| Artist(s) | Jeff Lemire |
| Letterer(s) | Pat Brosseau |
| Colorist(s) | Jose Villarrubia |
| Creator(s) | Jeff Lemire |
| Editor(s) |
Brandon Montclare Bob Schreck |
| Collected editions | |
| Out of the Woods | |
| In Captivity | |
| Animal Armies | |
| Endangered Species | |
| Unnatural Habitats | |
| Wild Game | |
Sweet Tooth is an American comic book limited series written and drawn by Canadian Jeff Lemire and published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. Dubbed by some as "Mad Max meets Bambi", it takes place in a mostly rural post-apocalyptic setting where some creatures are human/animal hybrids.
Gus, a young boy with deer features, lives a quiet life deep in the woods with his father. He learns many things, from medical care to religious prophecy. Though he loves his religious father, he yearns to escape as he learns that there is not fire past the trees, but simply more land.
Sometime after Gus' father passes from an illness, strange men come to capture him. They are slain by Jeppard, who then promises to take Gus to a sanctuary. Lonely, Gus goes with him. Along the way, they encounter many problems. Hybrid cultists almost kill Jeppard but Gus saves him. 'Sweet Tooth' then earns his nickname by eating all of Jeppard's candy/food stash though he had gained more food while Jeppard recovered. The duo also rescue several women from a prostitution ring.
Ultimately, Jeppard betrays Gus to a horrible scientific facility in return for the bones of his wife. It turns out a mysterious plague has been wiping out humanity, and the leader of the facility, Abbott along with scientist Dr. Singh, believe half-animal half-human children the hybrids have something to do with it. In flashback we learn Jeppard was a former hockey bruiser who protected his wife Louise in the post apocalyptic world. Eventually though, Louise revealed she was pregnant and Jeppard relents when a militia, led by Abbott, offers protection. It was all a trick however, with Abbott and Singh experimenting on pregnant women and hybrid babies to try to find a cure for the plague. Jeppard is kept in a cage but is eventually freed by Abbott's brother Johnny, a guard in the facility. Johnny tells Jeppard his wife is dead, and Jeppard goes on a rampage through the facility. He is recaptured, and Abbott lets him out of the camp, telling him he can have his wife's remains if he brings Abbott a hybrid child. This was why Jeppard betrayed Gus, and he heads home to fulfill a promise to his wife that he would "bring her back home".
Gus, despite the horrors, makes friends with the last of the animal children at the place, the pig girl Wendy, half feral groundhog boy Bobby, and the silent deer boy Buddy. Gus is hypnotized by Dr Singh, who goes deep into his memory to find out the truth about his birth. He discovers that Gus's father was a lunatic, and may even have been responsible for the apocalypse. He insists Abbott take him to the woods. They discover a bible that was written by Gus's father, but no evidence of a mother in her grave, on the way back to the camp, Singh starts to believe the writings. Jeppard, overwhelmed with guilt and a directionless life, decides to re-rescue Gus. He recruits Becky and Lucy, the women he saved, and hundreds of hybrid cultists. With help from Johnny, the children escape, although Gus is forced to kill a lost alligator-child who had gone feral. While on the move, Jeppard and Gus share an identical dream about Alaska.
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