As everyone knows, last week was Gil week due to me being afk and David being AWOL. Of course, David showed up and did some reviews, and as soon as I got the chance I read them. To my utter shock, one book was left undiscussed and not recommended to all you fine readers, and I have berated both Gil and David on this point furiously. Since I feel that this book MUST be purchased, I’m writing a special review right now, and I hope, if you didn’t get this book before, you’ll go out and find it now.
Sweet Tooth #1
I believe David has said that, as a rule of thumb, one should always pick up a new Vertigo title. They simply put out some of the best books of all time, and all our big classics come from Vertigo: Fables, 100 Bullets, Preacher, Y: The Last Man, Transmetropolitan, The Invisibles, WE3, etc. Oh, and how about a little book called Watchmen? Ever hear of that? The best part about Vertigo is that when they release a new book, it’s just $1.00. It makes it very accessible for people to get into their stories, such as Air, The Unwritten, and (the disappointing) Greek Street. So, as I said, if you hear about a new book from Vertigo, go get it.
That being said, one book that was solicited left me with absolutely no interest. It was getting good comments from creators and everyone “in the know” said it should be picked up, but look at the cover image. It’s a kid with antlers and a candy bar. Isn’t that a Say Anything music video? Or was it Fall Out Boy? I forget because I don’t like either band, and frankly, I don’t like that image. Since I could find very little about the actual book, I had no interest in it whatsoever. When the preview of it appeared in the back of Vertigo comics, I read it but wasn’t overly impressed. It just seemed odd. A boy with antlers hanging out with deer and then being hunted. Why should I care? It was then that I decided not to buy Sweet Tooth.
Of course, here we are now. For a dollar, how can you NOT pick up a new issue? Worst comes to worst, you don’t like it, the book becomes a hit, and you sell your issue 1 for profit. Too bad I absolutely frakking LOVED it!
Sweet Tooth is the child of Jeff Lemire who both writes and draws the book (with Jose Villarubia doing colors), so already in my mind I’m conjuring up images of Jeff Smith’s Bone, and I don’t think I’m too far off. We have an innocent main character with an isolated world forced to expand his horizons in the aftermath of a tragedy. However, he also has prophetic dreams and, of course, a sweet tooth. The thing about Sweet Tooth is that the world that Lumiere created is so very intriguing. Why does this boy have antlers? Why does he live in a fenced in area? What’s outside, and what happened? Why does his father lie? There are so many questions I want to know the answer to after this issue and all of it with a high amount of intrigue. Not to mention how great the artwork looks. It fits the mood and story of the book quite perfectly and sets a tone that I can’t wait to see expanded upon. Suffice it to say, Lumiere’s new book is a definite hit in my mind.
Remember how much I praised the Unwritten when the first issue came out? This is the exact same thing. You NEED Sweet Tooth in your pull. This first issue sells it absolutely in my mind, but even if you don’t believe me, what’s a dollar? It won’t hurt to just grab this book and give it a shot, and I fully believe you’ll enjoy it. It was quite a wonderful little read for a first issue and I absolutely can’t wait for more. I did notice it starting to sell out as I visited different stores this week though (don’t ask why I go to multiple comic stores a week… I’m odd), so you better try and get yourself a copy soon or you will be forever regretful.
Final Verdict: Buy
