Sweet Tooth vol. 1: Out of the Deep Woods

Believe it or not, I’m still going through the comics I’ve bought at Comic-Con.  Blame it on a mix of having games to play (like “Xenoblade” which is excellent and worth importing and modding your Wii), more new comics to read, and other stuff.  I can’t say that I wish I had gotten to this particular title sooner, but it does make me curious to see where it goes.  The story centers around Gus, a mutant survivor in a post-apocalyptic world distinguished by his deer-like antlers and ears.  He’s lived his whole life with his god-fearing dad never venturing beyond the boundary of their property.  That changes once his dad passes away and a man named Jeppard saves him from some hunters.  Jeppard tells him of “The Preserve,” a place for his kind.  Not having anything to keep him around, or knowing any better, Gus follows him into the world.

Writer/artist Jeff Lemire’s vision of the post-apocalypse isn’t that unique, though he knows enough to tease us with tidbits about its origin and the mystery of Gus and his kind to keep our interest.  The relationship between Gus and Jeppard isn’t all that different either, but he still manages to sell us on the fact that the man eventually does come to care about this strange little boy.  What sets this apart from the rest of its genre is Lemire’s style, with his sketchy, impressionistic art and use of silence in his storytelling.  Yes, that does mean there are a lot of panels with no text and people standing around, but Lemire is a good enough storyteller to give these scenes a convincing subtext to help further the story.  Imagine “The Road” directed by Takeshi Kitano and you’ll have an idea of the style on display here.  It’s different, but good.  Good enough to where the cliffhanger ending actually made me go, “I’d like to read more of this!”