Sweet Tooth #31
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art and Cover by Jeff Lemire
Reviewed by Steve Seigh
Anyone who reads Sweet Tooth will no doubt tell you that it is quite the journey. There’s something peculiar and unique about the series that has it’s readers returning each and every month to discover the new twists and turns for Gus, Mr. Jepperd, and the rest of the rag tag group of survivalist friends.
Sweet Tooth #31 continues the story arc dubbed Unnatural Habitats: in which we discover the horrible truth about the identity of Walter, and his intentions for Wendy, Becky, and the rest of the group. To make matters worse Gus, Jepperd, and Dr. Singh have met with a bit of a bad luck along the road while traveling to Alaska in search of answers. Things seem to only be going from bad to worse for all of our characters as the mystery behind the origins of the plague, as well as the hybrid children, unfolds before their very eyes.
It’s strange to think that it’s taken this long to post a Sweet Tooth review here on the Talking Comics website. Why is that? Well, because if you’ve ever had the chance to listen to our amazing podcast, you’ll more than likely already know how much we all love the work of Jeff Lemire. Though, what my co-hosts are not yet aware of is just how deep the story of Gus and Mr. Jepperd has become since the last arc wrapped up it’s final pages. Not only are we getting plenty of intriguing information about the story and characters in this particular arc, but we’re also witnessing the transformation of it’s main character. Gus is growing up. He’s no longer the ignorant little deer-boy. His times and trials on the road have changed him, forcing him to grow up. None of that is ever more obvious than the final page of this issue.
There are good men and there are bad men in the world of Sweet Tooth. We’ve been forced to place our trust in the kindness of strangers and it’s almost gotten us all killed. Just how much longer must we trudge through the cold before we reach our salvation? Will the icy fingers of death find us and plunge a razor-sharp fingernail into our hearts before we have our answers? The only solution is to wait another month and keep reading.
VERDICT
Sweet Tooth is the kind of book everyone should be reading. It’s magical, cruel, and unrelenting. Buy it, or be left out of one of the best series in comic books today.
