Sweet Tooth #18 – Review

by Jeff Lemire (writer & artist), Jose Villarrubia (colors), and Pat Brosseau (letters)

The Story: Gus and the gang hit the road to Alaska, readjusting to the outside world.

What’s Good: Jeff Lemire is never afraid of getting experimental with Sweet Tooth’s layouts, and nowhere is this more on display than this month, where the book is in landscape and, at points, narrated like a storybook, with a splash page on top and a page of prose narration below.  But that’s not what’s best about this issue.

What’s best is its emotional resonance.  Take for example the tension between the newly reunited Jepperd and Gus.  Jepperd’s obvious sense of guilt and his clumsy attempts to reconnect are absolutely heartbreaking, regardless of whether he’s done wrong.  There’s something pathetic in his actions this month, using relics in an attempt to rekindle a time long past and regain a friendship with a Gus that no longer exists.  Or is that Gus simply buried?  Either way, it’s really gut-wrenching, eye-watering stuff that is sincere in the utmost.

Gus himself functions incredibly well this month as a kind of moral compass.  His clear sense of right and wrong show a much clearer, more defined character than the impressionable kid from issue 1.  Perhaps he’s idealistic, but he’s steadfast.  Gus shows himself to be a restraining force on the adults, a figure who reminds them of their humanity.

I also really enjoy the group dynamic that the comic has taken on.  In some ways, it reminds me of the Walking Dead: it’s an ensemble in a post-apocalyptic world, with each character having his or her unique characteristics and place in the group.  A special mention also has to go to Bobby, who gets in a couple of really hilarious lines this month.  It was surprising to get that out of Lemire, as Sweet Tooth has never been the comic to go to for laughs.

There’s also a heavy emphasis on the importance of the innocence of childhood this month that was really quite touching.  Seeing all the tension and horror of the series break away, even for a moment, to allow for kids to be kids and friends to be friends was a beautiful sight to see.  Indeed, the final splash of the issue almost made my eyes water.  It was such a display of friendship and goodness and acceptance that it’s hard to put into words.

Sweet Tooth #11 – Review

by Jeff Lemire (writer & artist), Jose Villarrubia (colors), and Pat Brosseau (letters)

The Story: Louise’s death, Jepperd’s imprisonment by the militia, and his ensuing deal with Abbott are recounted.

What’s Good: The trip Lemire has been taking the grizzled, hardened Jeppered on lately has certainly been an interesting one, if only because of how it highlights his vulnerability and consequent deterioration.  That reaches new depths this month and with Lemire having spent so many of Sweet Tooth’s early issues building Jepperd into a tough-as-nails wrecking machine, seeing the guy reduced to such desperation is definitely very effective.

This month, Jepperd is shown at his weakest. He is emotionally destroyed, he is physically trapped, he is reduced to begging, and, for the first time in the series, he is physically beaten to a pulp, fair and square, in a fight we’d expect him to win.  It’s disconcerting stuff and certainly, seeing a guy like Jepperd so completely destroyed in every arena that a human being can be assaulted is just another example of how great Lemire is at writing the traumatic.  Yet, it also makes the last page all the more effective; never before has Jepperd seemed more dangerous and more threatening than now, having come through the flames of such physical and emotional pain.

Much of this issue is spent in the slow, gradual relationship that is forged between Jepperd and his warden, Johnny, who’s a seemingly nice guy.  It’s well written by Lemire; Johnny is the one physically weak presence amidst men like Jepperd and Abbott and is hopelessly stuck between the two of them.  Lemire does well in giving Johnny an affable, vernacular tone that often struggles to deal with the dire subject matter, much like the character himself.

Then there’s Abbott, who Lemire cements as a strong villain after this issue.  Completely cold, weirdly friendly, and always calm, Abbott has a relaxed presence that grows increasingly sinister.  It’s strangely suitable that in a world of hard, intimidating people, the most dangerous guy is also the most unassuming.

Lemire artwork continues to be tremendous for Sweet Tooth.  Backgrounds reflect states of mind and larger panels are perfectly in synch with the book’s emotional tone.  Lemire also makes really cool use of darkness this month in his depiction of Jepperd’s imprisonment.  It shuts down and punctuates the book, much as it shuts down and punctuates the conversations themselves as dialogue ends when the light goes out.  I also continue to enjoy Lemire’s depictions of action, which are always fast, claustrophobic, crushed together, and brutal.

Wolverine: Weapon X #13 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Jason Keith (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: The New Avengers get involved as Cap and Logan confront the inventor of the Deathloks.

What’s Good: Going into this issue, I was not overly thrilled with the idea of Aaron bringing in the New Avengers.  I liked his inclusion of Captain America, but bringing in a whole team, I feared, would dilute the comic.  What I didn’t count on, however, was the fact that Aaron writes an awesome Spider-Man.

His Spider-Man is absolutely hilarious.  His banter is awesome and his constant ribbing of the Thing is equally riotous.  But Aaron’s Spider-Man’s wit is so sharp that it borders on the metatextual.  For instance, his complaints regarding the fact that characters from the future always come from a dystopian wasteland, or his mocking of the sheer number of catch-phrases that the Thing has are both wonderfully done.  When Aaron writes Spider-Man talking and bantering exactly like the Thing, it’s utter genius and a hilarious statement on the character.

Then, not done yet with character, Aaron presents us with a grizzled, commando Spidey of the future who is a tragic shadow of his present-day go-getter.  Aaron’s Spidey, so madcap and hilarious in his present day version, finds himself unable to tell a joke or find humor in the future.  This alone speaks volumes about the darkness of his environment and in retrospect, is chilling.

Beyond this, what we get from Aaron is basically a smattering of coolness.  We get a headless Deathlok flailing about and punching through a guy’s chest.  We get a surprising callback to Aaron’s Wolverine: the List one-shot.   Then there’s a demoted mad scientist who makes cyborgs from roadkill, who serves as a surprising source for comedy (“Take care….of my possums…”).