Not-So-Sweet Tooth

 I loved the first run of the Sweet Tooth comic book. So when I heard that there was going to be a Netflix show based on it, I was (1) amazed, (2) worried, and (3) anxious enough to sign up for a Netflix account. After watching the first couple of episodes, I thought it was kind of sort of okay, somewhat enjoyable, but I also felt that something was missing. Actually like somethings were missing. So I got out the old comics and re-read the thing. It reminded me of how much I loved the series...and how far the Netflix version had strayed from the original story and characters. I still liked the show enough to hope that it gets a season two, but it was really not the same Sweet Tooth so far as I was concerned.

I also became aware (and very surprised) that there was a new Sweet Tooth comic book...sub-titled The Return. I was really interested in checking that out, but at the time I wasn't going to the comic book store, and since several issues had already come out, I thought that I would wait for the trade paperback to catch up on that one. I marked the date it was to be released on my calendar...August 16th. I wasn't about to buy it from Amazon, though. (See Amazon Fucked Me for details.) Walmart had it...and at $15.99, $2 under the list price...and the same price that Amazon sells it for, btw. But I really wanted to buy it from The Great Escape. Keep those dollars local, you know? So when I visited the store that week, I looked for it. But it was not to be found. I'm a patient fellow, though. If I kept coming to the store, they would get it.

And then today I was running through the comics titles on Hoopla, and lo and behold, there was Sweet Tooth: The Return. I was a bit stunned. I had no idea that you could put your hands on new comics via the library...I've had no experience of that before. But apparently Hoopla does more than just a little bit of that. A word to the wise. Anyway, I checked it out, downloaded it, and sat down on the sofa for a read.

There was some good stuff, for sure. 

"Just because the world is cruel doesn't mean you can't believe in something." #3

"We are no sheep. We are lambs of God." #4

And if you're into this kind of thing, then I'm pretty sure (having read a fair amount of Jeff Lemire's work) that we have Lemire's first penis drawing in issue #4, page 11, panel 1.  And slightly clearer in panel 4.

But for the most part, I thought that this story was just a bad re-take on Sweet Tooth. As if Lemire had taken something that was pretty original and exciting and turned it into something that was cliche-ridden and, for me, kind of boring. For instance: in Sweet Tooth, Gus's dad was kind of a religious fanatic who taught his son to believe the way that he did. This was a pretty big part of Gus's identity--which was completely stripped out of the Netflix version, by the way. But Gus's dad loved him, only wanted to protect his son, and genuinely cared for him. In The Return, that's all out the window. Gus's "father" is a priest who has become a demented scientist, he obviously cares nothing for Gus whatsoever, and there is no doubt that he is evil. I don't know about you, but I've seen that movie before. More than a few times, actually.

I don't want to spoil any more plot twists, but let's just say that this is the kind of thing that happens again and again in The Return. 

There are also things that just don't make a whole hell of a lot of sense. For instance, early on in The Return Gus uses the word "ain't" and his father corrects him. Well. I see that "ain't" as a kind of holdover from Sweet Tooth. It helped to define Gus as a kind of innocent, not learned, country and old-time religion guy. That made sense, given the fact that his father was his only companion. But that father would never have corrected him for saying "ain't." In this new version, I can't see how Gus would ever have heard the word "ain't." His father certainly wouldn't have used it. Gus's only other companions are his nannies...which I thought were robots for most of the series...and they certainly wouldn't have used it. The only possible explanation is that it's a kind of genetic holdover...the word is hard-wired into Gus's brain because of his dna. And that's just serious bullshit.

And the art? It looks to me like Jeff Lemire has been immersing himself in Frank Miller art lately. His linework here has that kind of darker implication, there's something a bit squiggly about it at times. And it doesn't work for me. I love Frank Miller, it's not that. But seeing Lemire leaning into a Miller-ish style is just kind of painful. It's almost as ugly as the variant covers that are included in this collection...and MAN, are they ugly. Check out this one by Jim Lee:

Is that Gus to you? Elf-Gus, maybe. But not my Gus. Not my Sweet Tooth.

So sorry to say that The Return was a big let-down for me. I'm really glad that I didn't throw my money down on it, because I'd have felt ripped off, and it would have made me reluctant to follow Jeff Lemire's work in the future. If you've just got to have it, I hope that you can Hoopla. 

By all means, go back and re-read the original series. Buy the collections. The three volume deluxe version is really nice...and quite affordable, really. And read some other Lemire work. Essex Country is still one of my favorite comic books ever. And Trillium, and Royal City...and the Black Hammer stuff that I've read...all good stuff. 

But not The Return.