Hello gentle readers! I’m no closer to finding the perfect romance novel than I was at the beginning of the summer. This is mostly because I haven’t picked up any of the titles I binge-ordered with the Kindle app, because life is stressful, and because I usually tend to return to my favourites when tough stuff happens.
One of those favourites is the Sweet Tooth series by Canadian comics pro Jeff Lemire, a Vertigo-brand title that spanned from 2009-2013 (I can’t believe how fast time has flown by!). If you’re new to comics, or even if Sweet Tooth flew under your radar (I get it. Comic releases are diverse and plentiful, there’s no way to read every single amazing title out there), here’s why you should read it:
The Sweet Tooth series starts out as a post-apocalyptic extravaganza. Planet Earth has been ravaged by a plague that has wiped out most of humanity, with gross side-effects. Every baby born during the plague is a human-animal hybrid (no bestiality was involved in the making of those children). Those hybrids are immune to the sickness destroying their forebearers, and the humans left, who are desperate for answers, begin hunting down the hybrids to slice, dice, and study them in the search for a miracle cure that will put humanity back on the top of the food chain.
Largely exempt from the chaos that has overtaken the rest of the planet is Gus, a nine-year-old deer boy that lives in a cabin in the woods with his dying father. Gus’s papa warns him about the dangers of the outside world and the horror that can befall him if he dares to leave the woods. Of course, our story truly starts after Gus’s papa dies, and Gus, hungry and alone, stumbles across a candy bar.
Long story short: Gus is chased by hunters and nearly made into venison, until he’s rescued by Jeppard, a cantankerous, tough-as-nails badass that Gus, who has a touch of clairvoyance, has seen in his dreams. Man and deer team up to travel to The Preserve, a sanctuary for hybrid kids— but not everything is as it appears, and danger is lurking around every corner.
Richly written and drawn by Lemire, with fantastically grim colours by José Villarrubia, this 40-issue thrillride lays a strong foundation that isn’t afraid to tear itself apart and start all over with each new shocking revelation.
Personally, I think one of the best things about Sweet Tooth is Gus. I know a lot of people will take a hard pass on the character who’s so unfalteringly optimistic that the sun shines out of their ass. And in a book like this, a character like that seems terribly miscast— don’t they know the end of the world is literally happening, and nothing will make that okay?
But Gus is the exception to the rule. He’s been extremely sheltered and stifled his entire life, fed a diet of extreme religiosity and alternative histories by his papa, and as a result, his naivete is just ingrained. Gus is unflinchingly loyal to Jeppard, quick to forgive, gentle to those who would rather see him in pieces on a lab table— he always has hope for a better tomorrow, but as the series progresses, he grows up. Granted, through his maturity, we still see echoes of formative Gus— but under Lemire’s expert pen, all these characters are handled with the utmost care.
This week’s recipe is inspired by Gus’s favourite treat: since you can pick up a chocolate bar at any store near you, I had to step up my game and I found a recipe for a candy bar chocolate cake. Thanks to Melissa at Modern Honey for the delicious recipe (that I can’t eat because I’m trying to be more health-conscious. Someone try it and report back, ASAP).
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