There are very few series where I can remember buying from beginning to end. Either I get bored of a book or it ends abruptly with no real ending. So when I heard Sweet Tooth was ending a few months ago I was surprised and also sad. This has been one of those series that have been so good it makes it hard to review. But the wealth of stories Jeff Lemire could tell was so vast it made me upset that we weren’t going to see any more. So damn you Mr. Lemire for writing one emotional issue that made me almost tear up for seeing the end of Gus’s journey.

This final issue literally goes forward in time many, many years to see just what happened to Gus and his friends after the siege in Alaska. While it is a bit funny to see just how manly Gus looks as an adult, this was a sweet issue to read. It makes sense that Gus becomes a savior for all the hybrids and the fate of all of his friends make sense too. Bobby being a badass was funny, the romance that blossoms with Gus and Wendy was sweet (and the combining of their traits to their kids worked), and Dr. Singh finally finding his purpose in life made me happy. I never felt this much emotion in a comic book before until now. But having to read these people’s journey for three and a half years make all of these resolutions make it work. While some of the flashbacks gives off some questions with no answers but what is revealed here is more than enough for me to not really question it.

As always though, the highlight for Sweet Tooth is the art by Lemire. The catch in this final issue is that Lemire has himself to color the flashback sequences (and there are many) while Jose Villarrubia handles the rest. I don’t know how to explain it but it is weird how Lemire’s colors stand out from Villarrubia’s. Lemire’s sequences look so much brighter and ‘other worldly’ than what other colorist will do. You will be hard press to not see the distinction when it comes to the flashbacks. There’s also a lot of nice detail in these panels that some might not notice. Every time you see Gus’s shadow it is his outline as a kid which I didn’t notice till the tail end of the issue. Other things like the endless row of tombstones in one panel or the double page spread of the hybrid society looked really good. It is nice to know that this issue is ending just how it was sold to me in the first place: with amazing art.

It’s so sad to see this series end after so many years of following it. On one hand, Lemire could have continued and we could have seen Gus age into the elder he is shown here. But obviously the sales wouldn’t let this series go as far as it did (I’m amazed it lasted this long). What’s here though is one hell of an emotional finale and I gotta admit I teared up a bit. Hell, the final page gave me a bit of a chill as I closed this title for the final time. Jeff Lemire deserves all of this praise because he is as big of a name as he is because of this series. It was a series quite like no other and his artwork definitely made this one of the most gorgeous books on the stand for almost four years. I know we’re gonna get more books by Lemire and some with him as artist. But nothing will ever top what came before it and Sweet Tooth will, hopefully, be remembered for being on of the best series Vertigo has ever printed.