Pick of the Week

January 6, 2010 – Sweet Tooth #5

What did the
iFanboy
community think?

550
Pulls
Avg Rating: 4.6
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 8.2%
 
Users who pulled this comic:
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art and Cover by Jeff Lemire

Size: 32 pages
Price: 2.99

Let’s be honest, what better way is there for me to start a new decade than by playing to type and making my pick a Vertigo book on the same week when a super duper incredible issue of Blackest Night was also eligible? I find a simple delight in that, and things are as they should be.

There is absolutely no way to talk about why I liked this issue so much without completely ruining it for you, so if you’re waiting for the trade, you may excuse yourself.  If you’re not even sure if you’re going to wait for the trade, know this: you’re blowing it. Big time.

We here at iFanboy will readily admit that, from the moment we discovered Jeff Lemire’s work, we’ve been quite complimentary. At times, perhaps too much so. I mean, we’ve received no money for marketing his Essex County Trilogy, but I could understand if you thought we were on the take.  But the fact is, we really, really liked it. When Sweet Tooth #1 hit, and was Pick of the Week back in September, Lemire-mania was at its apex. The issue was damn good, and I was excited about what was to come. Then I settled in a bit, and while I was enjoying the road trip with Mr. Jepperd and Sweet Tooth, I came to understand what was happening, and my interest waned a bit.

Long story short, with Sweet Tooth #5, I’m back at full attention. I know I should have seen this coming. But I bought into the world Lemire was showing me.  Innocent young Sweet Tooth hooks up with Jepperd, some sort of Jonah Hex/Wolverine gruff savior, who will deliver him to the promise land, and by the end of this issue, we see that wasn’t the case at all. No, Jepperd went and sold Sweet Tooth for medical research instead. I suppose he can still decide he’s done the wrong thing and come back to rescue our antler-headed protagonist, but I still made the “OH NO HE DIDN’T!” face when they dropped a big sack full of money and carted the doe-eyed doe boy away.

I can’t help but wonder what the deal is with Jepperd, almost more so than the titular character. How is he able to walk for days, carrying a passed out deer-boy? Is he just a badass, or is there some reason he’s so able to defeat any and all challengers who come his way? Is his return and rescue of Sweet Tooth as inevitable as the return of Steve Rogers, or will he just take his giant orange bag of payment (I saw no money, nor do we know if money has any value in this world)?

What really put me over the top, however was the final two pages previewing what’s coming up in the next story arc. Now, I’m not sure if it should count, technically, but either way, the last image on the last page of the book is truly chilling, and I’m now entirely hooked. I can tell you that the pig boy doesn’t usually bring good tidings. No, he does not.

In addition to the plotting, I thought this was also Lemire’s strongest art so far in the series. In particular, the two page spread of Sweet Tooth passing out was something special. The page starts as a neat squared off grid to the left, and as you go right, it degrades into diminishing panels and black negative space. It’s a simple effect that very effectively conveys the character slipping away into unconsciousness. As far as the rest of the pages, Lemire is right up there with Frank Quitely as a guy who can do a close up on the eyes, and show the reader exactly what is going on without needing any other words.

As I’ve said before, you’re not necessarily going to read this book to be blown away, even though I was close to that. You come for the atmosphere in a Lemire book. There’s a quiet sort of tense energy to these pages. It’s a sense of foreboding doom, that you’re one page turn away from the characters all just going down in some indignant and unremarkable death that just ends their stories, and it was too bad, but what more did we expect. But that doesn’t happen, and I never know where I stand with this series. I don’t know what’s coming next, and the idea that anything might happen excites me. The fact that Lemire has such a unique and emotionally effective cartooning style impresses me, and when you put those two together, you know you’ve got a special creator on a special book.

Josh Flanagan
“Take him to the kennels”
josh@ifanboy.com

Comments

  1. New Year and we agree on the POTW. Off to a good start Flanagan 🙂

    Yes this was a very, very good issue. I think I finally can tolerate the pacing of this to quite enjoy what is in each issue. Lemire is able to really bring in emotions you don’t really see in comics these days. Mostly sadness, but there is a warmness to each moment in the book. Sure we learn Jepperd is a bit of a basterd, but there is a great ‘father/son’ bond in this and it’s definitely one of the highlights of each issue.

    I’m sure your going to get crap for not picking Blackest Night again. But I agree with this pick 100% of the way. While Blackest Night was pretty good in itself, when you compare these two together there is no question which is better this week. Great review all around.

    (Also…..sorry to bring this up. But it’s Jepperd with a ‘D’ and not a ‘T’.

  2. Glad to see this was POTW.  I wasn’t able to get to the store today and now my excitment for this book is even higher.

  3. Hunh… thanks. I’ll fix.

  4. Ahh, this reminds me of the good ol’ days before I really read any superhero comics and thought of Josh as having the taste most similar to mine (Now I’d probably say Conor) 

    I just finished this, and while I’m not done with my stack yet, this will probably be my POTW.  I’ve been thinking this book has had a solid 4/5 every issue, but this was definitely a 5.

    The art seems to have finally clicked.  I think Lemire is figuring out how his pencils need to be in order to work with color, and the colorist is figuring out how to work with Lemire’s style.  It seems as though Lemire has toned down the sketchiness of his art as well.  There are pages in Essex County that look near-abstract, which is fine for those, but a story like this needs to be tightened up a little.  Easily the best art of the series so far.

    But I still have The Mighty in my stack…

  5. I’m waiting for the trade on this series.

     

    Matthew

  6. I have a Vertigo rule. A rule I broke when issue #2 came out.

    -Buy the first issue maybe, but wait for the trade.-

    Well, I broke this rule for Sweet Tooth. When #4 came out I thought "okay, one more issue and then I can get back on the Vertigo rule." Well, those preview panels in #5 for the 2nd arc just floored me. So long Vertigo rule.

    The art has been great, but it was the colors here in #5 that really made this special. Genius.

  7. @RolandofGilead

    I’m exactly the same way, right down to meaning to switch to trades after this, and being floored by the teaser panels. 

  8. Personally I’m trade waiting for this, though issue 1 definitely showed promise.  Of course I have just blown the twist for my future self by reading the review, but I just couldn’t help myself.  THose spoiler warnings are just so damn tempting.

    Now, if only diamond UK could actually get comics through the snow and out to stores…two skip weeks in a row is a pretty depressing way to start the new year.

  9. Before I scrolled down, I knew this was Josh’s pick.

  10. I was going to read this review, but I don’t want the issue ruined.

    I’m not waiting for the trade I am chopping at the bit for the next issue, but like Odare has mentioned stupid diomand are afriad of a bit of snow and won’t be shipping any comics today.

    I’ll be keen to read the review once I get hold of Sweet Tooth #5. It’s my favourite new series.

  11. Josh is right that you should see exactly where this is going but its still a surprise.  I went back over 1-5 and realized somenthing.  If you only read ihe dialog, and ignore the art (especially the Jeperd’s face), it is plain obvious where the story is headed.  What a stunning story.

  12. Uh….no

  13. As I was reading this issue, I kept wondering if the plot really would go down the dark road that I feared it would.  Then, it did.  Josh, you nailed it when you said that you don’t know what comes next in this story and that excites you.  I feel the exact same way.  I kinda hope that Jepperd doesn’t come back again and he gets no redemption on the page.  You can read a lot into how Lemire draws Jepperd’s face.  There is an inner conflict there.  I’d like the reader’s imagination to tell the rest of the story.

  14. I have a strong feeling that what’s in the bag wasn’t money but something else that will make Jepperd’s decision a little more complicated. Meds? Food? The small corpse of his own animal kid that he can now bury?

    Stopped buying this as of this issue but read it at the shop. If word of mouth keeps getting better, I’ll be back though.

  15. @MrBeebs37

    I agree. This is a society where money has no value. I’m sure of it. There is something in that bag and, damn it! I need to know!

  16. Awesome pick, great review.

  17. I predict this will be my POW as well, cause Echo won’t really come out.  So it’s like the only book I’m actually getting.

  18. You wanna know how I knew it was a Josh pick?

    It wasn’t a Bat-family comic (Conor) or a hot topic of the month pick (Ron)! LOL!

  19. I must agree with Josh in that at this point I’m almost more interested in Mr. Jepperd than I am in Gus.  It seemed to me that ‘THUNK’ was substantialand he carried over his shoulderrather by the handles and at his side.

    Great stuff and an easy 5/5.  Probably POTW but its the first one I’ve read so far.

  20. This is one of the most depressing issues of a comic book I have ever read.

  21. Oops, I should not have read that review. Sounds great though, can’t wait to read it… tomorrow!

  22. I am so with you guys on lemire. Total awe of his work. The atmosphere he creates with such a barren script and sparse artwork is amazing. The page where we trade close ups of the eyes back and forth was beautiful. Between this and Essex one of my favorite creators out.

  23. <<sigh>>

  24. Sweet tooth was an awesome issue but man blackest night was super heroes done right! To me sweet tooth was an appetizer luring you in for more but blackest night 6 was the main course, it was meaty with all that geoff johns juice you love.

  25. England finally has comics. This is my POW hands down. I suspected the ending, it was hinted at in the past, but I never thought it would really happen.

    Even if he does come to Sweet Tooths rescue, there is really no coming back from that. The trust is gone.

    I got my Blackest Night last week, but even if I hadn’t, there is no way I couldn’t make this the pick. Blackest Night was a good continuation, this was a great ending. I feel bad for the people waiting for the trade, imagine reading this and not getting the next chapter for five to six months. Good luck, folks.

  26. i just had chance to read my books and the review.

     "Lemire is right up there with Frank Quitely as a guy who can do a close up on the eyes" might be the worst hyperbole i have heard recently even though it’s the new year and new decade peroid.

    i mean WTF are you talking about josh? (P.S. i still love you guys)

  27. I am so happy I took the chance on Sweet Tooth. The slow build has paid off handsomely.

    I can’t wait for the podcast, which presumably will explain to me why Blackest Night was actually great, and not the template for the next decade’s painful eye-rollers.

  28. This issue was awesome. I love how sweet tooth always kinda suspected he was going to be betrayed but never lost hope in Jepperd. The fact that Jepperd sold him out says alot about the state of humanity in that world.

  29. But what’s in the bag??????

  30. So hard for me not to read this review….   but must.  Can’t wait for this trade.

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