Broken Frontier

The most fascinating thing about Gus is not his animal half, but his incredible innocence and extreme likability. With little things, like launching stones from a slingshot at a “sinner” made of branches, to snacking on a chocolate bar, to burying his father after the spring thaw, Jeff Lemire in one issue created the most compelling character of 2009. Lemire's work has an understated grace and I am clamoring already to read the second installment.

Post-apocalyptic worlds are nothing new to fiction. Through conversations with his father, we learn that most people have been wiped out by an as yet unexplained illness, and I assume whatever caused this mass extinction also opened the door to animal/human hybrids and not of the human/deer variety. These hybrids have value to hunters, and Gus' imposed isolation by his father was protection for the boy. Gus' education consisted of equal parts survival skills and bible study. Their cabin in a former Nebraska State Wilderness Sanctuary provided an environment in which the only person Gus came into contact with was his father. With the introduction of some hunters and a mysterious and extremely vicious one-eyed stranger, whom Gus has had dreams about, the boy's innocence is about to be shattered.

Jeff Lemire's artwork is a joy to behold. No doubt part of the reason Gus is so likable is the odd yet charming way he is depicted. Doe-eyed and with deer ears protruding from the side of his head and his simple antlers and lanky form, one would think of the boy as a freak, but Lemire makes him awkward yet friendly. Lemire's humans are cold and cynical by comparison. Though he is adept at the forest setting and drawing the props of simple country living, it is in the eyes that Lemire's art excels. His characters all have unique and expressive eyes which tell the story, even better than the capable prose captioning.

Sweet Tooth is not flashy. It is a thoughtful introduction to an innocent character and a dangerous world. No doubt future issues will be voyages of discovery for Gus. I am fascinated not only because he is physically unique, but also by the religious upbringing. Lemire no doubt has some existential problems in store as Gus meets other people in the world.

There is a certain purity of storytelling that arises from the pen of a writer/artist. Lemire has an independent comics pedigree with his Essex Country Trilogy, and a prior OGN called Nobody for Vertigo. He is a fast rising star in a niche market. This is a unique concept, well deserving of a look. At a mere dollar for the first issue, there is no excuse not to try Sweet Tooth.