Sweet Tooth: The Return #1 Review

 

Very Sweet

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artist: Jeff Lemire

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 4, 2020

I saw many people upset that Sweet Tooth is returning, but only because they loved the original so much.  It seems as if the creator, Jeff Lemire, is a fan himself (spoiler alert), and in interviews, said he never thought he would return to the character either. To all those worrywarts,  I am happy to say that this first issue shouldn't ruin anything you loved from the original but more delighted to say that new readers can jump on and enjoy it as well.  Let's find out why...

The issue opens with an ominous and ambiguous "300 Years Later..." followed by a darkness, a skeleton, and then...Gus.  Or maybe not Gus.  That's the fun of this issue and the series.  From the first panel, most will get caught up trying to figure out what is going on and how it all connects.

Like I said in the introduction above, new readers can jump in on the fun as well.  Even without knowing the original, the reader gets the mystery that made the first series so good at the start.  Our hero has been raised in the woods by his Father and Nanny Wu and Nanny Tu.  Like the original,  we don't get all the information we need to know 100% of what's going on, but here we get more visual cues as to a different "truth".  A solid paneled "sky" above and sentry drones that keep our boy from getting too far away from his home are intriguing as hell, and I wanted more.  

Things move fast here, though, and before you know it, our main character is making a break for it, and that's when things open up in a WTF moment that unfortunatley ends the issue.  It's excellent as a cliffhanger but upsetting to someone wanting more right now!  The original Sweet Tooth dealt with the mysteries surrounding the world and its characters, and Jeff Lemire manages to do that again with a twist.

Sweet Tooth always had an indie comic feel, and this keeps that vibe.  I mention that since many people have told me that they are no longer reading Big Two books because of the sameness of capes and cowl stories.  If that's the case, welcome back because you should at least check this out.  Even if you are enjoying your superhero stuff, Sweet Tooth: The Return is a good start from a great writer.  I know there are few sure bets in comics, but for me, this is one.

Bits and Pieces:

Sweet Tooth: The Return #1 is a good start/continuation that is full of mystery and intrigue that might be better if you read the original, but is somehow new user friendly as well.  There are so many reasons to give this one a look, but the main one is it's damn good!

9.0/10