Sweet Tooth (Vertigo)
Encyclopedia
Sweet Tooth is an American comic book
ongoing series
written and drawn by Canadian Jeff Lemire
and published by DC comics
' Vertigo imprint
. Dubbed by some as "Mad Max meets Bambi", it takes place in a mostly rural post-apocalyptic setting where some creatures are human/animal hybrids. Although the story is initially set in Nebraska
, the landscape is inspired by Lemire's past home of Essex County
.
Sweet Tooth, as a post-apocalyptic parable, is rife with influences such as Tim Truman’s Scout: War Shaman and the Winterworld three issue mini-series. As well as art influence by Richard Corben
's A Boy and His Dog
written by Harlan Ellison
and The Punisher: The End
, written by Garth Ennis
.
, Jeff Lemire was quoted: "Right now, I have it planned out to be 20 to 30 issues, but it could go even further depending on the response it gets." Overall sales will determine if the series will run the full course or be cut short. Vertigo comics are known to be dependent on trade paperbacks, so monthly sales may play a reduced part in the fate of this young series. Editor Brandon Montclare says, "Sweet Tooth is taken down and rebuilt every issue—sometimes every page. And as far down the road as I can see, who knows where Gus’ journey ends. Not even Jeff knows yet, although it’s in his head somewhere."
The fifth issue saw the end of the "Out of the Woods" storyline, which is collected in the first trade paperback
.
:
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
ongoing series
Ongoing series
The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...
written and drawn by Canadian Jeff Lemire
Jeff Lemire
Jeff Lemire is a Canadian comics artist and writer. He is the author of the Essex County Trilogy, Sweet Tooth and The Nobody. Lemire is known for a his moody, humanistic stories and sketchy, cinematic, black-and-white art....
and published by DC comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Vertigo imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
. Dubbed by some as "Mad Max meets Bambi", it takes place in a mostly rural post-apocalyptic setting where some creatures are human/animal hybrids. Although the story is initially set in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, the landscape is inspired by Lemire's past home of Essex County
Essex County, Ontario
Essex County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada. The administrative seat is Essex...
.
Sweet Tooth, as a post-apocalyptic parable, is rife with influences such as Tim Truman’s Scout: War Shaman and the Winterworld three issue mini-series. As well as art influence by Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
's A Boy and His Dog
A Boy and His Dog
A Boy and His Dog is a cycle of narratives and films including or stemming from works of science fiction author Harlan Ellison.Ellison began the cycle with the 1969 short story of the same title, and a revised and expanded novella-length version was published in Ellison's story collection The Beast...
written by Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
and The Punisher: The End
The Punisher: The End
The Punisher: The End is a one-shot title published by Marvel Comics under the MAX imprint as part of their The End series. The story focuses on the Punisher's final days in a post-apocalyptic future...
, written by Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon and his successful nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise...
.
Publication history
Twelve issues are slated for Sweet Tooths first year (as part of Lemire's initial contract). Because the nature of monthly comics is dependent on sales, not even Jeff Lemire knows how many issues Sweet Tooth will run. The main plot points were planned out with loosely 40 issues for DC/Vertigo. In an interview for USA TodayUSA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Jeff Lemire was quoted: "Right now, I have it planned out to be 20 to 30 issues, but it could go even further depending on the response it gets." Overall sales will determine if the series will run the full course or be cut short. Vertigo comics are known to be dependent on trade paperbacks, so monthly sales may play a reduced part in the fate of this young series. Editor Brandon Montclare says, "Sweet Tooth is taken down and rebuilt every issue—sometimes every page. And as far down the road as I can see, who knows where Gus’ journey ends. Not even Jeff knows yet, although it’s in his head somewhere."
The fifth issue saw the end of the "Out of the Woods" storyline, which is collected in the first trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
.
Characters
- Gus — A 9-year-old boy with antlers is a new breed of human/animal hybrid that appeared after an apocalyptic pandemic of an unknown virus. Raised alone by his religious father in a nature preserve in NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, he decides to leave his forest home with Jepperd after his father dies of an unknown illness. - Tommy Jepperd — A hulking, violent drifter who takes in Gus and promises to lead him to "The Preserve" (a fabled safe-haven for hybrid children). The character was based on an aged Frank Castle (MarvelMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
's "The Punisher"). "Corben’s aging gray-haired Frank is an unstoppable force of nature and amazing to behold. This character design ended up being a huge influence on the design of Jepperd, the big bad ass in Sweet Tooth." - Dr. Singh - A scientist that experiments on hybrid Human/Animals. He takes special interest in Gus because of his apparent age predating the pandemic.
Story Arcs
- "Out of the woods"
- This introduction arc flows fluidly between art and caption. Gus (a young boy whose father has died and can no longer protect him.) and Jepperd (a huge tough guy who promises to protect Gus.) are introduced. When they meet, Jepperd promises Gus he will bring him to the "The Preserve". This arc presents the adventure of these two males to the "The Preserve". The landscape and the world that they know is slowly but surely revealed to readers.
- "In Captivity"
- Gus finally meets other Hybrids. Gus now parted away from Jepperd, sees the horrors of being a Hybrid and why his father wanted to protect him. Jepperd away from Gus, gets to reflect on his life choices.
- "Endangered Species"
- Having escaped from the militia, the crew head to Alaska to try and find the cause of the plague.
Collected editions
The series is being collected into trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Sweet Tooth Volume 1: Out of the Woods (collects Sweet Tooth #1-5, May 2010, ISBN 1-4012-2696-5)
- Sweet Tooth Volume 2: In Captivity (Collects Sweet Tooth #6-11, December 14, 2010, ISBN 1401228542)
- Sweet Tooth Volume 3: Animal Armies (Collects Sweet Tooth #12-17, June 8, 2011, ISBN 9781401231705)
- Sweet Tooth Volume 4: Endangered Species. To be released January 31, 2012, ISBN 9781401233617