When we think of DC Comics, a few iconic characters spring to mind: the legendary trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Over the years, comic books have expanded from a little-known world into a mighty galaxy, and today's line of DC Comics offers much more than heroes in spandex. The publisher's Vertigo imprint, for example, releases books with content more mature than the average comic. One such book is Sweet Tooth, a series created by author Jeff Lemire.
In the breakout volume, readers were introduced to a peculiar boy leading a quiet, sheltered existence. His dying father warns him never to stray farther than the edge of the woods, for evil waits beyond its treeline, but curiosity and an insatiable sweet tooth get the best of Gus when he spots a candy bar lying on the ground. Soon hunters invade the woods, looking for hybrid children—hybrids like the antlered Gus. Luck saves him with the appearance of a grisly man named Jepperd.
In Captivity, the latest volume to reach shelves, picks up where the first five issues ended: with Jepperd selling Gus off to a concentration camp, betraying him in exchange for an old duffel bag. Writer Jeff Lemire slows down the story this time around, keeping Gus in the hands of prodding scientists long enough for readers to peer into both his childhood and Jepperd’s past. Jepperd, we learn, is a man of few words and big heartache. He’s lost everything, but finds happiness for a short while in his collected bounty. The question of the duffel bag's contents is answered on these pages.
Just as Jepperd must come to grips with the violent, hardened man he’s become, so must Gus accept the truth about his origins and the plague sweeping across the globe. The disease is killing everyone except hybrids, but Gus' case is uniquely different and may hold the key to a cure.
In a way, this volume is more heartbreaking than its predecessor. Sweet Tooth: In Captivity is a tale of life and loss, and memories pure and soiled. Jeff Lemire, aided by colorist Jose Villarrubia and letterer Pat Brosseau, succeeds in telling a post-apocalyptic story that’s more about the destruction and rebuilding of many worlds, of people’s lives, than one larger one outside. It’s about going home, and wondering what you’ll find there. Lemire pulls it off with simple eloquence.
You can find Sweet Tooth: In Captivity in book stores now.
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