Has anyone else been watching this? I was a big fan of the comic, so I went through the episodes within a few days of the release. I think it captures the feeling of the comic very well, although it's a bit lighter. The opening is a lot different: instead of going right into Gus and his father in the woods, the narrative begins by showing the beginning of the pandemic (called The Sick). In the process it also introduces the doctor character (and his wife, who is infected) who only appears later in the comic, so it's a kind of prequel story for several of the characters.
I love Gus the deer boy's makeup. The most obvious character change is Jepperd, the man who becomes Gus' protector. In the comic he was a former hockey player, a big rough-looking character of the sort that Lemire often draws in his comics (a kind of Canadian stereotype, I'd say). In the TV show he is played by another big man who is a former athlete, but this time a Black man who was a professional football player. It doesn't change the way the part was written for the most part, and I like the actor in the role.
Lemire talked about the transition from comic to TV series in his recent newsletter. Here's part of what he said: "I love the Sweet Tooth comic. It's as big a part of my life as anything I have ever created. It's a deeply personal book for me and I am really proud of the comic. But I also really like the TV show. Here's the thing, Team Downey and Netflix were not making the comic, they were making an adaptation and to me there are always going to be significant changes from the source material. I spoke with Jim Mickle about this early on and in the case of Sweet Tooth, the world has changed A LOT since I did the comic in 2009. Socially, politically and especially the fact that we have all lived through a real pandemic. And in the decade since Sweet Tooth there has also been a lot of post-apocalyptic and dystopian shows on TV and in film. So the usual bleak landscapes etc would feel a bit tired now. Jim tired to find a new visual language for the apocalypse, one that echoed the themes of the comic, thus it's a much lusher and brighter world."
I remember meeting Lemire when the comic started, and sure enough here's the proof: a drawing he did on the inside cover of the first trade paperback collection.
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