Sweet Tooth: The Return
Jeff Lemire: creator, writer & artist; José Villarrubia, colorist
DC Black Label, 2021
At the conclusion of the original Sweet Tooth series there was peace between normal humans and the hybrids, but the human population gradually died off, leaving the hybrids to live life on their own terms. The Netflix television adaptation--which has had a second season announced--offered Jeff Lemire the opportunity to revisit one of his favorite creations, accompanied by original colorist José Villarrubia. The sequel begins 300 years into the future, so it could not be a literal continuation of the original story. Instead it begins in an underground human settlement (so apparently they had not all died), where an authoritarian religious leader just called Father is working on a way to return to the surface and take the Earth back from the hybrids.
The star of the show is again Gus the deer boy, complete with antlers. But Gus is confused about his earlier life, and is beset with memories, especially of Jepperd (aka The Big Man), who he sees and communicates with (but he's clearly not physically there, more like a vision or hallucination). Gus finally figures out how he wound up as the sole resident of his little community, and finds his way into a larger human village. He also meets a powerful elephant hybrid named Earl and allies himself with him and some sympathetic humans.
The human village is full of resentment at being treated like prisoners, and see Gus as a sign of redemption. They rally around Gus and Earl and head for the surface. This plays right into Father's plan, as he thought he had weaponized Gus with a virus that will kill the other hybrids upon contact. But he has underestimated the power of empathy. His plan was foiled by Gus' handlers. The final sequence recalls the "This is a story..." ending of the original. Gus and the villagers begin to go through the tunnel to the surface, hoping for a new beginning. Like the original series, the miniseries closes on an open-ended, optimistic note. Lemire found a creative way to revisit the Sweet Tooth world (even incorporating the human/hybrid conflict so central to the story) without resorting to rehashing or rebooting. It's a worthy addition to the saga.
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