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Sweet Tooth #3
Sweet Tooth, Vol. 3: Animal Armies
Gus and the other hybrid kids meet a new ally in the militia camp, but will he help them find a way out? And Jepperd begins to assemble an army of his own to take down the militia camp. But can he control the forces he's set in motion? It's the most explosive Sweet Tooth epic yet!
Collecting: Sweet Tooth 12-17
Collecting: Sweet Tooth 12-17
143 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 2011
50 people are currently reading
1687 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Lemire
1,393 books3,872 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 437 reviews
May 17, 2021
Gus is stuck in the facility and meets a few other hybrid children like himself for the first time.
The results are mixed.
Jepperd has decided to rescue Gus, and along with two women he helped save from that nasty pimp in the first volume, is raising an army to storm the facility.
The army itself is made up of some weird hillbilly cult that worships (or something?) these hybrid children.
Meanwhile, the main doctor at the facility holding Gus is convinced he's the key to saving humanity. After hypnotizing Gus he finds out more about Gus' father, and he and Abbot lead a team back to the cabin he grew up in hoping to find clues to how Gus was made.
Apparently, there's also some prophecy regarding Gus. Or it may just be his father's mad rambling. However, Jepperd and Gus seem to be sharing the same dreams, so it looks like there may be something a bit paranormal to all of this.
The pacing ticks along nicely and I'm really getting into the plot.
The art still sucks, though. Blech.
Recommended.
The results are mixed.
Jepperd has decided to rescue Gus, and along with two women he helped save from that nasty pimp in the first volume, is raising an army to storm the facility.
The army itself is made up of some weird hillbilly cult that worships (or something?) these hybrid children.
Meanwhile, the main doctor at the facility holding Gus is convinced he's the key to saving humanity. After hypnotizing Gus he finds out more about Gus' father, and he and Abbot lead a team back to the cabin he grew up in hoping to find clues to how Gus was made.
Apparently, there's also some prophecy regarding Gus. Or it may just be his father's mad rambling. However, Jepperd and Gus seem to be sharing the same dreams, so it looks like there may be something a bit paranormal to all of this.
The pacing ticks along nicely and I'm really getting into the plot.
The art still sucks, though. Blech.
Recommended.
September 27, 2021
3.5 Stars
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
August 23, 2015
Uggggh that was ROUGH!
June 25, 2021
The third volume of a terrific and inventive and moving and scary post-apocalyptic comics series, a reread in preparation for my watching the Netflix series adaptation. But it is even better than I remembered, so I am a little nervous about the tv series, that it won’t be worthy. In this volume we focus on the two main characters, Gus and Jepperd, emerging as a kind of father-son pair, a regular theme in Lemire’s work.
Gus is imprisoned with other hybrid kids, all of whom we come already to care so much for, and Jepperd decides to get together an improbable coalition of various groups to storm the compound and release them.
I like the background we are getting on Gus and Jepperd and the plague itself that has killed so many people, and where all children since are born as human/animal hybrids. Powerful series, one of the best ever, really. So inventive and heartbreaking on so many levels.
August 21, 2011
Jeff Lemire must have the biggest, heaviest heart this world has ever seen. An empath of infinite power, he must feel all of the sorrow in the world to be able to channel it into this book. Because it is heart aching and heartbreaking with a depth and volume that knows no rival.
It's hard to define what this book is. What it isn't is The Road. It has heart. It isn't The Walking Dead. It's minimalist. It isn't Bambi. It's not for the faint of heart.
I guess it's not really hard to define this book. It's great.
It's hard to define what this book is. What it isn't is The Road. It has heart. It isn't The Walking Dead. It's minimalist. It isn't Bambi. It's not for the faint of heart.
I guess it's not really hard to define this book. It's great.
June 19, 2019
Re-read: 06.19.19
Gus's slow loss of innocence breaks my heart, and the story unravels in such a great place, I'm so glad to be re-reading this. My original thoughts are the same:
4.5 Stars
As we ride down on this goddamned place, ready to kill or be killed, I feel something I ain't felt in a long time... fear. When you ain't got nothing to lose, you ain't got nothing to be scared about, but all that's changed now. I think of Louise. I think of my baby... the baby I'll never know. The baby I'll never hold. Then I think of the kid... Gus. If there's even a chance that he's still alive in there, then it's a chance worth dying for. These men have taken so much from me... I ain't gonna lose him too.
Sweet Tooth's world is heartbreaking, it really is. It's a world in ruins, a world of madness and pain and hopelessness, but in the middle of all these tragedies and rage there's the sweetness of Gus. The innocence of the little hybrid kids. There's no one in the world who cares about them, so they cling to each other, they may be alone, but they're not lonely together. That innocence and that affection that they feel for one another it's such a wonderful contrast to everything else happening. From the cruelness of the lab and the madness of the tribes, from the pain of Jepperd. The kids are the heart of the story and I care about them so much.
This third volume is quite intense. Jepperd and the two women are still on the quest to save Gus, but for them to have a chance, they will need some extra help and so the Mad Max-like tribes will play a big part. There's a big confrontation, some shocking moments, some things revealed, but I don't wanna say more 'cause I don't wanna spoil. If you like volume 2 you are in for a treat with volume 3.
The tone was set so well from the beginning of this series, it's a great, if not really emotional, read and I'm really invested in these characters. Jeff Lemire is not only a talented writer, but a great artist too. His artwork complements the setting and ambiance of Sweet Tooth in a way that's so personal, I honestly don't think another artist could have managed to do the same.
Gus's slow loss of innocence breaks my heart, and the story unravels in such a great place, I'm so glad to be re-reading this. My original thoughts are the same:
4.5 Stars
As we ride down on this goddamned place, ready to kill or be killed, I feel something I ain't felt in a long time... fear. When you ain't got nothing to lose, you ain't got nothing to be scared about, but all that's changed now. I think of Louise. I think of my baby... the baby I'll never know. The baby I'll never hold. Then I think of the kid... Gus. If there's even a chance that he's still alive in there, then it's a chance worth dying for. These men have taken so much from me... I ain't gonna lose him too.
Sweet Tooth's world is heartbreaking, it really is. It's a world in ruins, a world of madness and pain and hopelessness, but in the middle of all these tragedies and rage there's the sweetness of Gus. The innocence of the little hybrid kids. There's no one in the world who cares about them, so they cling to each other, they may be alone, but they're not lonely together. That innocence and that affection that they feel for one another it's such a wonderful contrast to everything else happening. From the cruelness of the lab and the madness of the tribes, from the pain of Jepperd. The kids are the heart of the story and I care about them so much.
This third volume is quite intense. Jepperd and the two women are still on the quest to save Gus, but for them to have a chance, they will need some extra help and so the Mad Max-like tribes will play a big part. There's a big confrontation, some shocking moments, some things revealed, but I don't wanna say more 'cause I don't wanna spoil. If you like volume 2 you are in for a treat with volume 3.
The tone was set so well from the beginning of this series, it's a great, if not really emotional, read and I'm really invested in these characters. Jeff Lemire is not only a talented writer, but a great artist too. His artwork complements the setting and ambiance of Sweet Tooth in a way that's so personal, I honestly don't think another artist could have managed to do the same.
July 30, 2025
PT Mais um volume envolvente de Sweet Tooth.
Jeppard carrega o peso dos erros do passado e procura, desesperadamente, uma forma de redenção — uma jornada que o leva a confrontar segredos que nem ele próprio conhecia.
Enquanto isso, Gus e os seus novos companheiros lutam por escapar do cativeiro onde se encontram, numa tentativa de recuperar a liberdade.
Um volume marcado por muita ação, tensão constante e revelações que continuam a aprofundar este universo tão singular.
--
EN Another gripping volume of Sweet Tooth.
Jeppard carries the weight of his past mistakes and desperately seeks redemption — a journey that leads him to uncover secrets he himself didn’t know.
Meanwhile, Gus and his new companions fight to escape the captivity they’re trapped in, in a desperate attempt to regain their freedom.
A volume filled with intense action, constant tension, and revelations that continue to deepen this unique universe.
Jeppard carrega o peso dos erros do passado e procura, desesperadamente, uma forma de redenção — uma jornada que o leva a confrontar segredos que nem ele próprio conhecia.
Enquanto isso, Gus e os seus novos companheiros lutam por escapar do cativeiro onde se encontram, numa tentativa de recuperar a liberdade.
Um volume marcado por muita ação, tensão constante e revelações que continuam a aprofundar este universo tão singular.
--
EN Another gripping volume of Sweet Tooth.
Jeppard carries the weight of his past mistakes and desperately seeks redemption — a journey that leads him to uncover secrets he himself didn’t know.
Meanwhile, Gus and his new companions fight to escape the captivity they’re trapped in, in a desperate attempt to regain their freedom.
A volume filled with intense action, constant tension, and revelations that continue to deepen this unique universe.
June 18, 2021
Jeppard attempts to gather an army to storm the militia compound by talking to some cultists. Meanwhile, Gus and the other hybrid children try to escape. I love the innocence of the hybrid children. It's a sharp contrast in this bleak, dystopian future. While we find out a bit more about Gus's history, the end of this sets up the direction of the future of the series.
August 19, 2011
Gus aka Sweet Tooth is at the behest of evil scientists and Jepperd is rallying some questionable allies to free him - but will he be too late?
I thought this third volume was a lot of back tracking from Jeff Lemire in terms of the story. The whole point of the first two books is basically undone in this third book and, besides learning a few new things about Gus, thought that it was more of the same from the first two volumes. The sort of desperate survivors fighting amongst themselves kind of stuff, plus Jepperd has a real sucker punch of a revelation at the end that I thought was very clumsily put in by Lemire and felt kind of cheap.
The artwork is great as always and lends itself well to the truly horrifying images in the book.
Overall though I felt this was a pretty weak book that sets up the story for the next one but, looking back at the story so far, it felt a bit anti-climactic. If you're following the series then this is a book you'll have to read but is by far the weakest of the three so far. Still, hopefully it'll pick up in the next volume.
I thought this third volume was a lot of back tracking from Jeff Lemire in terms of the story. The whole point of the first two books is basically undone in this third book and, besides learning a few new things about Gus, thought that it was more of the same from the first two volumes. The sort of desperate survivors fighting amongst themselves kind of stuff, plus Jepperd has a real sucker punch of a revelation at the end that I thought was very clumsily put in by Lemire and felt kind of cheap.
The artwork is great as always and lends itself well to the truly horrifying images in the book.
Overall though I felt this was a pretty weak book that sets up the story for the next one but, looking back at the story so far, it felt a bit anti-climactic. If you're following the series then this is a book you'll have to read but is by far the weakest of the three so far. Still, hopefully it'll pick up in the next volume.
December 22, 2017
I’m crying blood.
August 16, 2016
HOLY MOLY, the emotions.
June 15, 2019
4.0 Stars
This volume was especially dark with some very violent moments. I look forward to reading the final three volumes soon.
This volume was especially dark with some very violent moments. I look forward to reading the final three volumes soon.
November 15, 2015
I don't think it's spoiling much to say that Gus is freed from the camp by Jeppard. Anyone who didn't see that coming is so new to fiction in general that I have to question why they're starting here. This remains one of the most compelling post-apocalypse series I've read in a long time. It's rare to see an artist with such strong indie roots as Lemire so at home at a major comics publisher like DC. Standard career path would have been to keep working with D&Q, maybe publishing more graphic novels about life in Essex County, appearing in volumes of The Year's Best Comics, etc. The jump to publishing a post-apocalypse series with a major comics company, and doing it so well, is not something most people could have predicted. Looking forward to volume 4!
August 14, 2020
Lots of new developments in this volume. There are some intriguing teases of information about Gus and his origin. We're also given some new characters to chew on, and the twist towards the end was a nice touch.
My only gripe was a certain character reaction to said twist, I would think they would've been more...idk...emotional about it maybe? The rest of the volume was pretty solid though. On to the next one!
My only gripe was a certain character reaction to said twist, I would think they would've been more...idk...emotional about it maybe? The rest of the volume was pretty solid though. On to the next one!
June 5, 2021
Held captive in a secret lab, Sweet Tooth makes new friends and tries to find a way out of the prison, while Jepperd tries to free Sweet Tooth through his own ways.
Animal Armies shows the perfect struggle between humanity and savagery, openly questioning who really are the mindless and cruel animals in the situations explored in the graphic novel.
Animal Armies shows the perfect struggle between humanity and savagery, openly questioning who really are the mindless and cruel animals in the situations explored in the graphic novel.
September 22, 2016
Here is my full series review for volumes 1-6.
Make or breaks for this graphic novel series:
- Will you feel attached to the characters?
- Can you appreciate the art style, which is kind of gritty and disfigured in a way? (I say "appreciate" and not "get past" because I honestly feel like the weirdness of the art adds to a dark story about hybrids, something that focuses on anatomical differences...)
I love Gus and Jeppard and am growing more fond of all the other characters as well. I'm worried for them and I'm really appreciating how much story we get each volume and the momentum Lemire is building in each. I'll be doing a full review of the series soon, but definitely enjoying this as much as you can enjoy sad, terrible, heartbreaking things.
March 23, 2018
Still a 5 star read. I'm really loving this series. It has not let its grip off my heart as I'm reading it. There's a sense of doom and wishing that Gus will be in a safe place and that Jepperd is truly a good guy.
***WARNING***POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD***RECOUNT OF VOL. 3***
***2ND WARNING***STOP IF YOU MUST***
Jepperd, Lucy and Becky head out to save Gus from captivity. They join army with a vicious group led by a man whose sons are a pack of wild hybrid dogs. Meanwhile, Gus and the other hybrid kids meet Buddy, a goat/boy hybrid. Johnny, a young guy working in the station where the kids are being held captive, turns out to be Abbot's brother. Johnny, who is not like his brother, helps the hybrid kids escape.
Abbot and Dr. Singh raid Gus' cabin in the woods and his parents' graves looking for clues and end up finding the Bible Gus' dad was writing. After reading it, Dr. Singh believes the answer to Gus' origin and the plague is in Alaska.
During their escape, the hybrids get captured again. Jepperd and the army come in time and attack. Abbott reveals to Jepperd that his son didn't die in childbirth. As the attack wages on, the wild pack hybrids attack Buddy. A little too late, Jepperd finds out that Buddy was his son. Assuming Buddy has been killed, Jepperd is forced to let his son go once more.
Abbott kills the father of the hybrid dogs and takes possession of the pack. Dr. Singh follows Gus and the group, claiming to know where Gus came from. The group heads to Alaska.
Why is every volume so far a heart breaker?
***WARNING***POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD***RECOUNT OF VOL. 3***
***2ND WARNING***STOP IF YOU MUST***
Jepperd, Lucy and Becky head out to save Gus from captivity. They join army with a vicious group led by a man whose sons are a pack of wild hybrid dogs. Meanwhile, Gus and the other hybrid kids meet Buddy, a goat/boy hybrid. Johnny, a young guy working in the station where the kids are being held captive, turns out to be Abbot's brother. Johnny, who is not like his brother, helps the hybrid kids escape.
Abbot and Dr. Singh raid Gus' cabin in the woods and his parents' graves looking for clues and end up finding the Bible Gus' dad was writing. After reading it, Dr. Singh believes the answer to Gus' origin and the plague is in Alaska.
During their escape, the hybrids get captured again. Jepperd and the army come in time and attack. Abbott reveals to Jepperd that his son didn't die in childbirth. As the attack wages on, the wild pack hybrids attack Buddy. A little too late, Jepperd finds out that Buddy was his son. Assuming Buddy has been killed, Jepperd is forced to let his son go once more.
Abbott kills the father of the hybrid dogs and takes possession of the pack. Dr. Singh follows Gus and the group, claiming to know where Gus came from. The group heads to Alaska.
Why is every volume so far a heart breaker?
May 27, 2017
En iyi ciltti! ❤️
December 24, 2013
I don't know Lemire's artwork - only what I've seen in this series - do I have to ask: are all the characters in Sweet Tooth supposed to be deformed, or is that just the way Lemire draws? I like the inks and colours, but the line work detracts mightily for me.
On the plus side tho, we finally get some actual pacing and action - not just a teasing, but a real honest-to-god plot to follow. I believe that Lemire has this in mind all along, but damned if he didn't torment us with Seinfeld-esque absence-of-story until now. Even halfway through the book I felt no discernable tension and only a little actual connection to any character (and not who you'd think).
I think that's why I've been so disappointed in the previous books - there's nothing to connect to, like I'm just wandering through a dream. Here I finally care about a couple of the characters (but unfortunately not the protagonist), and it's still murder to find anything that evokes interest in me.
On the plus side tho, we finally get some actual pacing and action - not just a teasing, but a real honest-to-god plot to follow. I believe that Lemire has this in mind all along, but damned if he didn't torment us with Seinfeld-esque absence-of-story until now. Even halfway through the book I felt no discernable tension and only a little actual connection to any character (and not who you'd think).
I think that's why I've been so disappointed in the previous books - there's nothing to connect to, like I'm just wandering through a dream. Here I finally care about a couple of the characters (but unfortunately not the protagonist), and it's still murder to find anything that evokes interest in me.
September 20, 2015
It seems like I like each new volume better than the previous one. This is the best volume yet. Loved the colors in this one, they were a bit more varied and vivid. This volume was interesting, it had some of the Dr. Singh recordings about H5-G9. We go back to the cabin where this story started. A bit of Gus' father's past is revealed. Just some clues, I bet we'll find out more in the following volumes.
I liked seeing Johnny back. How he formed a similar relationship with Gus like he had with Jepperd. There's a big reveal in this volume which I won't spoil. It was something you could have guessed but I sure didn't. I'm curious to find out what will happen with the big reveal in the next volume.
I liked seeing Johnny back. How he formed a similar relationship with Gus like he had with Jepperd. There's a big reveal in this volume which I won't spoil. It was something you could have guessed but I sure didn't. I'm curious to find out what will happen with the big reveal in the next volume.
October 16, 2015
Book blurb: In this third volume, Jeppard begins to form an army to topple the militia camp so he can rescue Gus and the other hybrid kids. But will he arrive too late to save anyone? This volumes collects issues #12-17.
This is the third installment in a six part graphic novel series. We seem to have reached the middle of the story, when things pivot in a different direction, so there is more setup to be found here. I really loved the art at the start of this one - there are wordless pages telling us one story line, and then panels on the bottom of each page recounting Singh's journal. Very cool technique.
I continue to really enjoy this story, and have the rest of the series in hand, so I predict binge reading on my horizon.
This is the third installment in a six part graphic novel series. We seem to have reached the middle of the story, when things pivot in a different direction, so there is more setup to be found here. I really loved the art at the start of this one - there are wordless pages telling us one story line, and then panels on the bottom of each page recounting Singh's journal. Very cool technique.
I continue to really enjoy this story, and have the rest of the series in hand, so I predict binge reading on my horizon.
March 31, 2019
This was packed full of action. Probably Lemire's best artwork I've seen to date also.
This story definitely draws about questions of ethics, and it seems like Gus is becoming more tainted by the world with every passing issue. There were a few huge reveals. Lemire seems to be good at pacing out the story so as not to make us OD on revelations. So far he has handed me out enough answers to keep me hanging around.I keep getting Walking Dead vibes out of this volume. Seeing as the cast has a multitude of deplorable characters.
All in all this isn't a 'must read' series but it has it's moments and can be rather entertaining
This story definitely draws about questions of ethics, and it seems like Gus is becoming more tainted by the world with every passing issue. There were a few huge reveals. Lemire seems to be good at pacing out the story so as not to make us OD on revelations. So far he has handed me out enough answers to keep me hanging around.I keep getting Walking Dead vibes out of this volume. Seeing as the cast has a multitude of deplorable characters.
All in all this isn't a 'must read' series but it has it's moments and can be rather entertaining
February 9, 2017
I'm already in so much trouble for disappearing in order to read this. All I can say is, "worth it!" Volume 3 and 4 finally came in. I had to order them. I'm so addicted to this story right now. It's like the Walking Dead meets Bambi. Yes, that Bambi. Instead of Zombies this new sickness killed millions of people and if you survived and had a baby that child was a hybrid human/animal.
It's so crazy, disturbing, and full of so many feels!! *sigh* I want to read the rest but can't and that saddens me so much.
It's so crazy, disturbing, and full of so many feels!! *sigh* I want to read the rest but can't and that saddens me so much.
April 4, 2021
Incredibly captivating to watch as Jepperd and Gus collide once again as their weaknesses drive them to build upon a father-son bond of emotional and physical survival. The plot twist around the end almost made me choke. Never did I see that coming but it does set things up beautifully for an eventual confrontation that is bound to destroy hearts.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
December 12, 2016
4.5/5stars
*I N T E R N A L S C R E E C H*
*I N T E R N A L S C R E E C H*
November 8, 2015
This story keeps getting more and more brutal. Very tight writing.
September 18, 2017
This was probably least favorite of the series so far. Nothing was really accomplished and I thought it was boring at times. But I have such a soft spot for these characters!
November 27, 2023
Ok the dog boys- them I could do without. This one is a bit rough, very, very violent.
July 15, 2020
3.5 stars
September 3, 2013
Jeff Lemire continues to etch his work onto my consciousness and perhaps become a new favorite of mine with this, the third volume of Sweet Tooth, a series that's about a post-apocalyptic world where lots of folks have already died from a plague of some sort and all new children born are human/animal hybrids.
This volume did well to summarize the beginning of the story as you picked it up, so hypothetically, I suppose you could just pick this one up and then read to the end. But, trust me, you don't want to.
This has been one of the best series I've discovered in a long time. Maybe since Locke & Key a couple years back (and that's really saying something, guys).
As I've said with prior volumes, this series can break your heart with melancholy beauty on one page and turn your stomach with brutality the next. Lemire definitely keeps you turning the pages in this one.
Lemire's artistic style is sketchy and almost timid, but it's a perfect fit for this book. His only other artistic collaborator on the book is Jose Villarrubia, who is doing absolutely STUNNING color work which I'm more in awe of with each passing volume.
Again, as with past volumes, my utmost recommendation.
*-I read this book as digitally downloaded single issues of Sweet Tooth #'s 12-17
This volume did well to summarize the beginning of the story as you picked it up, so hypothetically, I suppose you could just pick this one up and then read to the end. But, trust me, you don't want to.
This has been one of the best series I've discovered in a long time. Maybe since Locke & Key a couple years back (and that's really saying something, guys).
As I've said with prior volumes, this series can break your heart with melancholy beauty on one page and turn your stomach with brutality the next. Lemire definitely keeps you turning the pages in this one.
Lemire's artistic style is sketchy and almost timid, but it's a perfect fit for this book. His only other artistic collaborator on the book is Jose Villarrubia, who is doing absolutely STUNNING color work which I'm more in awe of with each passing volume.
Again, as with past volumes, my utmost recommendation.
*-I read this book as digitally downloaded single issues of Sweet Tooth #'s 12-17
Displaying 1 - 30 of 437 reviews