BABYTEETH #8
Donny Cates is a master storyteller. It was a pleasure to interview him last year at Emerald City Comicon. I have been keeping up with BABYTEETH, his co-creation with artist Garry Brown. Issue 8 finds much of the action coming to a head. In the last couple of issues, our main characters have been coping with having been lured into a secret underground hamlet. This secret hamlet was created especially for 16-year-old Sadie’s immaculately conceived baby, Clark, aka the Final Son, the Antichrist. You know, his destiny is to open the gate between the Realm and the Other. Boy howdy, that’s pretty wild and wooly but that’s how Mr. Cates rolls.
I must say, even after getting this deep into the series, I still don’t do so well with any images of little Clark chugging down a bottle of blood. That’s what every growing Antichrist needs if he’s going to bring about the End Times. Formula sure as heck (hell!) just won’t cut it. The little guy goes ballistic when he’s served anything other than Type O Negative, straight from mama. If you even try to pass off, say, Type A Positive, he will shriek so loudly that he could bring down a jetliner.
Clark’s grandmother explains it all to you.
Now, you may be wondering if this comic is more character-driven or more demon-driven. And, rest assured, it is split down the middle. Plenty of demons here including a weird little raccoon-like critter who strayed out of the Red Realm. And there are others like Dancy, a reject in the Antichrist tryouts. But, overall, readers have a lot to invest in with Sadie, her heroic dad, her badass sis, and her estranged mom, who happens to run The Way program overseeing End Times operations. Then there’s this crusty ole rogue agent who blasted his way out of his assignment to work for the Silhouette syndicate. That plot point could prove to be a MacGuffin but it sure is a colorful and action-packed one.
As for this current issue, I am satisfied as the whole shooting match is moved forward with solid new revelations (as in Book of Revelation?) on Sadie’s family history and some new teasing out of End Times machinations. The whole pulpy/classic B-movie horror feel to this comics is addictive. The pacing is pitch perfect. You buckle in for a roller coaster ride and you get it.
I not only look forward to future issues but I know I’ll enjoy taking in the collected trades. This comic earns a rating of 10/10.
Overall, BABYTEETH is a whole lot of fun. You can compare this a bit to the Netflix smash hit, “Stranger Things,” inasmuch as it is a compelling mashup of family themes and some very loopy supernatural elements. You can binge read (and subscribe to) the series at comiXology right here.
BABYTEETH #8 is published by AfterShock Comics and available as of February 14, 2018. I really like what I see coming out of AfterShock. For instance, since we’re on the subject of blood, a new title, BETROTHED, follows a romance between a teenage zombie and a teenage human. Looks quite intriguing. That one kicks off on March 14, 2018–just one month away. For more details, visit AfterShock Comics right here.
