Comic of The Week: Sweetie Candy Vigilante #1

Sugar and Spice and everything… gory?

Sweetie was a book that instantly caught my attention due to its initial similarities to Lollipop Chainsaw: the video game with an equally cutesy, yet blood-thirsty lead. Does Sweetie capitalize on the cute, but deadly niche? 100%.

Sweetie, noted as blood-relative of the candy-man, is a sort of cross between Juliette Starling (from the above mentioned Lollipop Chainsaw) and Harley Quinn. She is all about high-boots, sex-appeal and a clear affection for candy. Each of the first few pages showcase outstanding art (Jeff Zornow) and colors (Antonio Fabella). The pages ooze with cooler pinks, purples and blues. There is even a sort of energy with the way in which the panels are laid out on the page.

It’s not long until we get to see what Sweetie is all about. She falls into an interesting category that does sort of resemble Harley Quinn. She certainly isn’t a hero, as you’ll see in a couple gory pages (note to self do not take a picture of her), but she doesn’t fit into that villain role either. 

Throughout the issue she creatively dismembers various characters, both deserved and not so deserved, via the use of candy. Yes… candy. The panels are equally dark, yet humorous. It’s gratuitous in every sense of the word. The overall story lies on Sweetie turning New York City to what it wasn’t, and that appears to be a candy-filled city with her dismay of former candy shop  Ice Cream Bunny turning into the run of the mill bar/pool hall. 

Sweetie isn’t the only candy-oriented character we meet in the extra-sized debut. We get to meet a Gummee hench-bear alongside a living Christmas tree. 

The introduction of Sweetie was outstanding in the first issue, even if the larger plot took a bit of a backseat. I always feel that the first issue has to nail the lead character and set the visual tone, and Sweetie Candy Vigilante #1 did that perfectly.