Written By: Damon Gentry & Troy Nixey
Art By: Troy Nixey & Guy Major
Published By: Dark Horse
Vinegar Teeth #1 is a big ol’ pile of “What the fuck did I just read?” Which is kind of cool. I don’t know if it’s just that time of year or what, but it seems like the surreal and the bizarre are alive and well right now. We got this, Kid Lobotomy, Mr. Miracle, Underwinter, and probably some others. I know I’m missing at least one. Regardless, weird is in right now.
I like weird.
Vinegar Teeth is…weird. The main plot is a disgruntled cop who likes to drink on the job is partnered with a Cronenberg monster named Vinegar Teeth. Said Cronenberg is a Cronenberg who doesn’t know much about people or policing or being anything more than a Cronenberg, so obviously there’s a learning curve to be had. The disgruntled cop isn’t happy for about a thousand reasons, though Vinegar Teeth being a Cronenberg isn’t one of them.
This world is really cool with monsters just showing up.
As far as premises are concerned, I’m absolutely down. Buddy cop but one is a really gross, gaseous monster? Yes! 100% yes! The thing is, humor is a fickle beast at times, and as I’m going through this book, I’m honestly not sure where I’m supposed to laugh. I mean, I think it’s a comedy. The setup is funny, and some of the reactions are funny, but there’s a lot more surrealist horror going on than funny.
Vinegar Teeth straight up eats a dude, and it’s pretty gross the way he can unhinge his body to make room for people.
That being said, I like our Cronenberg and the disgruntled cop. I’m half confused to be sure, but that’s okay. I kind of like that too. Their relationship starts off in typical, “I don’t need a partner” fashion (though without those words), but ol’ Officer Buckle is a bit quicker to respect his buddy than say, Dirty Harry. I feel like we’re going to find more depth in both characters than a book of this sort really deserves.
That being said, this first issue does come with a bit of a learning curve. The first page is straight up bizarre, and the three that follow don’t much follow, if you get my drift. It’s a lot of very strange artwork with no grounding. Going back after reading, it all makes sense, but on that first run, it was confusing.
On the art front, the book is as quirky as its premise. Everything is kind of…ugly, but in a purposeful way. Faces wiggle and distort, and it’s all really unsettling. Once again, it’s hard to tell what’s supposed to be funny and what’s supposed to be horrifying, but at least it’s interesting to look at. The monster design is top notch.
Vinegar Teeth #1 is a really, really strange debut. I don’t know if it’s horror, comedy, or both, and while that does create some tonal issues, the premise and artwork make this one just too interesting for me to not follow, at least for now. Stay weird, 2018.
