You’d think giving birth to the Antichrist would be the most interesting thing to happen to young Sadie, but you’d be wrong.  When we last left this dysfunctional family, Sadie’s infant son, Clark (aka The Antichrist), was screaming bloody murder while locked in a room with his Aunt Heather (Sadie’s sister).  His screaming opens a portal to the Red Realm and all kinds of nastiness.  Meanwhile, Sadie’s mother, Christine, is trying to get into the room to save the kid, as she’s part of a weird cult called The Way.  ALSO, Sadie and her father are held captive elsewhere in the same facility while Carl is working on blowing the place up.  There’s a lot going on, guys.  You with me?  Cause we’re just getting started.

Let’s start at the top.  Whenever Clark cries, the world seems to shake around him.  This is done to great effect by artist Garry Brown and colorist Mark Englert.  The images look like they’re convulsing at a rapid rate and an angry red shade falls over everything.  It instantly conveys danger and pain.  Since Heather is trapped in this room with Clark, we may think she’s doomed at first because of the physical reaction his cries cause.  The truth is something far more terrifying, as a literal hole is opened up to another world, pulling anything and everything towards it.  

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The portal’s energy pushes through the room itself, spilling out of the one window.  Englert’s colors give it an eerie quality as it lights up the dark hallway outside.  

This red-tinged scene of intensity leads instantly to the shot of Sadie’s room (or rather prison cell).  The contrast between the two is a great juxtaposition, going from blood red to harsh light of florescent bulbs and stark white walls.  Sadie and her father have been somewhat shielded from the chaos going on outside.  They’re suddenly thrown into the mix with a lot of questions.

Babyteeth is very much a character-driven story.  Writer Donny Cates creates compelling, intriguing characters within this book.  This is reinforced by Brown’s artwork that focuses mostly on the individual people with the setting fading away into the background.  This could have taken place in a dark void so long as the people were all clearly visible and it would be just as impactful.

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This issue also ties into Sadie’s narration, which I always assumed was in some dystopian landscape, but turns out to be just another country.  Yes, that makes me sound like an ignorant American, but look at where she’s sitting, OK?   This major revelation, which I won’t spoil here, comes with some information that sets up the next phase of the series and it’s a big deal.

Babyteeth #10 closes out the first year of the title and it does so with a bang.  It might sound like there’s a lot of moving pieces; however they all flow well together.  The comic never feels convoluted or hard to understand.  Every aspect of the story gets some time to shine and they all work together to push the narrative forward by leaps and bounds.  

Babyteeth's high level of quality is rivaled by few in horror comics outside of maybe Harrow County.  The characters are so well defined and relatable, so seeing them go through such terrifying situations is riveting.  Everyone should be reading this comic, not just horror fans.