Written by Justin Jordan
Illustrated by Jorge Coelho
Colours by Tamra Bonvillain
Letters by Ed Dukeshire
Published by BOOM! Studios
There is a moment in John Flood #3 where the titular character asks a question that has been floating around since the first issue: why was John Flood experimented on? Though the end of the issue does not answer this question, the existence of the mysterious serial killer that appears to be hunting for John is, according to Flood, someone that potentially could lead to it. They have yet to butt heads, but according to the cliffhanger final page, the rising tension between the two could lead to quite the eventful fourth issue.
The dialogue by Justin Jordan continues to be funny and tense, forming a very fast paced issue that ends before you know it. Flood’s know-it-all attitude continues to be entertaining, teetering on annoyance if you were to place one’s shoes in Berry’s. Flood is perfectly placed amongst this collective understanding of a hyper-information age where randomness filters faster out of people’s mouths than most probably even realize. Getting the opportunity to see the world from his eyes has been an interesting part of every issue so far as well, notable especially as Berry has no idea what Flood sees around them in the hotel room they find themselves in.
The horror tone that is more indicative of the first issue returns here, especially with some of the frames that Jorge Coelho plays with. Coelho’s pencils are impressive with his handling of emotion, extending beyond the facial features of the characters. He captures the frustrations and tight attitude that Berry has with Flood, showing Berry’s clenched fist as he questions Flood after finding out a man they both encountered is found dead. Flood eases the situation a bit with his response, making room for another close up frame of Berry’s this time open palmed hand.
Another great moment combines the efforts of not only Jordan’s script and Coelho’s illustrations, but also Tamra Bonvillain’s ominous colouring and Ed Dukeshire’s well-placed lettering. Markham (last issue’s cat owner) returns to her home looking for her cat. The green/blue glow of her phone illuminates her way through her home, intensely shadowing her surroundings. One frame shows Markham alone peering at the bottom of a bed where her cat is shown in the next image. The following frame shows Markham down on the ground, placing her phone in front of her to guide her eyes. A pair of boots stands next to her crouched over body that were not there a couple frames earlier. The next moment, Markham’s dangling feet and the mysterious boots are the only images that fill the frame, followed by Markham’s phone that has fallen to the ground.
A great understanding of character, tone and space show the greatness that can be found within John Flood. This series is a lot of fun to read with incredibly entertaining characters and moments that are heightened with mystery and intrigue of present and past events. John Flood is a solid example of highlighting a high quality collaborative effort that only makes the wait for the next issue that much more unfortunate. The wait will be worth it, surely.
Rating: 9.0/10