Boom Studios 2015
Created & Written by Justin Jordan
Illustrated by Jorge Coelho
Coloured by Tamra Bonvillain
This is a delightfully odd and bizarre book. John hasn’t slept in a very long time and as studies have shown that messes up your brain in some very serious ways. So I have to applaud Justin in going the extra mile to really delve into what sleep deprivation must be like and demonstrate that to the reader in way we can see and understand. I think it’s safe to say that John Flood is one of the most unique and interesting character creations in the past decade if not longer.
This issue opens up rather surprisingly for me. I like this man who forces a homeowner to call his mom say he’s going to be away for a bit and well commandeers his house as his new base of operations. He’s a mysterious type but one things for certain he’s a deadly mercenary who is big, strong and pleasantly handsome. The confidence he oozes only serves to strengthen his mystique.
Meanwhile the boys have a new case. John wakes Berry up and well right from the get go the dialogue is fantastic. It’s fun trying to decipher what he really means considering his train of thought is really kind of scattered all over the place. We also get to know these two a tad bit better with snippets of their past as they talk in the car. Now Berry’s time on the force ended with what I’m assuming was the scene we see, though he doesn’t Flood about it. I have a good idea what he did after seeing that crime scene and I personally think it was justified but that’s for another time.
Turns out it’s a case of a missing cat. I have to admit this seems like something that would be so out of his purview but there really is no rhyme or reason to how John operates. It’s kind of like Dirk’s Gently everything is connected and doesn’t matter the size of the case doing good for someone feels good, plus something extra always comes out of it. So how did John come to the conclusion well you have to see how he explains how his mind works to get it but it really is terribly fun to see.
So the case doesn’t take all that long thanks to John’s condition he really had it all figured out before the case even began. Why the show then well partly for Berry because he needs to understand how he works and partly for someone else entirely. It’s kind of weird and creepy the way John can know things but go with it because he’s kind off the wall brilliant and what we saw from the mercenary comes around to the end of the issue and ties into what is going to happen next.
Justin has this really good thing going here it’s off the wall, way out there and completely engrossing and entertaining. Humorous with an intelligent edge this is one that can’t be missed. Plus Jorge and Tamra do some fabulous work on the interiors. That everyone but John looks like your everyday average person makes the contrast in his character all that much better. It’s like you can see his personality clearly through his visage and that’s stellar.
Overall this is really a fun and unique look at someone you’d never expect to see.