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Tumult
Adam Whistler has it all, so why does he feel so empty? When he breaks his ankle on a Mediterranean holiday he impulsively ends his relationship, toppling himself into emotional free fall.
At a house party he meets—and beds—the lovely Morgan. But when he encounters her a few days later she has no memory of him and introduces herself as Leila. Leila has dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personalities.
People are being murdered and Leila fears that Morgan, the personality Adam first met, is the killer. He doesn’t believe that any part of her is capable of it, so he sets out to unravel the mystery of her past. Tumult is a stylish, contemporary psychological thriller in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock and Patricia Highsmith.
At a house party he meets—and beds—the lovely Morgan. But when he encounters her a few days later she has no memory of him and introduces herself as Leila. Leila has dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personalities.
People are being murdered and Leila fears that Morgan, the personality Adam first met, is the killer. He doesn’t believe that any part of her is capable of it, so he sets out to unravel the mystery of her past. Tumult is a stylish, contemporary psychological thriller in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock and Patricia Highsmith.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published June 12, 2018
1 person is currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
John Harris Dunning
19 books12 followersAs an artist
Born in South Africa in 1974, John Dunning has lived in London for the last decade. He has written for The Guardian and Metro newspapers, and has contributed to magazines like Esquire, Arena, iD and Dazed & Confused, to name a few. He also acted as film editor at Sleazenation magazine. Writing comics is Dunning’s main passion. His work appeared at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts as a part of the Comica Festival in 2003, and he has published the ongoing series ‘Salem Brownstone’ with artist Nikhil Singh in award-winning UK anthology Sturgeon White Moss alongside work by Charles Burns, Daniel Johnston and Jason. 2005 saw Dunning collaborating with artist Sacha Mardou on ‘Lolajean Riddle’. Extracts of ‘Salem Brownstone’ were included in the book ‘Pictures and Words’ that also featured work by Marjane Satrapi, Joe Sacco, David Shrigley, Jason and Jim Woodring. Dunning is currently working on comic projects and completing his novel ‘Tales of Hushlawn Creek’.
Born in South Africa in 1974, John Dunning has lived in London for the last decade. He has written for The Guardian and Metro newspapers, and has contributed to magazines like Esquire, Arena, iD and Dazed & Confused, to name a few. He also acted as film editor at Sleazenation magazine. Writing comics is Dunning’s main passion. His work appeared at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts as a part of the Comica Festival in 2003, and he has published the ongoing series ‘Salem Brownstone’ with artist Nikhil Singh in award-winning UK anthology Sturgeon White Moss alongside work by Charles Burns, Daniel Johnston and Jason. 2005 saw Dunning collaborating with artist Sacha Mardou on ‘Lolajean Riddle’. Extracts of ‘Salem Brownstone’ were included in the book ‘Pictures and Words’ that also featured work by Marjane Satrapi, Joe Sacco, David Shrigley, Jason and Jim Woodring. Dunning is currently working on comic projects and completing his novel ‘Tales of Hushlawn Creek’.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
November 4, 2018
This started out looking kinda cool and edgy (it was well-styled!) but ended up kinda sexist and basic? And just made me want to read some Bret Easton Ellis, or...anything? Or like, watch a spy movie? So that's weird. Yeah. Good looking, just ok.
September 2, 2025
Art gets 4 stars, writing gets 2.
To be honest this is more like 2 and a half stars, but goodreads being goodreads it doesn't allow you do that.
But talking about the comic:
It is an entertaining thriller with really gorgeous art at times. But that said it is also highly predictable, it shows its cards way too early and that not being enough it relies in some narrative gimmicks that don't really pan out. It is also a bit trite on its "I am the loser" voice, with whiffs of the worst 500 days of summer romcom bits.
It also has some very underdeveloped characters (who is Dave Exposition?) and moments that shout that the writer is trying to be clever but it is not coming across like that (basically all things about cinema).
And just as a side note, I was also misled into reading this by a glowingly positive Guardian review (unsurprisingly I read on the writer's goodreads profile that he himself has written for the Guardian. Hey, maybe conspiracies are more likely than we think as this comic tell us at some point!).
To be honest this is more like 2 and a half stars, but goodreads being goodreads it doesn't allow you do that.
But talking about the comic:
It is an entertaining thriller with really gorgeous art at times. But that said it is also highly predictable, it shows its cards way too early and that not being enough it relies in some narrative gimmicks that don't really pan out. It is also a bit trite on its "I am the loser" voice, with whiffs of the worst 500 days of summer romcom bits.
It also has some very underdeveloped characters (who is Dave Exposition?) and moments that shout that the writer is trying to be clever but it is not coming across like that (basically all things about cinema).
And just as a side note, I was also misled into reading this by a glowingly positive Guardian review (unsurprisingly I read on the writer's goodreads profile that he himself has written for the Guardian. Hey, maybe conspiracies are more likely than we think as this comic tell us at some point!).
October 4, 2018
What a load of crap. This will teach me never to trust a Guardian reviewer.
October 22, 2019
This starts out as one kind of story and turns into another one, in a way that feels unbalanced afterwards. It's still gripping and very well drawn.
August 16, 2021
Little confusing. Artwork reminded me slightly of Daniel Clowes, but not as good.
September 7, 2018
Wow. Read this
April 30, 2022
Cool art, but I’m sick of white dude writers still writing sexist, self-pitying antiheroes.
June 30, 2020
La couverture est intrigante et il n'y a pas forcément beaucoup de romans graphiques anglais qui passent à ma portée donc j'ai tenté l'aventure, même si je n'accrochais pas vraiment au graphisme, que j'ai trouvé peu travaillé et trop épais, et surtout aux couleurs très flashy, qui m'ont souvent agressé les yeux ! L'histoire démarre de façon classique mais va vite plonger dans le bizarre (sans être fantastique ... tout a une explication). L'idée de base m'a paru intéressante mais pas suffisamment creusée et il m'a semblé que la narration n'était pas fluide : on saute d'une scène à l'autre sans transition ni explication et les scènes ne semblent même pas appartenir au départ à la même histoire ... c'est un peu perturbant et ça casse le rythme de lecture. En plus, les personnages ne m'ont pas apparu comme sympathiques et du coup, la connexion émotionnelle ne s'est pas faite avec moi. L'ensemble aurait pu être une réussite mais je lui ai trouvé trop de bémols à mon goût pour sortir convaincue de cette lecture !
December 5, 2018
Amazing artwork, such a unique style - incredibly modern while invoking a classic cinematic experience. Story-wise, a little too much Dave and not enough Leila, IMO. I understand why Dunning presented the story primarily through Dave's eyes, but that character took over and buried the real "meat" of the mystery which was Leila's past/present experience.
June 22, 2020
‘Tumult’ is a graphic novel written by John Harris Dunning, drawn by Michael Kennedy and brought to you by SelfMadeHero, who do many interesting books.
It’s the story of Adam Whistler, a director of commercials and music videos, who hopes to make it to the big time: feature films! Meanwhile, he lives a reasonably contented life with Sarah, his partner of ten years. Contented, but perhaps a little bored.
On a beach holiday, he jumps off a cliff into the water and hurts his leg. Laid up, he falls victim to the charms of a local girl who comes to visit and that ends it with Sarah. At a party back in London, he meets an enchanting lady called Morgan and falls madly in love with her. But Morgan has a dark secret, multiple personality disorder, and may even be an assassin. However, his infatuation with her means he can’t let her go, so the plot thickens.
Adam’s okay as a character but, as so often in fiction, it’s the secondaries who bring the book to life. I enjoyed his friend Marek, a film critic. He shares his analyses of movies for men like ‘Predator’, ‘Die Hard’, ‘Terminator’, ‘Rocky’ and ‘First Blood’, explaining why the stories grip us and what makes them classics. There’s a man called Dave, ginger-bearded, fat-faced and creepy who follows Morgan around and seems to know something about her background.
I can’t say much more without giving away the plot. This is a psychological thriller and slightly reminded me of Alan Moore’s ‘V For Vendetta’. The script was often clever and the story rattled along at a good pace so I read it on a Sunday afternoon. The art by Michael Kennedy tells the story well in old-fashioned grids of five or six panels to a page. There’s not a lot of movement in the story, mostly talking heads, so it can’t have been an easy one to liven up. He does okay. His style is a bit too much like INJ Culbard for me to love but it gave a smooth read and is easy on the eye. No complaints.
‘Tumult’ is an interesting read that may resonate with young urban professionals who live the hedonistic lifestyle of the main characters and have similar value systems. I liked it well enough and am glad to see SelfMadeHero stretching the boundaries of the graphic novel.
Eamonn Murphy
It’s the story of Adam Whistler, a director of commercials and music videos, who hopes to make it to the big time: feature films! Meanwhile, he lives a reasonably contented life with Sarah, his partner of ten years. Contented, but perhaps a little bored.
On a beach holiday, he jumps off a cliff into the water and hurts his leg. Laid up, he falls victim to the charms of a local girl who comes to visit and that ends it with Sarah. At a party back in London, he meets an enchanting lady called Morgan and falls madly in love with her. But Morgan has a dark secret, multiple personality disorder, and may even be an assassin. However, his infatuation with her means he can’t let her go, so the plot thickens.
Adam’s okay as a character but, as so often in fiction, it’s the secondaries who bring the book to life. I enjoyed his friend Marek, a film critic. He shares his analyses of movies for men like ‘Predator’, ‘Die Hard’, ‘Terminator’, ‘Rocky’ and ‘First Blood’, explaining why the stories grip us and what makes them classics. There’s a man called Dave, ginger-bearded, fat-faced and creepy who follows Morgan around and seems to know something about her background.
I can’t say much more without giving away the plot. This is a psychological thriller and slightly reminded me of Alan Moore’s ‘V For Vendetta’. The script was often clever and the story rattled along at a good pace so I read it on a Sunday afternoon. The art by Michael Kennedy tells the story well in old-fashioned grids of five or six panels to a page. There’s not a lot of movement in the story, mostly talking heads, so it can’t have been an easy one to liven up. He does okay. His style is a bit too much like INJ Culbard for me to love but it gave a smooth read and is easy on the eye. No complaints.
‘Tumult’ is an interesting read that may resonate with young urban professionals who live the hedonistic lifestyle of the main characters and have similar value systems. I liked it well enough and am glad to see SelfMadeHero stretching the boundaries of the graphic novel.
Eamonn Murphy
September 5, 2018
This was an interesting read; the art is fantastic and suits the storyline very well. The story itself is a good one, it's modern noir if that isn't too horrible a description and starts off really strongly, but sometime around the latter third of the novel, it just seems to run out of energy and I lost a bit of interest which is a shame as the concept is a really good one.
I think this could have been better with a slower pace, and a bit more of the background fleshed out. The main conceit is that one of the main characters has multiple personalities, one of which is. or may be, a trained killer. This sets up a wee bit of tension with the are they/aren't they question, but it devolves rapidly when it becomes a story about how the government may have been involved in training one of the multiples as an assassin without the others knowing. It's a good concept, but there's not enough behind to hold it, which is a real shame.
It's still a 4 though, because as I say, I really enjoyed the art. The writing too, at times is excellent which makes it such a shame that it doesn't hold up right through to the end!
I think this could have been better with a slower pace, and a bit more of the background fleshed out. The main conceit is that one of the main characters has multiple personalities, one of which is. or may be, a trained killer. This sets up a wee bit of tension with the are they/aren't they question, but it devolves rapidly when it becomes a story about how the government may have been involved in training one of the multiples as an assassin without the others knowing. It's a good concept, but there's not enough behind to hold it, which is a real shame.
It's still a 4 though, because as I say, I really enjoyed the art. The writing too, at times is excellent which makes it such a shame that it doesn't hold up right through to the end!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2018
A bit psychedelic, a bit tortuous, but a well paced thriller with excellent use of colour, perspective and texture. It's a really stylish graphic novel, given the staple British self-effacing humour that runs throughout the first half; it seemed at first to make a mockery of the mad and unexpected story that quickly unravels, but the tone shifts and becomes serious. There isn't one panel wasted here. It's tight storytelling. But as the awful past of the character Leila (who suffers from a multiple personality disorder) was revealed, it was a bit of work to keep on top of the overlapping storylines. On the whole, pretty cool, with some snappy gags and well-timed cultural references.
February 26, 2020
3.5 Stars!
“...But madness is sometimes the only sane way of dealing with events so far outside the ordinary.”
From the very first page this book shows a distinctive edge to it, the art work springs out at you in a psychedelic flourish, and has some echoes of Pop Art. The lettering is crystal clear and the dialogue, sharp, tight and punchy.
This starts off with our protagonist wallowing deep in middle age angst, and then develops into something entirely different. The narrative is certainly a bold and adventurous journey, and occasionally this does get confusing and can take a while to keep up with, but I enjoyed this.
June 27, 2019
Particularly strong opening, Tumult begins as a very interesting read with great artwork. There are some really nice characters and witty observations, but somewhere along the way the book seems to lose its voice and falls short of excellence. In my opinion, the plot lost traction when it began to tumble down the rabbit hole and was most powerful whilst on familiar ground. Still very much worth a read for the noir pastiche and dour witticisms.
March 17, 2023
I liked the artwork a lot. The story doesn't go where you think it will, especially after the first 30 pages, which for me are by far the best part of the story and yet have almost nothing to do with the rest of the book. I thought the artwork was wonderful, just my style, but found the story to be a mixed bag; a bit confusing and not always cohesive.
September 13, 2025
« Peut-être parce qu'il avait ses propres démons. Ils sont comme ça, on peut les ignorer, mais il suffit de se retourner et ils sont là, à l'endroit où on les a laissés… »
« Il n’étudiait pas le bouddhisme pour tenir le monde et ses souffrances à l’écart. Au contraire : il visait la transcendance à travers la douleur inhérente à l’existence… »
« Il n’étudiait pas le bouddhisme pour tenir le monde et ses souffrances à l’écart. Au contraire : il visait la transcendance à travers la douleur inhérente à l’existence… »
December 31, 2018
reminds me of some dystopia tvs
March 5, 2019
The artwork in this graphic novel is exceptional and the story is engaging enough. It just somehow left me underwhelmed. On artwork alone - five stars. But overall, I can only give it 3
April 25, 2019
This story had a really great twist about a main character that leads to a really zany story. Reading this made me want to read up more on DC comics Doom Patron!
December 1, 2019
Incredibly stale
January 13, 2021
Loved it. A noir take on mental health, love, choosing failure to grow and nefarious government plots.
July 26, 2021
Because a woman surely needs multiple men to come to her aid?
August 30, 2022
Gorgeous artwork of this graphic novel is what made it a pleasure to read. I found the story OK, but not stellar.
January 3, 2023
interesting concept, kind of sexist and pretentious at times. certain panels were rly fun to look at but overall it fell a lil short for me
July 16, 2024
I devour most graphic novels and this was a fun one to finish in one sitting
June 14, 2021
This is a diverting enough read--kind of like if Bret Easton Ellis wrote a comic book after binge watching Alias or Homeland. The book is a fun genre pastiche with some lovely artwork but as other reviewers noted, the plot took a turn toward being a straightforward Luc Besson-esque thriller about halfway through and it just wasn't as interesting to me. By no means a "must read," this is still the type of bizarro genre riff that the medium serves well.
September 30, 2018
Probably the most interesting book I’ve read since “The Helmet of Horror.” Beautiful and inspiring.
December 24, 2019
Um 3,5 estrelinhas. Acho que o quadrinho tá inteiro no "quase". Conhecia nada dos autores mas me parecem estreantes em graphic novels, o que os colocam como; promissores próximos trabalhos. A arte tem um traço que me agrada mas tem uns deslizes. A história e o desenvolvimento são interessantes, com várias referências pops mas momentos arrastados rolam e dá vontade de deixar pra depois. No mais uma boa estreia, merece uma atenção.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews