The aptly titled Tumult is a psychological thriller which works to represent the inner state of its central – male – character, who finds himself ineluctably caught up in a world of intrigue – of his own making – surrounding a mysterious woman, Morgan (who ends up being the true focus of the work) in this graphic novel contribution to the noir tradition of the femme fatale that more clearly than most, demonstrates the fatale aspect of the femme arises from masculine constructions and projections. It reads a bit like a next-level, four-issue Vertigo Comics mini-series lead-in to an ongoing series titled, Morgan™, but isn't. The script, by John Harris Dunning, creates a gradually unfolding, swirling, chaotic confusion triggered by the impulsive dissatisfaction of its protagonist, Adam Wheeler. This is, in turn, coolly contained by Michael Kennedy's artwork, which strives mightily to visually embody the concepts on hand while keeping the narrative thread. Its metronomic layouts, is primarily executed in a three-tier – mostly six-panel – grid, punctuated by brief forays into four- and eight-panel grids; but the coolness of these grids is blown out by a vibrant color scheme that reflects/projects Wheeler’s moods, creating an unrelenting, at times discomfiting tension, that continues throughout the entirety of this fullsize hardcover's 178 pages.
It may be construed by some as being a bit on the laddish side, but at the same time, it makes a point of calling out ladism's concomitant downsides; which is clearly one its aims.