The concept of a protagonist waking up somewhere unfamiliar and completely clueless as to who they are or how they got there is not a new thing. It’s all in the delivery, and in Iris Complex, the delivery is pretty spot on.

Created and written by Josh Tierney and illustrated by Cassio Ribeiro, the Tapas series dives right into the mystery. A young woman wakes up in a field one smoldering afternoon, with only five buildings and nothing else around her. She has no idea who she is or how she got there, but as she searches the bag she’s holding, she finds a college architecture textbook, a test sheet with the name “Iris” on it, and a keyring holding five different keys. 

Deciding to see if the keys match the buildings (and assuming her name is Iris) she enters the first building, a creepily quiet apartment complex with a mysterious landlord. Once inside, Iris starts to have flashes of memory, and in some cases, these memories trigger emotions inside her that she can’t fully explain. 

The story gets right to the action, starting the intriguing mystery right from panel one and immersing the reader into the unnaturally quiet and sparse world that Iris finds herself in. Most of the dialogue occurs in Iris’ mind as we navigate alongside her in figuring out what is going on. The art style works well for the tone of the series, and the creative team deftly paces each episode to add to the unsettling atmosphere. 

Iris Complex updates every Wednesday. Begin reading and unlocking free episodes here.

Iris Complex