The pope is so eager to get his Clone Jesus-based healing on that he’s sent an extraction team to Malsum Island to seize the Son of God (or at least his genetic incarnation). Each member of the group is a hardened warrior except for the gentle doctor, Mary (Any possible symbolism here?), and they expect a simple mission into the research labs to nab a gentle, peace-loving miracle worker. The misfits and genetic horrors of ReGen Corp don’t intend to stand by quietly and let their Jesus be kidnapped, though, and their special abilities are far beyond anything humanity could logically imagine!
If you wanted more epic conflicts between Malsum Island’s inhabitants and outsiders, then Issue #3 of Escape from Jesus Island delivers in spades! The focus of this issue is the attempted extraction of the Jesus clone to heal the dying and downright creepy pope from Issue #2; however, French doesn’t completely avoid giving more information about the nature of Clone Jesus’ abilities and why the various genetic misfits care for him so deeply. Ultimately, the story clarifies a key point: the results of ReGen’s experiments consider themselves a species outside of humans and feel no loyalty to their progenitors; they only exist to protect each other. As a result, the Vatican’s team faces extreme opposition culminating in the battle between the strongest representatives of each group! Who will win? You have to read the issue to find out!
Glum continues to bring it with the eerie photo-realistic artwork, and it really made my skin crawl during many of the battle sequences. If you’re sensitive to gore or dead puppies (Yes, there are really dead puppies.), you might not appreciate it, but if you want a little nausea with the chills down your spine, this book delivers!
It’s been a while since I read the first two issues of Escape from Jesus Island, so I didn’t remember some of the details; however, this issue presents strong conflicts and some interesting dilemmas. Are the genetic mutations humans or something more? What responsibility do the test subjects/experiments have to their creators? What if Jesus isn’t the miracle worker but his twin, Damien? Find out in the next installments!
4.5 Disturbingly Intriguing Case Files out of 5
