Flow immediately stood out to me because of how personal and uncomfortable its horror feels.
This is not just a curse story. It is a story about cruelty, shame, bodies, girlhood, bullying, and the horrible things people can do when they realize someone else is vulnerable. The horror works because it is not only supernatural. It starts with something painfully human, then lets the consequences become physical, bloody, and impossible to ignore.
And yeah, let’s talk about it.
Flow
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Writer: Paula Sevenbergen
Artist: Claudia Balboni
Colorist: Fabi Marques
Letterer: Jodie Troutman
Cover Artist: Aneke Murillenem
Release dates: September 2025 – January 2026
Flow is written by Paula Sevenbergen, a creator we did not know before this series, which made the book feel like a really interesting discovery. The art by Claudia Balboni was a big draw for us, especially after loving her work on Killer Queens. Here, her style shifts perfectly into darker territory, balancing grounded emotion with horror when the story needs it.
This is a very different kind of horror from something loud or monster-driven. Flow is intimate horror. It is awkward, shame-filled, and uncomfortable in a way that feels very intentional.
What Is Flow About?
Flow follows three women who share a dark secret from their teenage years at summer camp.
Back then, they convinced a sheltered girl named Dara that her first period was a supernatural curse. Instead of helping her, comforting her, or even just explaining what was happening, they used her fear and lack of knowledge against her. They forced her to complete humiliating and disturbing tasks to “break” the curse.
Ten years later, the three women have moved into adulthood and professional careers, but the past is not done with them. Strange and disturbing physical symptoms begin to appear, each one tied to the cruel things they made Dara do years before.
As the past starts to bleed into the present, they are forced to reconnect and confront what really happened at camp, and whether Dara is truly behind the curse now destroying their lives.
The First Issue Has a Great Hook
I really loved how the first issue was structured.
Starting in the present with subtle horror elements, like random blood stains and small things that feel wrong before anyone fully understands why, was super effective. It instantly created tension and curiosity. You know something is happening, but the comic lets that discomfort build before fully pulling you back into the camp flashbacks.
That structure works especially well because the past scenes are so uncomfortable.
Dara has no idea what is happening to her body. She is scared, sheltered, and completely vulnerable. Instead of helping her, the other girls turn that moment into a game. A cruel one. They take something already confusing and make it terrifying.
That is where the horror really starts. Not with the curse. Not with the blood. Not with the supernatural consequences. It starts with the bullying.
And honestly, I hate bullies, obviously, so watching that dynamic slowly flip into consequences was very satisfying.
Period Horror That Actually Uses Its Theme
The period horror angle is what makes Flow feel specific.
There are plenty of revenge horror stories where a terrible thing happens in the past and someone comes back for payback. That structure can work, but it can also feel familiar. What makes Flow stand out is how directly the horror is tied to menstruation, shame, and the way bodies can become a source of fear when people are taught to be ashamed of them.
Dara’s first period should have been a moment where someone helped her understand her body. Instead, it became a punishment ritual.
That is such a cruel idea, and the series knows it.
The body horror tied to what the girls forced her to do is also a great concept. Some of those moments are genuinely nasty in a memorable way, because they are not random. They connect back to specific acts of cruelty. The punishment feels personal, symbolic, and gross in exactly the way this kind of story needs.
It is not just “bad things happen to bad people.” It is “the things they used to humiliate someone else are coming back through their own bodies.”
That is a strong horror engine.
Claudia Balboni Makes the Discomfort Work
Claudia Balboni’s art is a big reason the series lands.
What I liked most is that the book does not feel visually one-note. The camp flashbacks have this emotional awkwardness to them, with characters who still feel young, unsure, and cruel in that very specific teenage way. The present-day scenes feel more adult and controlled, until the horror starts breaking through that control.
Balboni is very good at making discomfort readable on faces and bodies. That matters here because Flow is not just about big bloody moments. A lot of the horror comes from watching characters realize something is wrong with them, then trying to hide it, explain it away, or pretend they still have control.
And when the body horror arrives, it hits harder because the emotional groundwork is already there.
Fabi Marques’ colors also help the book move between grounded drama and supernatural nastiness. The horror moments feel sickly and intimate, not just flashy. Jodie Troutman’s lettering keeps the story clear even when the tension rises, which is important in a book that jumps between past and present.
The Revenge Is Satisfying, But Not Simple
Part of what makes Flow interesting is that the women are not cartoon villains in the present. They are adults with careers, responsibilities, and lives they have built. But the story does not let that erase what they did.
That is important.
The book is not saying, “They were kids, so it does not matter.” It is also not pretending that adulthood automatically means growth, accountability, or understanding. The past still happened. Dara still suffered. And now the women are being forced to face something they probably spent years burying.
That gives the revenge a sharp edge.
It is satisfying to see consequences arrive, especially because what happened to Dara was so cruel. But the series also keeps the situation messy enough that it does not feel like a simple revenge checklist. There is fear, denial, guilt, confusion, and eventually the bigger question of what Dara’s connection to all of this really is.
That mystery helped keep me reading.
Where the Series Gets a Little Repetitive
That said, I did start to worry about the structure as the series went on.
The pattern of past action followed by present consequence is strong at first, but it does risk becoming repetitive. Once you understand how the story is working, you can start to feel the rhythm a little too clearly: we see what they did, then we see how it comes back.
The individual moments are still strong, but I wanted the structure to break open a little sooner.
Thankfully, the story does pick up again later when the present timeline starts moving forward in a bigger way and more reveals begin to happen. One specific element and Dara’s connection to it added something interesting, and I liked that the book did not stay completely locked into the same formula until the end.
Still, the ending itself felt a bit fast and simple compared to the build-up. After all that discomfort, tension, and body horror, I wanted the final stretch to breathe a little more. The ideas are there, and the emotional core works, but the conclusion feels like it arrives quickly.
It did not ruin the series for me, but it did keep it from hitting as hard as it could have.
Who Should Read Flow?
Flow is a good pick for readers who like revenge horror with a very specific emotional hook.
If you are into horror about old secrets, teenage cruelty, body horror, period horror, and consequences that feel tied to guilt and shame, this will probably work for you. It is uncomfortable in a deliberate way, and the best parts of the series come from how directly it connects the supernatural horror to something deeply personal.
It is not the cleanest or most surprising revenge horror story ever, but it has a strong concept, memorable nasty moments, and a theme that gives the violence more weight.
With the trade paperback releasing March 10, 2026, this is also probably a good one to read in one sitting. The structure may actually work better that way, because the past and present connections can build more smoothly without waiting between issues.
The Coven’s Verdict
Flow is a solid, uncomfortable revenge horror story with a strong hook and some very effective body horror.
Paula Sevenbergen takes a cruel coming-of-age moment and turns it into a curse story about shame, guilt, and consequences. Claudia Balboni, Fabi Marques, and Jodie Troutman give the book the emotional tension and physical nastiness it needs to work.
I do think the structure gets a little repetitive in the middle, and the ending feels faster than I wanted after such a strong build-up. But even with that, I had a good time with the series overall.
It is messy, direct, uncomfortable, and very clear about what kind of horror it wants to be.
Sometimes revenge horror works best when it gets under your skin. Flow definitely does.
