Crashing returns for its second issue this week and blends emergency room drama with superheroes. Set in Boston in a world where superheroes and supervillains send folks to the hospital on the regular, Dr. Rose Osler is stuck between a rock and a hard place. She’s being forced to heal a supervillain and tend to him while her addictive personality craves a hit. Tensions rise in this well-crafted second issue.
Crashing #2 opens with Rose bringing a supervillain back to life. She’s doing her best to bring him back after crashing, and while it’s under threat of his hired goon, she still takes joy in helping others. That aspect is well rendered in this issue as we see Rose truly does love being a doctor and helping others throughout the issue.
A standout scene has Rose console the ward of the superhero whose powers went haywire in the last issue. In a double-page layout, we see what Rose went through getting off drugs as the ward detoxes off some kind of drug. It’s a clever way to show Rose knows what he’s going through while recapping her experience for the reader.
Rose’s desire to pop a pill and get some relief from all the stress going on around her is captured well by Morgan Beem. Beem’s character acting is realistic and subtle, never overtly in your face or too loud. You’ll feel for Rose as she wallows in stress alone.
“We’ve got a heartbeat!”
Credit: IDW
Meanwhile, people are watching Rose and keeping tabs on her. One might assume she could simply tell a superhero she’s under threat, but in many ways, Rose is trying to take control of her life by doing it all herself. As an addict who is slipping, one can imagine she’s using all the outside stresses to manage her addiction, but she can only keep herself busy long before she cracks.
The watcher is an odd element, though, as she’s found out early on yet remains in the ER. Eventually, the scene changes and the character isn’t given a resolution. They get to walk away even though multiple people could have called security.
There’s undoubtedly a crack forming by the end of the issue, which puts Rose and her husband in harm’s way. Meanwhile, her husband is actively putting himself out there as he works to bar supes from certain rights legally. That adds an interesting political wrinkle to the medical drama and mystery surrounding key characters.
Triona Trona Farrell’s colors add warmth and depth to the scenes. Decidedly an indie look, Farrell adds rosy cheeks on Rose and exciting textures to walls. Nothing looks flat. Letters also look complex, with word balloon tails as wavy and unsure as the character’s dialogue in crucial scenes.
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou keeps tails as one black line and one white line–different than the usual black outlined tail–adding a sense of unease and tension. Word balloon tails are usually contained, which is an exciting touch.
Crashing #2 is a tense issue that further complicates Rose’s life while showing her breaking point is likely near. The character’s addictive past is also drummed up in a clever scene while her care and love of being a doctor are evident. This character drama features a lead character that’s as robust as any you’ll find in a TV medical drama.
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