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Crashing, a five-issue miniseries written by Matthew Klein and illustrated by Morgan Beem (Swamp Thing, Adventure Time), focuses on a different kind of comic book hero. Dr. Rose Osler struggles with addiction in a setting where drugs are plentiful, and life is rough. Comic Book Resources released an exclusive preview for IDW Publishing’s new miniseries that they equate to a mixture of The Boys and Nurse Jackie. If you thought an emergency room was fast-paced in the real world, imagine what it’s like when super-powered beings are your usual patients.
The IDW Miniseries Blends Medical Drama With Superheroes
Super-powered beings might exist in the world of Crashing, but they are not the focus of the story. They’re a part of the backdrop to further highlight the story’s real hero: Dr. Rose Osler. She’s a human capable of saving lives daily without any superpowers. Rose is a flawed person who does her best with what she has. Not too dissimilar from Nurse Jackie, it follows a nurse struggling with addiction. It tells an emotional story on par with something you could read from George Orwell or Ernest Hemingway. With a twist, of course.
The story’s synopsis paints it as such:
Less than ten years into her rehabilitation, recovering addict Rose Osler is one of a handful of doctors in the United States who specialize in treating ‘Powered individuals,’ human beings imbued with a range of incredible—and according to some, fundamentally dangerous—superhuman attributes. Amid a sudden, rising wave of violence and chaos apparently provoked by these Powered citizens, Rose struggles to balance the ghosts of her past with the mounting pressure of her professional responsibilities, all while fighting to hold her strained marriage together and avoid the lure of getting high.
Crashing is About Sacrifice and Self-Care
Klein has stated that the story’s overall theme is about “sacrifice, heroism, and self-care.” This isn’t a mainstream comic book telling the same tale about an otherwise perfect being struggling with a minor inconvenience with no real consequences at stake. It’s about an actual human with genuine flaws, fighting to keep it all together. Klein went on to say:
Over the pandemic, we saw such an increase in people needing help, falling into self-destructive behaviors, addiction, or alcoholism, it felt like there needed to be a story about a first responder who needs help but doesn’t know how to ask for it. Heroes need help, too. Whether they wear capes or stethoscopes, the responsibility of saving someone’s life can be overwhelming. We’ve all seen an extraordinary number of heroes step up on the frontlines of the pandemic. I wanted to explore a story about an everyday hero who wants to save everybody at the expense of herself and how dangerous that kind of self-neglect can be.
Illustrator Morgan Beem said that what he likes about the story is that the characters, not just Rose, are flawed. They’re not perfect. He goes on to say:
They make mistakes, sometimes huge ones, but they keep going. They learn to forgive others, and especially themselves. I love that because it’s something that I feel all of us can relate to.
IDW Publishing will be releasing Crashing in September 2022 with covert art by Beem, Jorge Corona, and Liana Kangas.