CRASHING #1
Writer: Mathew Klein
Art: Morgan Beem, Triona Farrell
$3.99, 32 pages
IDW Originals
What It Is: CASHING #1 dives into a new, on-going superhero yarn with a medical bent from publisher IDW’s recently launched Originals imprint.

The Good: The story drops you into the middle of a world where treating superheroes at some (most?) American hospitals is illegal for insurance and liability reasons. A comparison to the long-running POWERS feels apt. The drama derives from medical superhero-adjacent stories. Klein develops the main character through their actions and sets the stakes and conflicts appropriately high. The story gets moving from page one and keeps racing through to the end.

Beem’s loose, organic art fits snuggly with the story. Her artistic touches are pleasantly reminiscent of Guy Davis or Rob Gilroy, but solidly her own style. Farrell’s colors blend seamlessly into the art, a nice watercolor-like palette that fits the material well. Washed out and even kind of lifeless when it needs to hammer that exhausted hospital feeling home.

The Bad: It doesn’t feel much like an IDW book. This isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, of course, but it could struggle to find an audience if the Boom and Aftershock crowd doesn’t know to give it a look and the average IDW customer doesn’t know what to do with it. Hopefully they’re pushing this Originals imprint as much as possible.

The husband of Rose, the main character, and their impending conflict is handled a little clunky in this first issue, but that can be ironed out in the pages to come as they have more space to breathe.

The Score: 8 out of 10 capes

Further Reading: SWAMP THING: TWIN BRANCHES (DC, 16.99) is a young adult graphic novel with some more great Morgan Beem art. Also, the two trades for C.O.W.L. (Image) from a few years ago are still easy to find and deals with the logistics of superheroes in real-world ways.