“Bad Medicine” #2 concludes the story begun in the FCBD offering from Oni Press. This new, strange medical/police procedural comic kicked things off with a case of a dead body with an invisible head. In this issue, the invisible culprit pushes someone out a window in order to make his escape. What follows is a mixture of character study and slow burn action.

Dr. Horne is our enigmatic lead that thinks through situations when not talking to the vision of the patient whose death he caused. He is nuanced without feeling like the cliche warped and intelligent lead of most procedural TV shows. Against him, the rest of the cast fills out their individual roles neatly. There are enough varied characters to keep you entertained while they each also have their own skill sets to help out when needed.

While the characters are the foundation, the ‘case of the week’ is the most alluring part of the storyline. An invisible scientist who has lost at least some of his mind is so much fun to play with. The creative team all have a chance to actively manipulate this situation and the result is a story that doesn’t forge new ground so much as it works what we know very effectively. The case wraps up simply and while there could have been more it also is nice to see they didn’t stretch this out needlessly.

Christopher Mitten’s art is sketchy and loose — not what you might expect from the book’s concept. He is the X factor that sets this book apart from the competition, working with densely packed pages and talking sequences and make the comic feel smooth and easy throughout. Mitten doesn’t tamper with the story to fit showy moments, he instead serves the story.

“Bad Medicine” #2 sets the standard for this book as it lays down a quick and terrific story full of new characters we want to know more about and spend time with. This is the sort of book that’s perfect to pick up to try something new. Diversity in comics is right here and it promises a zombie story in the next issue.