She’s Running on Fumes Issues #1 & #2 Review

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

It’s the 1980s. Jeannie, a young unemployed mother of two kids, is debating whether to leave their father, Jodie, who is always getting involved in petty crimes, when a terrible accident changes their lives. Caught in a tight spot with debt to dangerous men, Jeannie can either run away with her kids or stick around and work her way out of the situation she is in.

Created by Dennis Hopeless, Hilary Jenkins, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, comic-book series “She’s Running on Fumes” reads like an old-school drama about a mom trapped in a mess that involves a mountain of medical bills, missing drugs, intimidating goons, and a nuisance of a partner. The story is narrated by Jeannie’s kid, who narrates how life got real bad for the family due to a car crash.

Issue #1 of “She’s Running on Fumes” sets the primary premise of the story: Jeannie must clean up the chaos Jodie has created after his accident leads to the disappearance of 4 kilos of cocaine. It sort of reminded me of the crime series “Griselda.” Although that’s about a mom running away with her husband’s cocaine to start a new life, Jeannie’s plans to start over, on the other hand, are halted because of drugs she didn’t even know existed.

The artwork in the comic is a mixed bag for me. It’s quite chaotic, with lots of scratchy lines, which sort of complements Jeannie’s train wreck of a life. Even though I didn’t like the art much, it’s easy to see how others might enjoy it a lot more. The comic book panels look like a mixture of crayons, sketch pens, and watercolors, and since it’s a colored comic, it’s much more vivid than the average black-and-white series.

With each issue being only 24-25 pages long, I’m not sure where “She’s Running on Fumes” is heading. However, in issue #2, Jeannie decides to embrace a life of crime to pay off her debtors. So far, the story resembles a typical American crime drama from the 1980s, focusing on a female protagonist who dabbles in dangerous side hustles to keep financial troubles at bay. If that sounds intriguing, pick up the comic book series.

“She’s Running on Fumes” is also on Kindle Unlimited.

Read Next: Lore Olympus Season 1 Review

Also Read: Mother-Daughter Murder Night Book Review (Audio version below)