Drugs, Comics, & Conditions.
'Conditions' is an original graphic novel about drugs, insanity, and the limitations of explaining the human condition with flow charts.
Imagining what it feels like to go insane is not easy. Not if you’ve never experienced it. The only options for getting some idea are through dense academic journals or a collection of hallucinogen-heavy experiential works of fiction. Neither of which are terribly effective, like trying to describe the color purple to a colorblind person.
Alas, Conditions is a new graphic novel offering a digestible explanation of insanity that sits somewhere between stuffy research summaries and the less accurate accounts from psychedelically colorful films involving drugs enabling brain plasticity. (See also: The “magic mushroom’ episode of nearly every long-running TV series.) It does this surprisingly well over the course of 262 pages using no color at all and minimal scientific jargon despite the complex subject matter. It also has an irresistible plot: What if scientists made a penicillin-level accidental discovery for mental health treatment today? Would we even know?
The story follows research scientist Jordan Marsh whose work on an experimental medication called Albinol defies explanation when evidence surfaces that it could unlock telepathic abilities between human minds. In doing so, the drug shows potential for cures/treatments of a variety of psychiatric conditions including bipolar disorders, PTSD, obsessive compulsion, or schizophrenia. When Jordan realizes the results of her trial won’t be enough to approve further research from her pharmaceutical employer, she teams up with arrogant, morally ambiguous rival Dr Rowland Crowley. Jordan's discovery comes from self-administering the drug at home, eager to gain a better understanding to convince others of its value through research trials. Whereas Rowland learns by way of a sole participant in the study, Michael, a schizophrenic patient who has shown remarkable progress in dealing with his condition.
The aside here is that both researchers learn the vast potential of Albinol isn't enough on its own. It could get buried forever if they fail. This gives way to many questionable decisions, and offers the perfect backdrop for how miracle drugs in the real world get ignored and forgotten by pharmaceutical companies seeking profits. That said, the story primarily focuses on Jordan's struggles to make sense of what she knows and her pursuit of allies validating her decisions beyond the lab.
