Anti-corporate rebellion as art and conspiracy theories collide to turn the world upside down for a group of teenage friends in this unusual series. The first Kissing Chaos series started off as mysterious, and progressed to fill in the holes. Here, the opposite is the case, as the mystery seems to deepen as the series moves forward. Dela Cruz lost me a bit with the men in black, but the characters and emotional conflicts continue to shine as the book's greatest strengths.
Jersey has made his "art" a reality. He's instigated a riot at a rave, but now, the police have arrived and things are threatening to become even more violent. On top of that, he's eyeing Eric with suspicion and anger, believing him to be moving in on his girlfriend, Kim. Meanwhile, Ashley's caught in the middle of the chaos, and she's still reeling a break-and-enter into her home and her apparent peripheral involvement with trouble that her absent friend Angela's in.
Dela Cruz's dark, sketchy style is perfect for bringout the urban jungle that serves as the story's setting. I love how he drenches the riot scenes in darkness, yet he maintains the same level of texture and depth in the visuals. The greatest emphasis is on the characters' youth. I love how he protrays Ashley as a confident, perceptive and savvy young woman, but he never paints her in a sexual light. She's cute, but almost asexual, and it's in keeping with her character.
In this issue, the Angela e-mail conspiracy is a major element, but I find I'm just not getting it anymore. Dela Cruz doesn't connect Ashley's unusual daytime adventures with her involvement in the nocturnal riot and accompanying raid. To be fair, though, Ashley's narrative description of the weirdness of the situation and how upsetting it all is makes it easy to relate to her.
Ashley's annoyance of Jersey's pretensions is another welcome characterization element, as is Kim and Eric's mockery of Jersey's supposed idealism and bravery. The aspect of the story I'm most curious about, though, is the love triangle and the resulting tension between Eric and Jersey. I really can't wait to see how this plays out, and what it will say about a rising tide of violence among young people in Western culture.
