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KISSING CHAOS #7
Recommended (8/10)
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Oni Press
Writer/Artist: Arthur Dela Cruz
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.25 US |
The creator seems to use the penultimate issue of this unusual but interesting character-driven story of alienated youth to simply sit and wait for the coming climax. Not a lot new happens until the final couple of pages, so once again, personality takes precedence over plot. If this wasn't the second-to-last issue, I'd be concerned that Dela Cruz was just spinning his wheels, though. Nevertheless, I remain fascinated by Raevyn and Angela.
The time has come for Raevyn to part ways with Damien and Angela. Damien drives up to a local train station to drop her off, only to discover a crowd -- complete with TV news crews -- has gathered by the adjacent courthouse for the appearance of a recently captured serial killer. The cameras make Damien nervous, since he's a fugitive. In the backseat, Angela loses herself in a dream of surrendering herself to physical love on a beach.
Dela Cruz captures the youth of the three main characters perfectly, not to mention who they are. Raevyn's eyes convey her intellect and humor, while Angela always seems to have a lost look in hers. The artist uses an interesting motif in the visuals. Only the main characters are ever in "focus," while those around them are not well defined. Angela and Raevyn are focused on themselves, while Damien is looking for something vague and mysterious in the people around them.
As I think back on this series, I realize that Dela Cruz has pulled off quite a little coup. He's told us little about these characters or the plotlines, but he's nevertheless managed to draw me into this hazy world. The reader finds oneself immersed in ambuguity, but it breeds curiosity, not confusion.
Something occurred to me as I read this issue. Though seemingly very different characters, Raevyn and Angela both have the same problem. Angela is clearly in a delusional, dream-like state, apparently in a unconscious effort to give her some sense of control, to give her the life she wants as opposed the one she's been burdened with. Raevyn is also delusional, though in a much more everyday kind of way. While her confidence and intellect grant her a great deal of appeal, she's also deluding herself into thinking that nothing can touch her. She thinks she can talk her way out of any scenario, but what she doesn't know is that here, she talks herself into trouble.
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