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KISSING CHAOS #8 (Best of the Week!)
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Oni Press
Writer/Artist: Arthur Dela Cruz
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.50 US |
And in the end... we find out the writer/artist has been toying with us all along.
The conclusion of this dream-like teen/crime drama boasts a lot of surprises. The final pieces of the puzzle are provided, and instead of the image I expected to come into view, something altogether different has instead. On the surface, this series has seemed to be about three teens trying (unsuccessfully) to find their way, but in reality, it seems that what it was about was us, the readers, and the human penchant toward assumption and judgment.
As Damien and Angela prepare to bid adieu to Raevyn at a small-town train station, the authorities, media and the guy Raevyn crossed all catch up with them. As Angela dreams of her fairy-tale, happily-ever-after ending, shots are fired and the truth is revealed after a long journey.
A number of key pages boasts a much sharper, clearer quality than what we saw in previous issues, but it's obviously all a part of Dela Cruz's storytelling efforts. As we learn more about these characters, what they've done and what they've gone through, the art has grown clearer as well. I detected a hint of a Bryan Hitch influence in some of Dela Cruz's faces in this issue, notably in the opening flashback scene.
I honestly don't know how to describe this story. This isn't typical teen angst, and it's not a traditional crime story. Dela Cruz's work here seems to defy genre, resists categorization. And that's a great thing, because it stems from the fact that Kissing Chaos stands out as a unique comics storytelling experience.
Ultimately, I think Dela Cruz's intent was for the reader's own cynicism to cast the characters in an unstable and even unflattering light. At least, that was the case in my own reading experience. I was expecting Angela to explode. I thought Damien was being hunted down as a murderer on the run. All the clues hinting toward the truth of the matter were there along with the misdirection, and I chose the look at darker explanations. The story that unfolded in my head was not the same as the one unfolding on the page, and the various twists in this final issue made for a pleasant and thought-provoking surprise.
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