I'll give Humberto Ramos credit... he has a yen for creating a diverse array of projects. Though he could earn bigger money easier with super-hero work such as his Spectacular Spider-Man, he always makes time for more off-the-wall efforts like Crimson and Out There. Now he and some friends bring us Kamikaze. Unfortunately, I find the storytelling here to be as inaccessible as it was on those previous efforts. It's as though the writers have too many ideas and just can't seem to focus on a central plotline. To be fair, though, extreme sports and a party culture that surrounds them are alien notions to me, and I find it difficult to relate to any of the characters.
Stone is not just a California surfer dude... he is the ultimate California surfer dude. The man's name is synonymous with extreme sports, and in the local scene in Santa Camelia, California, he is worshipped by the kids who hang out at the beach. He tells them of how he met his mentor -- an aged man with whom he was imprisoned in Mexico who taught him that death is a goal, not something to be feared. Stone's followers urged their hero to discover the ultimate extreme sport -- rumored to be called Kamikaze -- and to tame the mysterious deadly art like he has the waves.
Herrera's exaggerated artwork has been disappointing on Venom and it remains so here. There's a brighter tone to it here, but the characters are such twisted, misshapen creatures that it's hard to see them as human, let alone plausible players in this unusual drama. The implied nudity -- always female, for some reason -- is completely gratuitous and contributes nothing to the story. The colors here are quite strong, though. They bring a sense of the fantastic to this alien world of death-deying sport and revelry, and they distinguish the flashback sequence nicely.
There are a couple of moments in the book -- both involving falling bodies, for some reason -- that make no sense. One is a flashback featuring the story of Stone's father's death, but the art and script seem to be at odds. The result is that key developments in the plot are obscured, hidden from the reader. There seems to be a scattershot approach to the plotting in general. Is this about the mysterious Kamikaze sport or no? Is it about Stone's father? His mentor? Clarity is an elusive quality here.
I have to admit that the Moldum, Stone's mentor, is an appealing character, and I wanted to see a lot more of him. First of all, he seems to be the only character in the story who isn't obsessed with image. Furthermore, his carefree, fearless and blissful attitude is appealing. He's the one character that the reader really gets to know.
