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KISSING CHAOS #2
Recommended (8/10)
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Oni Press
Writer/Artist: Arthur Dela Cruz
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.25 US |
Though there's a down-to-earth darkness to the Tarantino-esque plot, the real appeal of this story is the dreamlike quality of one character's reflections on her past and future. That quality is matched by Dela Cruz's sketchy but soft and haunting art. I find it hard to describe Kissing Chaos, aside from pointing out that it's different but strong stortelling.
Damien, Angela and Raevyn head across the desert. The former is running from the law, accused of murder, while the latter is running from some rather nasty men whom she cheated. Angela, on the other hand, is running from something far less tangible. She's running from her past, from who she is. Fate deals the trio another odd hand, as they encounter a pair of unusual newlyweds.
Dela Cruz shifts back and forth in the tone of the art. For Angela's pseudo-dream/memory sequences, there's a lovely combination of light and shadow in the richly textured art. The "reality" scenes are far more straightforward. In fact, the art makes it clear that everything centers around Angela. We see Damien and Raevyn through her eyes, yet one gets a sense that she's hovering over the more reflective dream bits.
Dela Cruz's dialogue is sharp. As I read Damien and Raevyn's exchanges, I can hear them bickering. Their words as quite real. I may not be able to relate to the kind of trouble in which they find themselves, but I can believe in the characters thanks to the dialogue, which strike me as plausible and genuine.
Angela's daydreams are far less grounded in tone, but they also make it easy to relate to her. Her comments on unpleasant memories -- those horrible moments in our lives we wish we could forget but never can -- come off as perceptively real. Have you ever been lying in bed, just mulling over the day's events and then, from out of nowhere, one of your most embarassing, painful or shameful memories bolts to the surface? You spend the rest of the night trying shove it back down below the surface, and the more you try, the more vivid the memory becomes.
Arthur Dela Cruz knows what I'm talking about.
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