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KISSING CHAOS #5
Recommended (8/10)
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Oni Press
Writer/Artist: Arthur Dela Cruz
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.25 US |
From the beginning, this series has been focused largely on the more dynamic characters of Raevyn and Damien, and despite Angela's narration, she has always seemed more of a background character. This issue, that dynamic shifts a little, as we begin to see from Damien's veiled comments that Angela may be more involved in all of this than she appears. And that shift in how I view her character also could mark big trouble for the relationship developing between Damien and Raevyn. Like all the issues of Kissing Chaos, this one is
haunting and dreamlike, but grounded in very solid and realistic
characterization.
In the beginning, I found
Angela's narration a bit off-putting, to be honest. The style works great for
establishing her mindset, but it's often a bit over-written just by its very
nature. However, as we start to get clues that perhaps she's darker than we have
seen, and her airy narration is covering for something very dark that she was
involved in, I find it much more intriguing. In addition, the revelations about
her background indicate that maybe Damien's murder wasn't selfish at all, and
maybe Angela was the cause of the whole thing.
From the outset of the story,
Angela has seemed a little clueless about things, and though she was aware of
the burgeoning closeness between Damien and Raevyn, she seemed to be taking it
more like a petulant cheerleader than anyone dangerous. However, there seems to
be more of an edge to her reactions this issue, and I'm wondering how these
interpersonal dynamics will turn out in the end.
Leaving aside Angela's role
in this issue, we have the usual fun banter between Raevyn and Damien. The two
of them, though different in how seriously they take things, have a lot in
common with their somewhat cynical views of the world and gruff exteriors. To
see them drop those exteriors for a moment with each other and start to actually
share something is an important moment, something that is not lost on Angela any
more than it will be on the readers.
In addition, the artwork remains compelling and unusual. Though the work is reminiscent of the computer-aided work of Chuck Austen, it comes across as more genuine and readable than the sometimes-stiff work done for Elektra or War Machine.
Dela Cruz's work focuses more on emotions and subtle facial expressions than
action, compensating for the stiffness that the work might have, but he also
uses a sort of fuzzy style that reinforces the dreamlike atmosphere of the
book.
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