Kissing Chaos Volume 1 [Paperback]

Arthur Dela Cruz (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Series: Kissing Chaos | Publication Date: September 18, 2002

Three kids, stuck in a very bad situation, coming from different walks of life and different haunted pasts, end up in the same stolen car on the run from the law... and then things get a bit crazy. Angela was raised in a life of privilege, but things aren't always as pretty on the inside as they are on the outside. She carries a terrible secret that could ruin the whole facade, something even Damien-her hero, her angel, her object of romantic obsession-may not even know. He stumbled into her life by accident, and he hasn't been able to get out. And Raevyn? Just call it the wrong place at the wrong time, being up to no good in a no-good part of town. It's broken locks and screeching tires as sirens fade behind them. What lies ahead is a road full of amoral killers, a blood-hungry media, and mysterious men in overcoats and fedoras who always seem to be wherever the trio goes. Written and drawn by Eisner-nominee Arthur Dela Cruz. Check out his site at http://www.kissingchaos.com

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The sun never shines in this book's world, a nondescript gray landscape inhabited by violent teens on the run from a mysterious crime. The hero, Damien, makes his first appearance in a blood-spattered T-shirt, trailed by the implacably mute Angela, a snub-nosed cutie who has an unshakable passion for her man. To engage readers, Dela Cruz adds Raevyn, a sassy, glasses-wearing brunette. She completes the trio of fugitives in an implausible plot twist: when she and Damien try to steal the same car, he forces her to join him and Angela in their flight from justice. Meanwhile, it seems Raevyn liberated a laptop from her one-night stand, Elliott. From that point on, the plot gets even sketchier as readers follow the gang on their run across the countryside. Angela is lost in her own obsessive reverie about Damien, while he wonders where they'll end up. Readers might puzzle whether there are sinister forces at work and a secret haunting Angela, but Dela Cruz elucidates little at the end of the tale, when Elliott and Damien have a showdown in a roadside men's room. The police burst in, guns blaze, men fall, yet many questions are left unanswered. Dela Cruz's artwork, with its soft charcoal haze, sets a mood, but he draws faces and cars almost exclusively, giving the work a claustrophobic feel. At all points, Dela Cruz favors ambiguity over clarity, and by the end of the book, readers will probably be confused over the plot and frustrated at the price tag.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Kissing Chaos is the debut comics effort by Arthur Dela Cruz. He currently lives outside Toronto where he is adding his digital magic to the upcoming Oni Press comic book Skinwalker and planning the second Kissing Chaos miniseries, debuting September 2002. He also does the occasional job as a comic book colorist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Oni Press (September 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929998325
• ISBN-13: 978-1929998326
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,669,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Art and a Story Like No Other, August 8, 2003

By 

Wrayzor (CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kissing Chaos Volume 1 (Paperback)

This collection of Arthur Dela Cruz's Kissing Chaos series was a great read. The art pulled me in and the writing pulled me closer. I've always been a fan of "on the run" stories, and this book was no exception. Chances are, you haven't seen art like this much before. A combination of medias that when combined, made perfect sense. Keep your eyes open for the now available comic book entitled "Kissing Chaos-1000 Words". It continues the story of Damien & Angela and sheds new light on events from the first collection. I recommend this trade paperback 100%.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Comic i've read in a while, March 27, 2003

By 

Christopher Richards (Needham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kissing Chaos Volume 1 (Paperback)

I'm not a huge comic collector, but this stands out as the best series I own. The story is well written and the artwork is amazing, creating a great book about kids running away from the law. Reading it, you will get the feeling that this could be easily turned into a film, or be right out of a regular novel, which makes it great to buy even if you don't normally read comics or graphic novels. I'd highly recommend this to anyone, whether you own a huge collection of action comics and appreciate great graphic novels, or if you've never really liked comics and was looking to just start getting into them. After reading this one several times over, it seems clear that Arthur Dela Cruz will soon become a big name in the comic world.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what an amazing story, March 25, 2003

By 

Aki Murphy (Alliance, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kissing Chaos Volume 1 (Paperback)

when i first discovered Kissing Chaos i was completely blown away. The artwork is simply amazing and the story is great. from the first page you have no idea what is going on, but that is a plus. the point is to try and figure out what has happened, which you slowly do until you come to an ending that even I didn't even expect. I am in love with the character Angela who seems to just live in her own little world. And I love how her quiet personality is contradicted by the the loud-mouthed Raevyn. I think this story is amazing and I cannot wait to read what comes after this part and the next part just wrapping up called NonStop Beauty.