The original line of Chaos Comics is heavily rooted in the 90s and with that comes all the stereotypes that are associated with the 90s. The market may have popped back then, but not everything about the 90s comic industry was bad. Anyone that tells you differently is just playing to popular opinion. By no means where they perfect, but let’s get over this “they were god awful” business. Chastity is a 90s character and with that comes those stereotypes. To fight off those stereotypes Dynamite and writer Marc Andreyko made the worst possible decision they could… they played it safe. I have never read a comic book that put this much effort into not offending people. Wait I take that back they took a jab at Twilight. It was more of a mumble under their breath than a jab. Otherwise this book is just safe. It doesn’t ruffle feathers or worse yet attempt to make the character or story interesting.
Here’s the entire issue. We meet Chastity, she becomes a gymnast and is on the Olympic level. She gets injured and can’t be an Olympian like her mother was before her. She gets into novels. She gets into Vampire novels. She becomes a fangirl for an author and goes to meet her. The author turns out to be a vampire and she kills her entire family. Just to be clear none of the kills are cool and the scene has zero intensity.
It was safe, predictable and boring. Chastity drones on and one with narration that is really just exposition because she tells us a bunch of crap that isn’t useful to her character or the plot. Why we need to know everything that happened prior to her becoming an avid reader is beyond me. Is she going to get time to make things right with her mom? Is the family going to come back as vamps as well? Doubtful and if they did I would be less interested in this story. It gives her a clear motivation for wanting revenge, but we’re never actually shown Chastity being close with her family. She’s just seeking her mother’s approval and never receives it.
The art hangs out. It’s good, but there’s nothing for it to do. When the action finally pops off there is again nothing for it to do and nowhere for it to shine. Mom and Dad bite it instantly and her little brother has two frames before he’s bleeding out.
I was looking forward to this one because I didn’t really like the story for 90s Chastity. Now I think I’d rather just have that version back because this new one is dreadful. I shouldn’t be happy that her and her entire family is dead, but I am. I am.
Score: 2/5
Writer: Marc Andreyko Artist: Dave Acosta Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/9/14 Format: Print/Digital