CHASTITY: SHATTERED #3

By Arnold T. Blumberg     August 22, 2001

Well, the cover will certainly sell copies, but when you publish series focusing almost entirely on scantily-clad bikini and leather-wearing demons and vampires, you must know your audience fairly well. Chaos! knows who's reading and how to deliver exactly what they need, so in some ways after all the time I've spent talking about their titles, they've become review-proof. Those who like them will like more; those who don't will move on. But if you do decide to cast your eyes over Chastity's abnormally proportioned form and peruse her adventures, what will you find?

In this case, the vampire outcast with a penchant for beating up her brethren is wrapping up yet another in an seemingly endless series of independently numbered story arcs (Chaos! have truly mastered the art of renumbering comics in order to maximize the #1 ratio). SHATTERED has put Chastity in the difficult position of having to choose between the normal life she so desperately craves and revealing her secret in order to save the life of her friends. She's up against some real nasty folks too, including a sharp-toothed fellow by the name of Wellman Roth and Ms. Fortune, a woman who's not afraid to do a job for Roth or risk losing her own life's blood.

And what a job it is. Before being interrupted by a bruiser named Midknight, Fortune attempts to turn Chastity's building inside out, thus wreaking havoc with the laws of physics and opening a doorway for all sorts of Lovecraftian creepy-crawlies. When Fortune and Chastity finally meet, they know each other, but Fortune has a few tricks up her sleeve. While they battle it out, a clan of werewolves is contemplating war with Roth and his vampiric buddies, setting up another ongoing plot thread that will doubtless pay off in another mini-series. Chastity is blissfully unaware of the greater danger as she grapples with Ms. Fortune, but will she have to let her friends see the full extent of her undead powers in order to save their lives? And what will that mean for the idyllic life of rock and roll that she so enjoys? Things are spiraling out of control, and Chastity is right in the middle of it as usual.

As Chaos! Comics go, this isn't all bad. In fact, part of the sometimes offensive prurient content (lots of near-nude Chastity splash pages and portrait poses) has been downplayed by effecting a slightly more cartoony style for the artwork. Making Chastity and the other characters a bit 'cuter' also makes them more appealing to readers, and successfully opens the door for a wider readership. At least, that's what Chaos! has been hoping, as they've been working hard to transform all of their titles into comics that function on a more mainstream level. So far they seem to be succeeding. With the sexual components downplayed, the story can emerge more readily, and this particular escapade is decently plotted to boot. CHASTITY is no classic, but it'll do the trick when you're looking for something to wile away those dark moonless nights.

CHASTITY: SHATTERED

Grade: B-

Issue:No. 3 (of 3)

Author(s): Len Kaminski, Adriano Batista, Cleber Salles

Publisher: Chaos! Comics

Price: $2.99