Vocalist Gene Simmons Talks About Kiss Coming Back to Comic Books

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision, Simmons said that the new comic book series heavily draws on the onstage persona of his Demon, Paul Stanley's Starchild, Ace Frehley's Spaceman and Peter Criss' Catman characters.

Although they are portrayed as superheroes in Kiss, the vocalist noted that these characters are more like modern-day gods from Greek mythology.

"When you think about it, superheroes are really modern-day versions of the great Greek gods of mythology," he told Heat Vision. "Mercury had wings and could fly. Vulcan was the god of fire."

For the new comic book series, Kiss teamed up with writer Amy Chu and artist Kewber Baal of Dynamite.

According to Simmons, the band decided to work with Chu and Baal because of their vision for the new series. Given their knowledge about the band's background, the writer and artist were able to create a compelling story with an impressive visual quality. Simmons noted that one of the main sources that Chu and Baal used for the series was the band's Music from "The Elder" concept album from 1981.

"The wonderful thing about the Dynamite team is that we are all of like minds," Simmons said. "Everyone involved wanted to take our personas and do a classic Kiss comic book, and to include deep fanboy references to [Music from] 'The Elder,' our one and only concept album."

"With Amy Chu writing the books, this will be an adventure that fans will absolutely love," he added. "I've already seen the covers and artwork, and in the patois of the street, it rocks."

According to Previews World, the first issue of Kiss will be available on Oct. 19. The story of the series' first installment introduces readers to four young characters who go on a mission to uncover the truth behind their dark world. As they go on their journey, they enlist the help of beings from the past.

Tags

Gene Simmons, KISS, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley