KISS, that fun band everyone pretty much knows for “Rock and Roll All Night,” outrageous face make up and long tongues. Well they are back, this time in comic form, and fully embracing their inner demon. How do they fare in this new medium? Well find out with your Major Spoilers review!
KISS Solo: The Demon #1
Writer: Chris Ryall
Artist: Angel Medina
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo
Letterer: Tom B. Long
Cover Artist: Angel Medina, Romulo Fajardo
Publisher: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99
AND PARTY EVERY PAGE
Kiss Solo: The Demon #1 is so metal it hurts. From the first page we learn that previously, in what I assume was an earlier mini series, the four members of KISS were really the Eldritch Gods’ force of good. They had all fused together to make on mega demon to fight some big bad and now that mega demon was in human form. That’s right, all the members of KISS are fused together into one guy. He does not get to enjoy the life of a human for long, because soon enough the four horsemen of the apocalypse are upon him. From that point on we get a fight of which ever panel is worthy of a Metallica or HammerFall album cover. There are lots of heavy exposition, and just flat-out statement of motivation and current state of being, but it all seems to be done from a self-aware place. That being said, it still weights the book down significantly.
LET THERE BE ART
The art captures the feel of a metal album cover almost perfectly at times. The coloring, line work, everything just has that epic, fantasy feel that have donned the works of bands like Iron Maiden. There are a few panels where the characters are depicted as being really far away where its near impossible to tell who is who and what exactly is going on, but this only happens a few times. Most of the time everything is clear. One criticism readers might be tempted to make would be that all the characters are over designed and reek of that trade mark “edginess” that we like to pretend populated the 90s, but if the book is as self-aware as I think it is, then its all done in good fun and adds to the fun of it all.
BOTTOM LINE: YOU’LL ALREADY KNOW IF YOU WANT IT
If the premise does not grab you right from the get go then I simply feel like this book will do nothing for you. If, on the other hand, you think this book just sounds awesome, then you should definitely go out and pick it up; its a very fun time. KISS Solo: The Demon #1 earns 3 out of 5 stars.
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