KISS #1
Written by Chris Ryall
Art by Jamal Igle
Release Date: June 13, 2012

You wanted the best, you got… well, you got this comic book. Kiss is my favorite band, period. I have always hoped that the comics produced with their characters will be as awesome as the music is for me. I am invariably disappointed each and every time. This comic tries very hard to be a relevant part of Kiss lore, and features many song references. I am not saying that this book is bad, just that it suffers from unrealized potential.

Chris Ryall struggles with the dialogue in this book. Some of the things that people say seem stilted and lack flow. There are some interesting moments throughout, and in some cases the references to Kiss’ songs and characters work very well. One of the more difficult moments of the comic, is trying to figure out which people will eventually become the ‘band’, as they are written as little more than caricatures of the real Kiss’ personalities, and by extension are not easy to pick up on.

The art is one of the better elements of this book. There are some very nice splash pages, which show good attention to detail. Unfortunately detail is one of the things lacking in the people and many of the backgrounds. Igle does seem to be on the right track, and certainly does a nice job on Kiss; he just needs to spend more time on the non-splash pages.

It seems a difficult concept to bring Kiss into the world of prohibition era United States. It is obvious that they are looking to tell a story that features the characters more so than the band. Once the book gets into the story, and we see the full scope of what is intended to be told, then it will be easier to judge; until then, it seems a bit disjointed. As a Kiss fan, full of hope, I may be back for issue two.

Verdict: Kiss fans 6.5/10….. non-Kiss fans 3.0/10