Review – KISS #1 (Dynamite)

Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Writer: Amy Chu
Artwork: Kewber Baal
Release Date: 19th October, 2016

“A world without Heroes is like a world without the sun…”

It’s a bold move to open a comic with lyrics from one of your own songs, but then again, when have KISS ever been shy or modest? The band have graced the pages many times over the years; both as the stars of the story and as cameos, so they are no strangers to the world of comics.

In this incarnation the world is in turmoil, the war to end all wars has torched the earth, driving what is left of humanity to seek shelter in an underground city. This apocalypse is seen as a flashback and the main story takes place 468 years after the Great War. Society has grown from the ashes and the masses of survivors have acclimatised to their new home.

However, as is with every society, there are a pocket of citizens that become restless and strive to push the walls of their reality to seek a better (or at least different) future. In our story these heroes are 4 teenagers who are exploring this underground realm thorough boredom more than a sense of discovery – the phrase curiosity killed the cat at this point springs to mind…

For a comic about the most narcissistic band ever to grace this planet, they are strangely absent from the premier issue, despite a very religious-esque appearance on the first and last pages and some subtitle nods in the background of the panels. In fact if you removed their limited presence then this would become a very basic run of the mill tale.

Amy Chu’s writing covers all the stereotypical characters of any ‘teen’ driven story and despite the story being fairly well written it proceeds at a pedestrian pace in trying to build to a suspenseful climax.

Kewber’s art is the saving grace of this issue, it is sharp and vivid in colour where it needs to be and it fills the gaps in the story with the ‘Easter eggs’ for fans of the band to find.

What is missing from this story, sadly, is KISS.

I am a fan of the band and the tsunami of insanity that frequently follows in their wake; the larger than life characters, the big hair and the even bigger sound. KISS are masters of grandeur and I just feel this subtle approach doesn’t suit them and hopefully the subsequent issues make up for this.

We wanted the best, the hottest band in the world and sadly, this time, we just didn’t get it.

Rating: 2/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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