GENE SIMMONS, PAUL STANLEY Talk About Comic Books

News broke this morning of the creation of the Kiss Comics Group and its inaugural title, "Kiss 4K". A joint venture between Platinum Studios and the hugely popular, multi-platinum American rock band KISS, the new title will be the first KISS comic ever produced in concert with the band themselves. Platinum will debut the "Kiss 4K" with an oversized $50 Destroyer Edition at the Wizard World Los Angeles Convention in March, with an ongoing series to follow in May by writer Ricky Sprague and artist Kevin Crossley. Additionally, an online KISS comic will run concurrently to "Kiss 4K", expanding on the continuity and story of the print version.

CBR News spoke this afternoon with KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley as well as Platinum Studios founder/chairman Scott Rosenberg about the band's affinity for comics and their involvement with "Kiss 4K". A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:

CBR News: It's been about three years since KISS was last published as a comic series. Why is now the right time to make a return to the comics medium?

Paul Stanley: I think the missing factor for a while was a new team. Sometimes new blood is what's necessary. I think between Scott Rosenberg and the whole Platinum crew, we have the makings of a team that can not only win the World Series, but become one of the best teams ever. KISS obviously is a band that has a dual identity in that we're musicians, but we're also super heroes and we've certainly found ways to market that before. I think this venture, just the fact that the first comic coming out will be the largest in history and certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, says that we're all on the same page. The truth is that games are won by teams and wars are won by armies and we've amassed a great bunch of people.

Gene Simmons: It's important — because we're speaking basically to the converted — that the fanboys out there understand and realize that we're not outsiders. We grew up and lived, breathed and dreamed comic books. Not just Marvel, but the classic stuff from Gardner Fox, Denny O'Neil, etc., we know this stuff. For fucks sake, I grew up with Marv Wolfman! We were going to do a fanzine together as kids!

All the way back to the '70s when our first comic books came out through Marvel and broke sales records, we valued that relationship. We had a terrific time with Todd McFarlane who we've stayed friends with and continue to do business with and speak very highly of. Mike Richardson has been terrific with the Dark Horse stuff. It's just that every once in a while players switch teams, you get traded off and get reinvigorated. I gotta tell you, this team we have is small like a commando team, we talk directly to each other, not with assistants and secretary's who may mean well, but they don't know this stuff. We live, breathe and eat comic books and the fans out there need to understand we don't just arch our eyebrows and say, "Liefeld? Who's that?" We know our stuff.

CBR News: Gene, you brought up the history of KISS comics publishing. As KISS has been featured in a variety of comics over the years, how does this new ongoing KISS series, "Kiss 4K", compare to what's come before? As you're involved in the day-to-day operations of the book, does it better represent your vision for what a KISS comic should be?

Simmons: It's not really fair to say it's my vision or Paul's. This is really, as Paul said, a team. It started off with a conversation just starting with a joint venture — let's do something big, let's try to do something that doesn't just appeal to the fanboys out there. Whatever happened to those million plus people who used to buy comic books? What the fuck has happened to this thing that we love, this American-born invention called comic books and specifically super heroes, which is purely an American art form? And art form is the correct way to describe it. Comic books have long stayed in the shadows and the reason we're all very excited about doing the biggest comic book of all time, period, is simply because we're proud of the content, but we also understand we have to grab media by the scruff of its neck and say, "Pay attention, comics aren't just kids stuff." That's what we're aiming to do together with Platinum.

Stanley: It's very easy for us to sing the praises of this relationship. We've got great writers and artists. I remember when I would go to newsstands and see anything Frazetta did. There was a time where I would pick up comics on the newsstands and it was different at least for me, maybe because I was younger, but I doubt it. I think it was because there was more complexity to them. What we're doing now is so multi-layered that you really have to have a bible to keep all this on track. Its heady stuff and we've really got a great team. I'm excited by it. I'm sitting here with Scott and he's sitting here stroking his chin in excitement, which I guess is better than stroking something else. [laughs]

Read the entire interview at www.comicbookresources.com.