IDW Publishing’s Chief Creative Officer and Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall and Senior Staff Writer Tom Waltz announced at Comic-Con last July that they are publishing a new comic book series for the iconic rock group KISS. Being a big fan of the band, I was immediately intrigued to find out what they had planned for the Starchild, the Demon, the Catman, and the Spaceman.
Waltz and Ryall shared with me exclusively what sort of adventures fans can expect to accompany KISS when the book hits shelves.
Can you give us a brief synopsis of what the new KISS comic book series will be about?
Chris Ryall: Essentially, there are two cosmic deities, the Elder (a force for good) and the Destroyer (bad), who have this shaky co-existence. When the Destroyer finds berth into our universe, he sends his forces down to lay waste to our world. But that’s really all the backdrop for the stories which focus more directly on the humans who inherit the KISS mantle. The stories will span eons: the first two issues are set in the 1920s, and then we jump to the Dark Ages, back to present day, and beyond. Every two issues will be a new setting inspired by a classic KISS album.
Tom Waltz: Sure — it’s gonna rock ‘n’ roll all nite and party every day!
Who is the entire creative team behind the new KISS book and what have they worked on in the past?
Ryall: I’m writing the first two issues, and then back again for issues 5-6. My daily role is that of IDW’s Chief Creative Officer and Editor-in-Chief, but I’ve also written dozens and dozens of comics, anything from my own creations like “Zombies vs. Robots” and “Groom Lake” to projects done in tandem with Stephen King/Joe Hill (“Road Rage”), Clive Barker (“The Great and Secret Show”), “Transformers,” and many others. I also released a prose book about comics, “Comic Books 101,” that featured childhood comic-book recollections from esteemed comic folks, Gene Simmons among them.
Tom Waltz, who’s writing issues 3-4 and 7-8, is IDW’s Senior Staff Writer. He’s currently the architect of our acclaimed “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” relaunch, and also the author of such diverse projects as “Dead Rising,” “Duke Nukem,” “Silent Hill” (he wrote both the comics and the new video game), and other comics and video game projects. But at the end of it all, we’re both two lifelong KISS fans thrilled at the chance to bring back these comics in a big way.
Waltz: Yep, and we’ll be bringing in a diverse roster of artists to illustrate our assorted story lines, including Jamal Igle of DC fame and Casey Maloney, who has been my partner on many projects at IDW, including Gene Simmons Zipper and Children of the Grave. Plus, fantastic cover art from folks like Michael Gaydos and Nick Runge!
What will set IDW’s KISS book apart from other KISS comics done in the past?
Ryall: I noticed a trend the past few iterations to go bigger and larger and more cosmic. While the background of our story is similarly big, we’ve brought the focus back down to earth and are more akin to those Marvel comics of the ’70s, where the Kiss members are humans who are thrust into a larger world. That’s a very familiar comic-book theme, and one we wanted to return to here. So rather than having KISS as these unrelatable, otherworldly figures, we’ve empowered humans with their abilities and are telling stories that are hopefully universally appealing to fans of the band and newcomers alike.
Waltz: And our comics will be printed in Ryall’s and my blood. No… we’re not getting it drawn by hot nurses and then injecting it into the printing vat like KISS did at Marvel in the ’70s or anything like that. Paper cuts, man — just one of the many writing/editing job hazards.
To see the covers for the first issue of KISS, you can go here.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
‘All-Star Western #6′ 5-Page Sneak Preview
‘Batman & Robin: Dark Knight VS. White Knight’ Graphic Novel Review
‘Batman: The Dark Knight, Volume 1: Golden Dawn: Deluxe Edition’ Review
Eric Shirey is the founder and editor of Rondo Award nominated movie and comic book news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other national entertainment websites. Besides his three decades long obsession with everything sci-fi, horror, and fantasy related in TV and movies, Eric has what some would call an unhealthy love for comic books. This has led him to interviewing and covering legendary writers and artists in the medium like Geoff Johns, Scott Snyder, Steve Niles, Bernie Wrightson, and Howard Chaykin.