KISS Kids #1
Written by Chris Ryall and Tom Waltz
Art by Jeremy Colwell and Jose Holder
Covers by Jeremy Colwell, Luis Antonio Delgado, Rom Fajardo, Jose Holder, Dan Schoening, Bruce Timm
IDW Publishing
Release Date: August 21, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

You wanted the best, and you got the best”¦
“¦but this ain’t it.

If you’re an adult, KISS Kids is terrible. If you’re under the age of 7, KISS Kids is ok. The End.

If I could leave the review at just that, I would. But I won’t. Being a KISS fan, upon hearing that KISS Kids was going to be a comic book series – an announcement made on April Fool’s Day – I honestly thought it was just a gag, a joke, a laugh. I played along with the joke, and we even posted another KISS-related April Fool’s post that day, too.

But then I found out IDW and Gene Simmons were sincere about it. I couldn’t believe it. This is perhaps the worst KISS idea since those coffins, I thought. And I was right.

Young children will probably dig it, especially kids of fans who have been bitten by the KISS bug… but older readers will find this experience tedious. While the art is fun to look at, KISS Kids, as a concept, would work much better as a television cartoon series than a comic book.

Happy Birthday today to The Spaceman, the irrepressible Ace Frehley, whose lead guitar work in the original version of the rock and roll quartet KISS elevated that band to one of the all-time great groups of that genre.

While the co-frontmen — Gene Simmons, with his blood-spurting, bass-playing rock shock antics, and Paul Stanley, all-around good guy with the sly wink — were pretty much always (and continuing to this day) at the forefront, it was the guitar sounds of the Space Ace and his attitude as well, which seemed to come from the Johnny Thunders/Ron Asheton/Wayne Kramer down and dirty rock variety that gave KISS arguably its musical cock walk strut on record, on stage, and in print. Frehley was the dark horse of the group who usually had musical photo finishes; he was the iron glue and in a lot of ways the one who experienced the most identity crisis, almost like the George Harrison in the theatrical greasepaint, the makeup which concealed the band’s identity during their heyday in the 1970s, but never concealed the band’s workman-like musical ethic.

Hard rock and heavy metal veterans KISS announced today, April 1, 2013, that founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are leaving the band and going into retirement at the end of this year, while the band will go on as KISS II, a lineup featuring NO original members, beginning in 2014.

Before Simmons and Stanley, who formed the group in New York City 40 years ago, can officially begin their quiet rock and roll-free nights and party-less days, they must fulfill their current record company contract for one more album. Therefore, the long-time musical partners have agreed to finally do the sequel to The Elder with Bob Ezrin, stating that the original 1981 album now has a cult following, and they are thinking “long-term” for the fans. The sequel will be called The Elder Reloaded.

The Hal Leonard Corporation has put out tons of guitar instructional videos over the years, and the 34th Volume in their Guitar Play-Along series will help you learn to play some KISS songs!

The Kiss – Guitar Play-Along Volume 34 DVD has 8 KISS songs that you can learn to play on guitar, which believe me, is a worthwhile endeavor. There’s various ways to watch and learn each tune; there’s a lesson given by a professional teacher, then the teacher performs each entire song along with recorded backing tracks. In this 100-minute DVD, you can play along with or without the guitar turned on, and there’s multiple viewing options as well: fret hand with tab, wide view with tab, pick & fret hand close-up, as well as other views.

I’m a KISS fanatic, so I’m pleased to have a most excellent reason to write about the band here and now: Amazon is currently selling a bunch of KISS albums for only $5 each in their MP3 album sale, 2,000 MP3 Albums For $5 Each, as well as several CDs for under $5 from their extensive catalog.

I’ve included all of the band’s studio albums released from 1974-1979 (all worth owning!), as well the amazing, awesome, must-have Ace Frehley KISS solo album (the only of the four solo albums really worth owning) as a few from the 1980s. All the listed CDs are “AutoRip,” which means if you purchase the CD, you’ll ALSO get the MP3 version for free; therefore, if the CD is cheaper than the MP3 version, then definitely get the CD, so you’ll get both formats for less. (Note – not every format for every title is on sale, but I’ve listed it here for consistency.) I’ve also included for each album the release date and some of its most famous tunes.

Kiss (1974)
CD $4.99 | MP3 $5.00
Strutter, Firehouse, Cold Gin, 100,000 Years, Black Diamond

Hotter Than Hell (1974)
CD 4.99 | MP3 $8.99
Hotter Than Hell, Parasite, Got to Choose, Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll

Dressed To Kill (1975)
CD $4.99 | MP3 $8.99
Rock and Roll All Nite, Rock Bottom, C’mon and Love Me, She

Destroyer (1976)
CD $4.99 | MP3 $9.49
Detroit Rock City, God of Thunder, Beth, Shout It Out Loud

Rock and Roll Over (1976)
CD $4.99 | MP3 $8.99
Calling Dr. Love, I Want You, Ladies Room, Hard Luck Woman

Love Gun (1977)
CD $8.50 | MP3 $5.00
I Stole Your Love, Christine Sixteen, Love Gun, Shock Me, Plaster Caster

KISS – Ace Frehley (1978)
CD $8.99 | MP3 $5.00
New York Groove, Rip It Out, I’m in Need of Love, Snowblind

Dynasty (1979)
CD $7.54 | MP3 $5.00
I Was Made For Lovin’ You, 2000 Man, Hard Times, Sure Know Something

Creatures Of The Night (1982)
CD $7.34 | MP3 $5.00
I Love It Loud, I Still Love You, War Machine, Rock and Roll Hell

Animalize (1984)
CD $8.99 | MP3 $5.00
Heaven’s On Fire, Thrills in the Night