Mars Attacks KISS
Written by Chris Ryall
Art by Alan Robinson
Colors by Jay Fotos
Cover Art by Ray Dillon
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 9, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Outside of my obsessions for heavy metal, sci-fi, and horror, I habitually find myself gravitating towards two distinct styles of media in entertainment: the dark, disgusting, and macabre; or the stupidity of plain ridiculousness and irreverent humor. So when fellow GoD of Thunder, Dave3, hurled out his list of comics available to review recently, it should be no surprise that my eyeballs became magnetized to a title that read Mars Attacks KISS.

I have been a KISS fan for 26 years, which is way more than half of my current lifespan, and so naturally my first two thoughts were, “Wait! Is this about the band KISS?” and “That is the most ridiculous comic title ever conceived – I love it”.

And it is indeed about the hard rock/heavy metal band I’ve obsessed over for nearly three decades – being faced with the skull-faced, brain-headed, ack-ack-speaking monstrosities from the film of the same name.

To put it guilelessly, when I scored this review for Geeks of Doom, it was like giving a jigsaw puzzle with alphabetized pieces to someone with OCD.

KISS #6
Written by Chris Ryall
Pencils by Wagner Reis
Colors by Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Tom Jerman, Jamal Igle & Romulo Fajardo, Jr, and Sam Shearon
IDW Publishing
Release Date: November 21, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

KISS #6 is the conclusion of “Kiss Meets the Phantom” story arc. When we last left the guys they were…girls. But, they were fighting a bunch of robots at an amusement park run by an evil scientist. And you thought KISS was just four guys that made awesome music!

Chris Ryall started this story by turning everything we know about KISS on its ear. This issue, he continues to do so. KISS #6 is straight-out rock and roll action! I’m not kidding, this issue has more action in it than most comics have in six issues. Beyond that, it’s amazing how he can keep the characters of KISS grounded in the humans that they possess, while mixing in a slight dose of the personality of said humans. I’ve read lots of books by Ryall, but I have to say, he could write KISS for the rest of his life, and I’d read it every single month. Shocks and surprises come out of nowhere and he does a fantastic job wrapping up the arc, while at the same time moving the overall story further into unknown territory. And he throws in some really interesting stuff with the Destroyer and She. It’s a great ending to a very entertaining arc in this title, yet, in some ways, it’s just the beginning.

KISS #5
Written by Chris Ryall
Art by Wagner Reis
Colors by Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Letters by Shawn Lee
Edited by Tom Waltz
Covers by Sam Shearon, Jamal Igle & Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 24, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

KISS #5 is a game changer. Seriously, folks. It takes the whole concept of KISS and turns it on its ear. Two words, kids: KISS GIRLS. That’s right, you wanted hot girls, you GOT hot girls! Not to mention The Phantom of the Park!

Writer Chris Ryall takes everyone’s “favorite” movie, KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park, and puts a WHOLE new spin on it. The basics are still there, like the evil Abner Devereaux and, of course, the amusement park. I can’t tell you what a refreshing change of pace this is, and Ryall proves with this issue that the sky truly IS the limit when it comes to this comic. So far, it’s been very enjoyable, going from different eras in time watching the group take on the henchmen of the evil Destroyer, but this issue he makes everything fresh and totally different. Don’t get me wrong, we all love the group, but it’s nice to get a total 180 once in awhile. This book is something that you’re going to want to read at least a couple of times – it’s that good – and you’re going to make sure that you don’t miss anything. Maybe it’s my love of KISS or my love of KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park movie (c’mon, it was fun), but I honestly can’t remember enjoying a comic this much in a long time.

Kiss #4
Written by Tom Waltz
Art by Casey Maloney
Inks by Marc Rueda
Colors by Joan I. Guardiet & Ester Sans
Letters by Shawn Lee
Edited by Chris Ryall
Covers by Casey Maloney, Michael Gaydos & Xermanico
IDW Publishing
Release Date: September 19, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

KISS #4 features the epic conclusion to the World Without Heroes story arc, and when IDW says epic they mean EPIC!!! It’s everything you want it to be and just a little bit more.

To sum up, in this story arc, we basically have KISS barbarians, which in and of itself, is pretty freakin’ cool. What makes it even MORE awesome is that writer Tom Waltz does a fantastic job telling the story! In just a few issues, he’s given the four “civilian identities” a LOT of character for the reader to absorb. Not too much, though, that it draws awesome from the KISS warriors. We get a little more of the Destroyer and Elder, and more of She, but the meat of the story is KISS’ battle with an out of control dragon and trying to save their village and their world.

The Cape: 1969 #3
Written by Jason Ciaramella
Art by Nelson Daniel
Lettering by Shawn Lee
Editorial Assist by Christopher Schraff
Edited by Chris Ryall
Creative Consultant Joe Hill
Inspired by the Short Story “The Cape” by Joe Hill
IDW Publishing
Release Date: September 12, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

And so here we are at The Cape: 1969 #3, the power is in Captain Chase’s hands, and with two issues to go, the only question remaining is: how will he use it and how far will he go? For anyone not reading The Cape: 1969, it follows a medevac pilot in Vietnam who just so happens to be the father of Eric and Nicky, the brothers from The Cape. He finds himself in a bad situation, against a sadistic Vietcong troop commander, and then some Weird War Tales stuff happens.

Writer Jason Ciaramella is committed to making this a rather believable war story with superpowers instead of a story about superpowers that just so happen to take place in a historical setting; or at least a good war script with superpowers. Artist Nelson Daniel is a great companion to this project. His drawings aren’t ‘gritty’, but certainly show enough ability to make a war story, and are actually quite refreshing in contrast. Meanwhile, his use of colors remains top notch. His palette of ruddy browns, greens, and oranges complement the dark tone of the story; he also has a special knack for making grotesque violence distinct with blazing reds saturating the backdrops enough to bleed through the page. The use of screen tones is a little obtrusive here, without giving the book the vintage charm I think he’s going for, but it’s not a big deal.