Review: Kiss #4

Our hero’s find themselves in some deep do-do in this issue. The fab 4 return to Blackwell after exploring the outskirts of the city. What they find is that the government has been keeping some secrets about the outside world. The issue opens with the authorities, led by chief Ishida, are questioning the twins parents. The twins arrive and act innocent of any wrong doing, but the authorities are wise to what they’ve been up to. Noa let’s it slip that they’ve seen the elders and that alone lands them in jail. We learn a lot about what the elders are and their purpose but there’s still a lot to figure out as the issue progresses, great stuff.

The Creative Team:

Amy Chu at the reigns leaves the Kings of the night time world in capable hands. I’ve been a fan of Kiss comics since their first Marvel special back in 1976, (I didn’t read the Howard the Duck beginnings) their second special had a lukewarm response and that was the end of Marvel’s involvement with our make-up clad heroes. Chu is an excellent story teller and she has the four flaming youth’s of this title bring the city of Blackwell face to face with their own fears. The young hero’s of this story only want the truth to come out and the citizens are afraid of what lies beyond Blackwell. It’s a fun read and shows what happens to a society that’s too complacent with their surroundings.

Kewber Baal brings his usual level of excitement to the story and his panels show the required energy needed in bringing the story to life. A real fun page is when the protectors break our hero’s out of jail. I felt a slight rush when the four teen hero’s of this title apply the “war paint” to turn themselves into the Demon, Starchild, Space Ace and Catman. It’s a page that helps to wet your appetite for the next issue and makes us wish it were out now. Fantastic Fun as only Dynamite can deliver.

The Cover:

All I can say is that this cover kicks ass! Any fan of Kiss is going to want this issue just for the cover, even if they don’t read Kiss comics. The four protagonists are in front, looking like they mean business. Silhouetted behind them are the four original…wait a minute, on second glance, it isn’t the four original band members. It’s four other bad ass dudes in the Kiss make-up. The Space Ace is definitely not Tommy Thayer, or Ace Frehely. The Demon might be Gene Simmons, but the Cat and Starchild are not Peter Criss, or Eric Singer and Paul Stanley, so what gives? Who are these characters? It’s interesting enough to peak the curiosity of Kiss fans and non-fans alike. Read on True Believers!

In Conclusion:

An interesting chapter in a great story. The protagonists finally don the robot skeletons of the protectors who are clearly modeled after the rock band as they try to free Blackwell of tyrannical forces. We come closer to discovering the secret and there’s a nice homage to Eric Carr towards the end, which may mean he has an appearance in a future issue. An interesting reveal about Mr. Blackwell grabs our attention before it’s “to be continued.”

Kiss #4

Writer: Amy Chu
Art: Kewber Baal
Color: Schimery Baal
Letters: Troy Peteri
Cover Luccio Parrillo
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Publication date: January 2017

Synopsis:

Tags: Amy Chu, Kewber Baal, KISS

About the Author

Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.