Review: Kiss: Blood and Stardust # 2 tells Lilith’s Origin
Wow. Finally got a Kiss comic worth sinking my teeth into! We’ve seen so many Kiss comics where Kiss is barely in them. Then we’ve seen Kiss comics where they must share the spotlight with other franchise characters like Vampirella and Ash Williams, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but when were we going to get a strong Kiss comic with the characters in full superhero mode and kicking some supernatural ass? Well, here it is! The opening scene shows us a Gene Simmons standing his ground and speaking for his team mates which, for better or worse, is what he always does in real life. But now he’s facing a supernatural entity who desires him and his mates for some strange reason and Gene isn’t going to just give in to her whims for no real reason, even if she is a pretty face.
“…He was always going to betray you…That’s what broken men do.” – Gene Simmons
The Creative Team:
Bryan Hill explores Gene Simmons psyche in this issue. When Gene is confronted with a proposition, he demands to know who is making said proposition and what’s in it for him. The lady in question reveals herself to be a demon who existed since the dawn of mankind (no spoilers) and she confronts his determination with a question: Why did you choose the name demon? Even after he answers her, she asks the same question later in the issue! What draws us into the story is the strong will of both characters. Their confrontation is the brunt of this issue to the point where the other members of Kiss barely get any screen, or should I say page time. This issue is purely Gene’s. In the real-world Gene Simmons is credited with being the brains behind Kiss success. It was all marketing and Hill uses this realization to develop the demon as the leader of the superhero group in these pages. Great stuff includes the revelation of who our antagonist is in this issue and the revelation as to where Gene got the name Demon.
Rodney Buchemi captures our fab four (I know, that’s a Beatles nick name.) likeness extremely well. His use of demons and supernatural characters is fine and brings us an almost Lovecraftian feel which works well within this tale I really enjoyed how he mixed mythology with theology to flesh out the characters in this issue. Highlights include the splash where our chief antagonist mates with “the light.” And the visuals of the fictional rock band Moonson. They look like a cross between the Rolling Stones and Queen.
In Conclusion:
After all these years, we finally get a Kiss title that seems bent on examining who these band members are, this issue is purely Gene’s and that’s all right. I feel that the other characters are sure to shine in future issues. The chief antagonist relays the story of another leader of another rock band that betrayed her after she delivered for them, then asks Gene is he’s in. What he’s actually being offered isn’t entirely clear in this issue, but we get the feeling that we’ll find out. It involves protecting a young lady named Alicia form the leader of Moonson and that’s all we get before…to be continued.
Kiss: Blood and Stardust # 2
Writer – Bryan Hill
Art – Rodney Buchemi
Colors – Adriano Agusto
Letters – Troy Peteri
Publisher – Dynamite
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.
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