Comic Review: Mars Attacks KISS one shot

            Yesterday netted quite the haul of comic books as many of the titles on my pull list had new issues released yesterday.  Unfortunately I got in late last night and was only able to partake in a small sample of last yesterday’s riches.  The latest issue of Transformers: Robots in Disguise did not disappoint and is quickly becoming one of the best books on the market as the action is fast paced and the twists and turns are expertly crafted, not to mention the fact that the artwork is cartoony enough to clearly carry that nostalgia of the cartoon while detailed to the point of fitting with the darker subject matter of this book.  I can already tell without reading any of the other comics I obtained this week that that will be crowned as best of the best.

            Unfortunately I already reviewed Transformers: RID at an earlier date, so I fought off sleep and cracked open Mars Attacks KISS, the latest in a month of Mars Attacks one shots featuring the characters currently under IDW’s publishing thumb.  

Cover:

            Many younger people do not realize that Mars Attacks was a series of collectible cards back in the day.  Hell, some have no idea what these aliens are while a few vaguely recognize them from the Tim Burton movie in the nineties.  The covers to the Mars Attacks… series of one shots are therefore crafted to look like those cards of yesteryear.  I must say that this works incredibly well as not only a design element, but the art itself actually has a vague correlation to the story.  I love the painted artwork and the way that Ray Dillon uses the light from each individual’s “powers” as not only the primary, but the only light source just gives it a really nice feel to it, even if we are watching a human get torched right there on the cover.  The triangle effect that Dillon creates works very well as a design element as well. 

9/10 – I would like a painting of this to hang in my house.  Dillon has a real knack for light and shadow and the aliens are creepily-awesome.

Story:

            Chris Ryall does a good job of fusing the two subjects together pretty seamlessly.  As weird as it sounds, this story feels like it could fit right into place between the various storylines that Ryall writes in the regular KISS book, the same formula is followed for the most part and it all is believable in the context that it is placed in.

            All that being said, the writing is pretty bland, boring and even formulaic at times.  The “twist” ending that the kids involved are actually young versions of the original band, and the reason that they take the persona’s they do, including the makeup, is so that the lone remaining alien in their midst (who they take on as their guitar-tech by the way) does not feel like he is garnering any negative attention from other people is just weird and seems forced.  The concept, while by no means is it fresh and new, is at least consistent with the universe it’s placed in and relatively fun. 

            The problem lies in the little things, the actual execution of the plot and the dialogue leave a lot to be desired.  I kind of feel bad for Ryall because it feels like the whole Mars Attacks… concept came from the higher ups and he had to shoehorn two different concepts together for the sake of selling more cards or comics or something.  That does not forgive him for poor writing on the actual issue itself but I can understand why he may not have given it his best effort.

2/10 – Very unimpressive story born from a concept probably forced upon the writer.  It may not have been his idea to do this particular mash-up but he cashed the check so he should have delivered.

Art:

            Let’s start out by saying that this is definitely a step up from the art in the regular KISS book.  That is not saying much though and the art by Alan Robinson in this book is only marginally better in many places.  Yeah, the aliens look cool, but that’s more a product of their initial design than anything.  I do like how Robinson incorporated the design of the KISS costumes and makeup with the domed-heads of the aliens.  Some of the story elements were interesting, the way that the aliens used their new KISS-powers to kill humans along were visually appealing, but the issue itself was very inconsistent.  There were a couple panels, and a couple pages even, that were well done and I really liked, but others where they seemed generic.  Maybe there was nothing on there that Robinson found interesting, or that he wanted to draw, but he still needed to show a bit more consistency, especially in the face of a weak script.

This page is just graphically awesome.  From the characters to the sound effect and all of the textures.  You can tell that Robinson liked making this page as much as I liked looking at it.

Probably the best all around page in the book as the storytelling is perfect, that third panel where it's the beat before the payoff, phenomenal use of a pause.  The art here is great as well.  

This on the other hand: lame writing and the art is marginal at best, especially the hand on the far left of the page.  What the hell happened there?

This is when it was confirmed to me that Chris Ryall had checked out of this book.  When the hands of the Elder, the all powerful being in the KISS-verse claps and crushes an entire invading force of aliens, and that is your big resolution to this threat...really?  I just paid $3.99 for that?

4/10 – Some good, some bad, but not much to really get too excited about.  I’d like to see Robinson’s take on a book that he is fully invested in as I can see potential for quality work, it just has not consistently materialized here.

Overall:  3/10 – Aside from the cover, which is awesome, the whole book reeks of inconsistency.  There’s a decent formula for a plot but it is not carried through to an adequate conclusion, and the art goes from good to okay at the turn of a page.