Comic Review – KISS Kids #1

                I have railed against the comic industry on numerous occasions for being to focused on their aging readers and not really doing much to attract new readers to their product.  While, in general, I think that still holds true, this week’s entry helps to soften that blow a bit.

Cover:

                I picked up the Bruce Timm cover as it was the first one visible as well as the one I wanted anyway.  What can I say about Bruce Timm the artist that hasn’t already been said?  Regardless of the subject matter, his style is undeniable.  Seriously, this looks like Gene Simmons stepped right out of the Batman the Animated Series cartoon (and how awesome would that be if KISS was included).  This fits incredibly well with the overall tone of the book as it is definitely going for a more light hearted, animated feel, and who better to give you an animated feel than the father of DC’s animated universe.  Timm does a great job of providing not only the animated “feel” but also capturing the likeness and, more importantly, the personality of Simmons.  The way that Timm, using just lines, can indicate multiple different textures within the piece without making everything overly detailed or pushing the piece out of his characteristic style shows a grasp of the tools that are well beyond what most cartoonists could ever hope to accomplish. 

                The cover is very generic, but it has a feel that you just can’t get anywhere else.  The colors from Rom Fajardo are a little muddy, but they don’t do too much to detract from the overall illustration. 

9/10 – I have a feeling if Timm came back to comics full time (as in doing a whole book and not just covers/pinups) people would line up around the block for their chance to pick it up.  He is that good at what he does.

Story:

                The story, by Chris Ryall and Tom Waltz (the guys that have written pretty much every other KISS comic for IDW over the past year) is actually a collection of short stories, ranging from one to five pages.  While I wasn’t overly impressed by IDW’s other KISS comics, the simple fact that these two writers can go from such a heavy-handed concept, built almost exclusively for adults, to something for kids that actually works well speaks to their abilities as writers.  It’s also nice to see that the two writers have fleshed out the characters enough that regardless of who the writer is, the characters have the same “voice”. 

                The stories are pretty typical in terms of things that you would think might happen to kids, just with a spin on it to take advantage of the subject matter (sixteen year old Christine is the babysitter, Gene’s favorite birthday present is money, etc.).  The whole thing has a very Calvin and Hobbes feel to it and is incredibly accessible to kids.  I can easily see this generation of children running around pretending to be Li’l Demon or Spacey with their friends. 

                While the decision to include KISS kid robots as the bullies seems a little corny, it does make more sense than trying to shoehorn in some KISS-related villains (though why there isn’t a “Wicked Lester” yet, I don’t know).  Besides that, though, everything is pretty seamless in terms of the transition from adults to kids.

8/10 – This may be the most fun KISS-related series since Psycho Circus was in its heyday. 

Art:

                Jose Holder does a great job on the art duties for the most part.  The kids themselves are well thought out and provide both an accurate representation of the KISS makeup while “smoothing the edges” so to speak for the younger audience.  The storytelling and pacing are well done with an abundance of well-drawn backgrounds that serve to ground the cartoony characters in reality.  The quality of Holder’s artwork is steady throughout the book as well.  From story to story, page to page, he remains incredibly consistent with his linework and character models. 

                The one place where Holder seems to fall flat is his representation of “normal” people, especially adults.  The fact that they are so much different in style to the KISS kids really prevents everything from gelling together.  It’s fine if the backgrounds are realistically represented, but once you make the other humans take on similar realistic characteristics, it makes the KISS kids stick out like a sore thumb.   

8/10 – This feels like almost the perfect project for Holder, who really shines here on the artwork.

Overall: 8/10 – If you are looking for something to read with your kids, this is definitely it.