Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
Preview: Immortal glam rockers take on the undead in Dynamite's new KISS Zombies #1
KISS and comics have a unique symbiotic relationship over the decades, ever since the rowdy rock 'n' roll icons first contributed real drops of their own blood to the printing ink for Marvel Comics Super Special: KISS back in 1977.
Now the Kabuki makeup-wearing band is back in a new post-Halloween horror series from Dynamite arriving on Nov. 6 that's guaranteed to raise the noise level and attract the shuffling undead — and SYFY WIRE has an exclusive look inside its eerie pages alongside comments from its creative team leader.
Written by Ethan Sacks (Old Man Hawkeye, Star Wars) and injected with intense interior art from Rodney Buchemi (Death of Hawkman), colors via Dijo Lima (Assassin's Creed), and letters courtesy of Troy Peteri (Amazing Spider-Man), KISS Zombies is the perfect antidode for a serious Halloween hangover and has been described by Sacks as a fusion of Land of the Dead, A Quiet Place, Seven Samurai, and Footloose. Jump back!
Erupting in the aftermath of Dynamite's KISS: The End, this post-apocalyptic plot is set decades after a violent zombie invasion (is there any other kind?) has transformed humans into an endangered species and the city of New Detroit is under siege. The powers that be have banned all music due to the undead hordes being attracted to sound, and subsequently current leaders have attempted to purge the planet of any evidence that the greatest rock band in history ever existed. Unwilling to exist without music, a gang of rebellious teenagers set out on a dangerous quest to locate KISS and save the world!
"With all due respect to the Beatles, no band is better suited for a visual medium than KISS, with the best aesthetic in rock and roll history," Sacks tells SYFY WIRE. "The costumes and the makeup are perfect for comics … and I’d put their look up against the most iconic of superheroes. But it’s also the attitude: Gene Simmons exudes a demonic energy. They preach a no-compromise mentality with their music that can translate to any genre of adventure comic. It helps that Gene is a huge comic fan himself — encouraging publishers like Dynamite to really take some chances.""Zombies have always been a great horror villain, tapping into our primal fears of the inevitability of death and global pandemics, but also of losing our individuality to the conformity that society encourages," he adds. "There’s a lot to, ahem, chew on.
"I was particularly going for the fear of conformity in this series, and what better foil to fight that than the band that refuses to conform to the status quo! Besides, with all those spikes, KISS was made to bash some zombie skulls!"
Now leap into our exclusive peek at Dynamite's KISS Zombies #1 in the gallery below, then tell us if you think these superstar rockers can provide a sonic solution for the undead apocalypse to come.