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 All news should be considered an unconfirmed report unless verified, and all information published at KISS Asylum is attributed to the source from which it was received so that readers may judge the validity of the statements for themselves. All information is confirmed where possible, and all publication is governed by common sense.
GENE SIMMONS Zipper #4From: GeneSimmons.com Posted: February 13, 2008 Zipper #4 From: IDW/Simmons Comic Group Written by: Tom Waltz Art By: Casey Maloney, Marc Rueda Reviewed by Tim Janson The product of KISS bassist, GENE SIMMONS, Zipper is the tale of alien Xeng Ral, who has fled from his world where individuality is a crime. Escaping to Earth and to the city of Detroit (my hometown), Xeng Ral is befriended by a small time hood, Ronnie, as well as Detroit Police Detective Linda Maki. Xeng’s race, the Etherians, have tracked him to Earth and set four hunters on his trail. They are intent on bringing Xeng back so their collective can be made whole again. With the aid of his friends, Xeng managed to elude the hunters in the third issue. Xeng and the hunters all where cybernetic Exo battle-suits which can cloak their true appearances. The fourth issue opens as the Tang Fe, the Etherian leader, gets an update from his security forces on the status of Xeng Ral. He is none too happy to hear that not only has the fugitive eluded the hunters, but is getting assistance from Earthlings. In order to repair their collective, and send a message to any other member of their race who might seek the same kind of freedom, Tang Fe now orders his hunters to destroy Xeng Ral. As Xeng, Ronnie, and Maki take a breather in a Ypsilanti (that’s a city in Michigan about a half hour outside of Detroit where Eastern Michigan University is located) bar, we finally learn a little bit about the Etherians and Xeng’s function before escaping. He had been an elite planetary guardsman whose sole purpose was to train and defend. We also get to learn a good deal about Detective Maki and her background. While the first three issues of the series featured quite a bit of action, Tom Waltz slows the bus down a bit to develop his main characters and forward the plot. What I though was going to be a somewhat light story has become progressively darker and more violent. The hunters are through playing games and they intend to kill Xeng and will let no one, human or otherwise stand in their way. This book continues to surprise me. It’s well written with fresh and witty dialog. The characters talk and act like real people, not caricatures. Casey Maloney and Marc Rueda’s art continues to impress. I love the stoic, never changing expression on Xeng’s face when he is cloaked as a human. Also had to love the old, chubby waitress in the bar wearing a "Winger" t-shirt. That’s gold! |
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