Issue #6: "Whatever Happened To Heroes?"

"Whatever happened to heroes?"

"Whatever happened to heroes?
Whatever happened to dreams?
No one wants to be young anymore;
No one wants to have fun anymore.
Whatever happened to innocence?
Whatever happened to real romance?
What the hell happened to us?
Whatever happened to fun?"
--from "Whatever Happened to Fun?" by Candy.

About 15 years ago I was working in a comic-book shop in Yellow Springs, Ohio (Darkstar Comics; in fact, it's still there). I worked with a friend and we were having a conversation about the comics then coming out. At one point I mentioned that I was reading the current issues of IRON MAN, which were dealing with a storyline that hit upon alcoholism.

At that point, my friend became very heated in his reaction. He hated the new issues of IRON MAN because the storyline dealt with Tony Stark, the character who was the superhero Iron Man, becoming an alcoholic. My friend's feelings were that a hero is not someone that is an alcoholic. It is someone to aspire to, to look up at and wish you could be like. A story about a man who cannot control his liquor-intake was not a story that should be told in a superhero comic book.

I disagreed with him, while agreeing at the same time. Superhero comics are supposed to be something that are entertaining in their way, but they can also strive to talk about the human condition and how we overcome the obstacles in our lives. Tony Stark was not going to just be a drunkard for the duration of the comic until the end of time; the writers merely wanted to show how alcoholism was something that takes time to build up in a person and how low it can take someone before they realize they have a problem. That was why the storyline was being drawn out over several issues. Yet, ultimately, the storyline would show how Stark was able to pick himself back up and build himself up to where he could look at himself again in triumph and pride.

To me, that was the real heroic accomplishment of the character, and the real message that the comic was trying to make: Yes, alcoholism can strike anyone -- you, me, the rich hero, anyone -- and anyone can suffer a fall from grace in their lives no matter where they are. The thing to do though, is to be able to pull through the problems and build yourself back up. In my eyes, that was what Stark was to do (and, as it turned out, that was exactly what happened to the character in the comic over the space of a couple of years). Thus, Stark becomes a true hero by facing his demons and accomplishing a greater goal.

This conversation came to me as I was looking at some of the new PSYCHO CIRCUS stuff that has been coming out for the new tour -- the comics, the action figures, some of the rumors of what the new tour is supposed to be like, etc. I've been looking at a few of the comics and frankly, I'm hoping against hopes that the album and tour will be nothing like them.

Why? Because I just don't see where the band is being portrayed as heroes. In fact, I really don't see them being portrayed as anything. The comics do seem to have KISS in there somewhere each issue, but the actions of the characters are that of a greek chorus to incidental characters. Where's the motivation of the KISS characters? What is driving them besides their own elemental forces that they are portraying? Where the character-development? Where is anything?

KISS in comics should be a chance to expand upon the four individuals personalities in the band. There should be a sense that these are characters that have a reason for being together and a chance to grow and learn something due to their adventures. Instead, I see a comic that allows the creators to simply use the foursome as narrators to the actions of others. Sorry, but that doesn't really grip me.

(Off-the-topic a bit, but I'm also disappointed to see that the comic seems to be basing their whole premise of a variation of THE LAST TEMPTATION comics that came out a few years ago by Neil Gaiman and Alice Cooper. Especially as Gaiman and Cooper really grasped the subject and made an excellent three-part series out of the idea of the premise. This is just my opinion, but I can only see it in these terms.)

Yet, mainly I'm disappointed in the comics because KISS are not heroes. They do not strive to achieve anything, they do not motivate, they do not teach, they simply . . . are. The whole motivation of the comic seems to be to portray the KISS members as dark, menacing and uncontrollable or unworldly. They are god-like in nature, and that simply is not KISS. KISS has always been, until recently at least, about having fun, being positive and getting people to dance. That is what the KISS members in a comic should be about also -- being heroes. (Okay, maybe not dancing, but they should at least be positive and motivational.)

I've seen the new toys and I just think the attempt to make them look menacing is just funny. KISS should not be the monsters, they should be the heroes. Why are they built like they have all eaten a few hundred pounds of steroids? Why are they all so monster-like? It just doesn't make any sense in the larger scheme of things.

And can the band possibly be planning an album around a comic that merely guest-stars them? Planning a tour around some action figures that don't even look like them? (Can you imagine the type of makeup Gene would need to look anywhere close to what his new doll looks like? Can you imagine how laughable it would look in the flesh?) I would like to think that KISS is smarter than that; merely using the title because it has been advertised in its own way via the comic book. I certainly do not think such ideas as basing an album and tour around the comic is a good idea. It's too dark and confusing to try and express in the form of a 90 minute show. If they try, I think you will see the audience merely confused by it and will just find it laughable. Nothing wrong with the idea, but I just don't think the audience for a KISS show are really going to be into seeing the "spooky" KISS guys telling a story. They want the heroes that they remembered, not the monsters from today.

Since KISS seems to want to bring Broadway to the rock and roll stage for a tour, it reminds me of an old story about Al Jolson. Jolson was to appear in a new Broadway musical and several months were spent getting the show ready with actors, musicians, a book and lyrics, etc. Finally on opening night, the curtain went up and Jolson came out. However, instead of beginning the first line of the musical, Jolson walked to the center of the stage, turned to the audience and said, "Tell you what folks, in Act Three I get the girl. Now do you want to see this or do you want to hear me sing "Swanee?"

The audience went nuts and Jolson played out the next several weeks with a show featuring just him doing his hits. That's what the audience wanted to see and what they paid to see and hear.

Ultimately, I think the same holds true for KISS. Sure, play some new stuff; in fact, play some of the stuff from the 1980s or from Peter's and/or Ace's solo careers while you're at it. But when I throw down my money for the next album or the next tour, I expect to get great rock music and a fun show, not the latest storyline of a comic book. I think the majority of the audience will be expecting the same.

We'll see what happens, but I'm already starting to miss the days of old when KISS was a superhero group that played music. Now they simply . . . are.

I think I'll go and dig out those old IRON MAN comics again.

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