Review: Kiss: The Elder, Volume One

Kiss: The Elder, Volume One Kiss: The Elder, Volume One by Amy Chu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an eARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

When browsing through the available titles on NetGalley's website, was there reallly any chance that I'd see this:

and NOT press the "Read Now" button immediately?

Not so much.

I mean, I've been a Kiss fan for as long as I can remember...



So here's a bit of a reboot. That is, a new "version" of the story told on the 1981 album Music from the Elder



It featured hits such as....well...there really weren't any hits. The song "A World Without Heroes" is somewhat well known, but for the most part this was a concept album for the band and a huge departure from their signature sound.

That said, as I dug out my cd of the album and gave it a listen, I was reminded of how it's really not a bad album. Shocking to Kiss fans at the time, there was still some beauty there. This graphic novel captures some of that, telling the story from the perspective of four young folks that are unsatisfied with what their post-apocalyptic, dystopian society has told them life is all about.

As a story in and of itself, The Elder isn't anything remarkable. But what makes this memorable are the references to the band itself and its legacy, and the way that is all tied into the "history" of this tale.

The art is fantastic, both of the futuristic society and in the iconic images. It's definitely worth a read, especially by a Kiss fan.

Maybe only by a Kiss fan. But still...

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