Kiss: Psycho Circus

Comic book series

This article is about the comic book. For the album, see Psycho Circus. For the video game, see Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child.

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Kiss: Psycho Circus

Cover of the first issue

Publication information
Publisher| Image Comics
Schedule| Monthly
Publication date| 1997–2000
No. of issues| 31
Main character(s)| Kiss
Creative team
Written by| Brian Holguin
Penciller(s)| Angel Medina
Inker(s)| Kevin Conrad
Letterer(s)| Kiff Scholl, Richard Starkings
Colorist(s)| Brian Haberlin, Dan Kemp, Andy Troy

Kiss: Psycho Circus is a comic book series published by American companies Image Comics and Todd McFarlane Productions. It was written by Brian Holguin and illustrated by various artists, including pencillers Angel Medina and Clayton Crain with inker Kevin Conrad. It portrays the members of the rock band Kiss as supernatural beings known as the Four-Who-Are-One or The Elder: the Demon (Gene Simmons), the Starbearer (Paul Stanley), the King of Beasts or Beastking (Peter Criss) and the Celestial (Ace Frehley).

## Background and creation[edit]

For over two decades, comics featuring Kiss were published exclusively by Marvel Comics. Kiss decided to switch to Todd McFarlane Productions out of admiration for their series Spawn.[1] Gene Simmons said that "The concept came from us. 'The Psycho Circus' is a tour theme we're working on, and we may even use the title for an album."[1]

Kiss were also involved in plotting the comic, according to Simmons: "I throw something to Todd, he throws it back. I'm always kept in the loop, but I leave Todd to his own devices when it comes to actual production and taking things the final step."[1]

## Characters[edit]

The following descriptions are taken from the comic:

The Demon - Lord of the Wasteland \- Creature of fire and shadow, blood and thunder. He embodies vengeance and terror, the darkest impulses of mortal souls, but also the purgative flames of rebirth, destruction that proceeds creation. His is the element of fire.

Host: Johnathon Blackwell the Ringmaster

The Starbearer - Prince of Hearts \- He who draws from the deep wells of the soul and emotion, bringer of passion and pain. He can move a heart to tender love or murderous rage. His is the element of water.

Host: Fortunado L'Etoile the Jester

King of Beasts - Lord of the Hunt \- Personifies the primal animal instinct, the rough beast that stirs in each of us. Embracing instinct rather than intellect, he knows neither cruelty nor mercy. His is the element of earth.

Host: Tiberius MacLir the Animal Wrangler

The Celestial - Scion of the Cosmos \- Represents the principles of universal balance, the ultimate harmony of the cosmos. Observes situations dispassionately and sees all sides of a dilemma. His is the element of air.

Host: Matthew Stargrave the Stiltwalker

Adam Moon Adam Moon is a supporting character that's reappeared multiple times in the series, including in issue 1 and 2 and 29, 30, 31. He is a young boy whose dad beats him and hates his life and town. The Demon was the member of the Elder that reached out to him.

Kismet Kismet is a "disappearing girl" who's had weird dreams about running down a hall, putting on a mask and coming to a door with the Elder sigils on it. She reappears multiple times in the comics, but first appears in issue 4. She becomes a member of the circus.

Madam Raven A witch who is damned to the Psycho Circus. She is usually the first member of the circus to speak to any mortal character, and is a Fortune Teller at the circus. She appears in almost every issue, and is one of the biggest characters in the comics.

## Video game[edit]

The comic book spawned the first-person shooter video game Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child, which featured many characters from the comic book. It was released on PC and later ported to Dreamcast. It was very popular among Kiss fans but critically it sits with an average score of 71% for the PC version[2] and 52% on Dreamcast[3] according to GameRankings.

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c McLauchlin, Jim (August 1997). "Todd Lures KISS to McFarlane Productions". Wizard. No. 72\. p. 24.
2. ^ "KISS: Psycho Circus - The Nightmare Child for PC - GameRankings". gamerankings.com. GameRankings. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
3. ^ "KISS: Psycho Circus for Dreamcast - GameRankings". gamerankings.com. GameRankings. Retrieved 30 July 2009.

## External links[edit]

* A Kiss: Psycho Circus site by Spacebass at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
* Kiss: Psycho Circus at spawn.com
* Kiss @ comicbookdb

* v
* t
* e

Kiss

* Paul Stanley
* Gene Simmons
* Peter Criss
* Ace Frehley
* Eric Carr
* Vinnie Vincent
* Mark St. John
* Bruce Kulick
* Eric Singer
* Tommy Thayer

Studio albums|

* Kiss
* Hotter than Hell
* Dressed to Kill
* Destroyer
* Rock and Roll Over
* Love Gun
* Dynasty
* Unmasked
* Music from "The Elder"
* Creatures of the Night
* Lick It Up
* Animalize
* Asylum
* Crazy Nights
* Hot in the Shade
* Revenge
* Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions
* Psycho Circus
* Sonic Boom
* Monster

1978 solo albums|

* Ace Frehley
* Gene Simmons
* Paul Stanley
* Peter Criss

Live albums|

* Alive!
* Alive II
* Alive III
* Kiss Unplugged
* You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!
* Kiss Symphony: Alive IV
* Kiss Instant Live
* Alive! The Millennium Concert
* Kiss Alive 35
* Kiss Sonic Boom Over Europe
* Kiss Rocks Vegas

Compilations|

* Double Platinum
* Killers
* Chikara
* Smashes, Thrashes & Hits
* Greatest Kiss
* The Very Best of Kiss
* The Millennium Collection: The Best of Kiss
* The Best of Kiss, Volume 2: The Millennium Collection
* Gold
* The Best of Kiss, Volume 3: The Millennium Collection
* Jigoku-Retsuden
* Kiss 40

Box sets|

* The Originals
* The Box Set
* Kiss Chronicles: 3 Classic Albums
* Kiss Alive! 1975–2000
* Ikons

Video albums|

* Animalize Live Uncensored
* Exposed
* Crazy Nights
* X-treme Close-Up
* Kiss Konfidential
* Kiss My Ass: The Video
* Kiss Unplugged
* Psycho Circus 3-D Video
* The Second Coming
* Kiss Symphony: The DVD
* Rock the Nation Live!
* Kissology Volume One: 1974–1977
* Kissology Volume Two: 1978–1991
* Kissology Volume Three: 1992–2000
* Kiss Rocks Vegas

Tribute albums|

* Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation
* Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved
* A Tribute to the Creatures of the Night
* Kiss My Grass: A Hillbilly Tribute to Kiss
* Spin the Bottle: An All-Star Tribute to Kiss
* Gods of Thunder: A Norwegian Tribute to Kiss
* Lick It Up – A Millennium Tribute to Kiss
* Kiss My Ankh

Concert tours|

* Club Tour
* Kiss Tour
* Hotter than Hell Tour
* Dressed to Kill Tour
* Alive! Tour
* Destroyer Tour
* Rock & Roll Over Tour
* Love Gun Tour
* Alive II Tour
* Dynasty Tour
* Unmasked Tour
* Creatures of the Night Tour
* Lick It Up World Tour
* Animalize World Tour
* Asylum Tour
* Crazy Nights World Tour
* Hot in the Shade Tour
* Revenge Tour
* Kiss My Ass Tour
* Alive/Worldwide Tour
* Psycho Circus World Tour
* The Farewell Tour
* Alive 35 World Tour
* Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour
* The Hottest Show on Earth Tour
* The Tour
* Monster World Tour
* Kiss 40th Anniversary World Tour
* Freedom to Rock Tour
* Kissworld Tour
* End of the Road World Tour

Films|

* Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park
* Detroit Rock City
* Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery

Merchandising|

* Action figures
* Comics
* Kiss: Psycho Circus
* Pinball
* Pinball video game
* Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child
* Kiss Kasket
* Kiss by Monster Mini-Golf
* Los Angeles Kiss
* Bibliography

Related|

| Management|

* Bill Aucoin
* Doc McGhee

|

Songwriters|

* Bryan Adams
* Jean Beauvoir
* Michael Bolton
* Desmond Child
* Karl Cochran
* Stephen Coronel
* Sean Delaney
* Kim Fowley
* Bob Halligan Jr.
* Mikel Japp
* Holly Knight
* Bob Kulick
* Gerard McMahon
* Adam Mitchell
* Tony Powers
* Lou Reed
* Kane Roberts
* Jaime St. James
* Davitt Sigerson
* Ken Tamplin
* Bruce Turgon
* Jim Vallance
* Diane Warren

Articles|

* Discography
* Band members
* Songs
* Awards
* Kiss Army
* Operation Payback
* "Road to Europe"
* Rock School
* Gene Simmons Family Jewels
* The Elder

Bands|

* Black 'n Blue
* Black Sabbath
* Chelsea
* Eric Singer Project
* Frehley's Comet
* Grand Funk Railroad
* Mini Kiss
* Union
* Vinnie Vincent Invasion
* White Tiger
* Wicked Lester

Albums|

* Anomaly
* Asshole
* Cat #1
* Gene Simmons Vault
* Let Me Rock You
* Live to Win
* One for All
* Out of Control
* The Original Wicked Lester Sessions
* Origins Vol. 1
* Origins Vol. 2
* Rockology
* Space Invader
* Spaceman
* Trouble Walkin'
* Unfinished Business

* Category

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