Kiss: Psycho Circus
Encyclopedia
Kiss Psycho Circus is a comic book series published by Image Comics
and Todd McFarlane
Productions. It was written by Brian Holguin
and illustrated by various artists, including penciller
s 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
).
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
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.
, but is much more closely related to Music from "The Elder" however, they both play big roles in the comic's creation. Music from "the Elder" has a song titled "Mr. Blackwell," a reference to Jonathan Blackwell. 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 the PC and later ported to the Dreamcast. It was very popular among Kiss fans but critically it sits with an average score of 71% for the PC version and 52% on the Dreamcast according to GameRankings.
The Psycho Circus album (first release by original line up in many years) was based very loosely on the concept of the Psycho Circus comic book (Image).
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
and Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
Productions. It was written by Brian Holguin
Brian Holguin
Brian Holguin is an American writer who works in the comics industry. He is known for his work on Aria and Todd McFarlane's Spawn.He also wrote Spawn: Godslayer, a dark fantasy re-imagining of Spawn.-Aria :...
and illustrated by various artists, including penciller
Penciller
A penciller is an artist who works in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms.The penciller is the first step in rendering the story in visual form and may require several steps of feedback with the writer. These artists are concerned with layout to showcase...
s Angel Medina
Angel Medina (artist)
Angel Medina is a comic book artist known for his work for various comic book companies, including Megaton Comics, First Comics, Marvel Comics, and Image Comics.-Career:...
and Clayton Crain
Clayton Crain
Clayton Crain is an American comic book artist, who primarily uses digital painting techniques in his art.He is best known for his works on Ghost Rider: Road to Damnation, Venom vs. Carnage and Sensational Spider-Man Clayton Crain is an American comic book artist, who primarily uses digital...
with inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
Kevin Conrad. It portrays the members of the rock band Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
as supernatural beings known as the Four-Who-Are-One or The Elder:
the Demon (Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
), the Starbearer (Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley
Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
), the King of Beasts or Beastking (Peter Criss
Peter Criss
George Peter John Criscuola , better known as Peter Criss, is an American drummer and singer, best known as the original drummer for the rock band Kiss...
) and the Celestial (Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
).
The Four Who Are One
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
Other characters
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 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.
Related
Kiss: Psycho Circus was easily one of the most popular Kiss comic books. It was spun off the Kiss album Psycho CircusPsycho Circus
Psycho Circus is the 18th studio album by American band Kiss. The album features the original four members back together, and in full make-up....
, but is much more closely related to Music from "The Elder" however, they both play big roles in the comic's creation. Music from "the Elder" has a song titled "Mr. Blackwell," a reference to Jonathan Blackwell. The comic book spawned the first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child
KISS: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child
KISS: Psycho Circus - The Nightmare Child is a first person shooter computer game developed by Third Law Interactive and published by Gathering of Developers for the PC in August 2000. It was also released later that year for the Dreamcast following a port by Tremor Entertainment...
, which featured many characters from the comic book. It was released on the PC and later ported to the Dreamcast. It was very popular among Kiss fans but critically it sits with an average score of 71% for the PC version and 52% on the Dreamcast according to GameRankings.
The Psycho Circus album (first release by original line up in many years) was based very loosely on the concept of the Psycho Circus comic book (Image).