Interview: KISS� Gene Simmons Coming to Town for Wizard World Comic Con (Apr 7-9)
by Jeremy Housewright / www.reviewstl.com
Rock Icon and Kiss-founder Gene Simmons will be appearing at Wizard World Comic Con St. Louis on Saturday April 8 and Sunday, April 9. Simmons will also play a concert on Friday, April 7 to celebrate his appearance at the convention.
Simmons co-founded KISS 42 years ago. KISS is America�s #1 Gold Record Award Winning Group of all time, in all categories (RIAA). The band, which has sold over 100 million CDs and DVDs worldwide, is celebrating their 43rd anniversary. They continue to sell out stadiums and arenas around the world, breaking box-office records set by Elvis and the Beatles. KISS was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the 2014 induction ceremony, and the band is recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for its pioneering work.
Simmons recently spoke with to ReviewSTL�s Jeremy Housewright about his upcoming appearance at Wizard World, comics, the state of the country and much more.
The Kiss frontman explained what led to him getting involved with Wizard World.
�To further elucidate, which is a big word like gymnasium, I�ve been a comic book geek for longer than you�ve been alive,� Simmons said. �Going all the way back to the 70s, or even when I was a kid, I used to read them veraciously and I still do.�
In the 70s Marvel started the KISS comic series, which was their biggest seller at the time. Throughout the years the KISS comic series has been published by many companies.
�Now, I have the new generation, which is a spectacular hit with Dynamite Comics,� Simmons said. �Along the way, I�ve also started Simmons Comics which also publishes my characters.�
While he will appear for photos and autographs at Wizard World, Simmons will be joined by a live band to play a show on Friday night.
�Wizard World asked me if I wanted to join the convention to appear and answer questions and blow up little balloon animals and make little dog figures out of it, you know,the usual,� he said. �Then the question came up if I could do a few songs. That developed real quickly into why don�t we do it for real, and get a band to do all the hits. That�s how it developed.�
