Today's blog entry was essentially inspired by a purchase from a thirty-one cent comic bin. (Yeah, the comic store that's nearest to my girlfriend has $0.31 bins of backstock. Not quite a quarter bin, but you can still buy three comics for a dollar, which in my cash-crunched days, can still be a treat!) I've only heard-tell about this book in various circles, and did at LEAST see the cover to prove its existence. But this book is one of the earlier examples of today's subject: celebrities that are deemed SO hot, that their marketing existence spreads beyond music and mere movies. Indeed, they ALSO will find their homes in the world of comic books. I'll save commentary for the impetus issue for my last mention, but we lead in with two examples of then-and-"now" interpretations of celebrities featured in their own comics. Strangely enough, the one comic I bought that DID inspire this whole piece is the ONLY movie-star that I'll be talking about. Oh sure... the two other prime examples DID have "big screen time", and one certainly did LEAGUES better with an on-and-off acting career than the entirety of the other, but my key had their foot well in the major motion picture door. Anyways, time to cut the preamble, and get into gear!
As an "introductory" piece, I have to mention the importance of Superman in the world of real-life celebrities being featured in the world of comics. For his title, alone, we saw the four-color cameos of professional wrestler, Antonio Rocca, legendary actor/director Orson Welles, and even Alan Fundt, host of "CANDID CAMERA". It was even the influence of Superman that caused Richard Pryor to star in "Superman 3"... which I still feel so bad for him over, because I can admire his fandom of the Man of Steel... but there's NO excusing "Superman 3" for my reckoning. (I'll have to hold a special blog entry for the Superman film legacy.) Even Superman's "family members" got into the act, with a certain lady I'll be discussing tomorrow, and her meeting Perry Cuomo. And that annoying red-headed JERK, Jimmy Olsen, crossed over with... of all people... Don Rickles and his relative "Goody" Rickles. (But it was brought to life by Jack "King" Kirby as part of his "Fourth World" Saga, so it's all good.) And who can forget Superman's one BIG one-on-one clash with the biggest boxing star of all time? So large that it could not be contained by a mere regular-sized comic? No siree bob... This collision of megaliths HAD to take place in a tabloid-sized DC Limited Collector's Edition, under the scripting of Dennis O'Neil and artwork of Neil Adams!
But let's turn to the Marvel side of the equation. Referring back to my experience reading Stan Howe's "Marvel Comics: the Untold History", Stan Lee was REGULARLY courting celebrities, who were taken in by Marvel's revolutionary tone in the 1960's. But it wasn't until 1977 that... after LONG negotiations between Stan Lee and the featured band... Steve Gerber was granted the go-ahead to create the comic event that shook the heavens... or at least partially rusted the printing press that they apparently "dropped some of their blood" into for promotional reasons.
Steve Gerber, before this book, ALSO covertly managed to sneak in KISS into a pair of "Howard the Duck" issues, but according to that aforementioned non-fiction book, a lot of Gerber's "Howard" material was under the editorial radar, and managed to get away with A LOT. But when KISS' "Marvel Comics Super Special" came out, this was to be a less subversive affair, and more of a traditional super-heroic tale. ... As far as a team of superheroes made up of darkly glammed-up Hard Rockers can be. (Need further proof? Try and test yourself with a viewing of "KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park" to see that the band may have the comic book look, but MAYBE not quite the stuff in-person...) The basic concept of the story is we're given an "origin story" for KISS, with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley running into Shazam... er, I mean random mystic wizard guy... who grants them mystic totems. (The background story is that these good ole' lads of KISS just want to become something better than what their parents want them to be. Ironic that Gene laments about his dad wanting him to become an accountant, because in REAL-LIFE, Mr. Simmons would LIVE and BREATHE anything money-related....) But all is not well with the "Greatest Rock and Roll Band EVARRR!", because aside from having to deal with mixed reactions from the Marvel Universe Heroes, they have to square off against my number one Marvel baddie... DOCTOR DOOM! Okay... so Gene Simmons also gets to fight Mephisto, as well, but c'mon... VICTOR VON DOOM! ... Who is promptly defeated by Paul Stanley, who uses his psychic powers to force Doom to relive his cruddy life. Ah well, not quite the apocalyptic clash between the band that made Detroit a Rock City, and the supreme monarch of Latveria, but it was a noble intention... As was the second time KISS showed up to rock out the "House of Ideas".
It's the 90's, KISS was not only reuniting the four founding members, they were ALSO going to put on their famous stage makeup and costumes, which had been dormant since the MTV age. What better way for a HOT nostalgic wave to re-enter comic books than by crossing over with THE HOTTEST team of the 90's, the X-Men! The first... and as far as I'm aware, only... issue of KISSNation featured an extra-length original story featuring the band meeting Marvel's Merry Mutants. ... I sadly remember jack and poop about this story, aside from I DO know that Gene Simmons and Wolverine butt heads a teensy bit. (And while I do rag a bit on Logan in this blog, in this case... Go ahead, you Canuck; cut off Simmons' tongue. I IMPLORE you to do so!) But after the "Psycho Circus" album launched, KISS left Marvel for greener pastures; the era's "Hot" company, Image. There, Gene Simmons partnered up with Todd McFarlane's studio, and they produced the "KISS: Psycho Circus" comic series. I will give credit to this book where credit is due; at least it had some VERY awesome artwork by Angel Medina. But if you wanted a comic that was essentially "Sandman", only with a gimmicky rock band filling in the shoes of Morpheus... go ahead. I do know both Marvel books, and the ENTIRETY of the Image series were collected into one immense omnibus that I did read through a library check-out. And KISS still parties on the comic shelves, with as of recent years, running into that famous... and in an alternate universe, now DECEASED... Riverdale teenager, Archie Andrews! (What with KISS and the Punisher crossing into Archie's universe, I'm actually shocked that Evil Ernie hasn't shown up there, yet! ... Wait, you mean there's an "Archie" ZOMBIE COMIC SERIES? Okay... surprise blown...) But that's not the only "shock rocker" to show up under the Marvel banner. Nor, indeed, the only one to receive TWO shots of Marvel creativity!
"Marvel Premiere #50" detailed the trials and tribulations of Alice Cooper, as we find out that in-between shows, instead of living the rather self-destructive life that Alice was REALLY suffering from in that time-span... and don't worry, folks; he got better and has stayed clean ever SINCE!... Alice Cooper is REGULARLY imprisoned in a lunatic asylum! He encounters the standard roll call of twisted doctors who want to "cure" him, rather hot nurses that can be easy to manipulate their sympathies, and fun loonies to interact with. Alice Cooper, obviously, would rather just spend his free time wandering the streets while waiting for the next gig to start... and he DOES escape for an extended period of time for the story... but it's back to the straight-jacket and rubber room at the end. Fun personal fact about this comic: I read the ENTIRETY of this book in the days before comic book... ahem... "sharing" became popular on the Internet. I believe I found a ZIP file that contained sequential JPEGs of this long hard-to-find book. Heck, I still believe it is FAR from a cheap comic to purchase, but while it's rather more quirky than the usual Marvel fare, it's still worth a read. I guess Alice Cooper actually brings out the best in odd interpretations, as our next example illustrates.
Alice Cooper had a BIG project lined up, in that his 90's album, "The Last Temptation of Alice Cooper", was a grand return to the concept album approach. He wanted the story that the album told to receive a little extra background, so cue Marvel Comics, again. But this time out, Alice had a more direct intention on who he wanted to write the story. Enter comic, and novel, uber-writer Neil Gaiman, who brought with him one of his more frequent artistic collaborators, Michael Zulli. In the pages of "The Last Temptation", a misguided young boy named Stephen... (Maybe you remember him in "Welcome to My Nightmare")... has trouble coping with all the changes in his life. Enter the mystical "Showman"... who bears an UNCANNY resemblance to a Mister Cooper... and his Theater of the Real, to showcase the TRUE horrors of existence, and maybe give Stephen a nudge in a certain direction. Is it for the good, or is it for the side of apparent wickedness that the Showman seemingly represents? ... This book I REFUSE to spoil for anyone who hasn't read it, because while it's not often discussed with Gaiman's other works of comic fiction, I still feel it's more than a worthwhile read, so check it out! Now, we reach the conclusion of my coverage. The book that inspired this topic as a whole...
For those of who who have NO IDEA who Sybil Danning is... Shame on you! You've obviously missed out on such performances as the Space Valkyrie from "Battle Beyond the Stars", Linda Blair's prison rival in "Chained Heat", Ariadne from the Luigi Cozzi/Lou Ferrigno "Hercules"... and most importantly, her role in "Howling 2: Your Sister Is A Werewolf", where the scene where she tears off her top, and exposes her... ahem... "assets" is probably repeated 20 times during the closing credits scene montages. AC Comics is a company that may be best known for launching the series, "Femforce", and also reprinting a metric TON of 40's and 50's "good girl" comics. "Black Diamond" was a comic series that was meant to tie into a purported film production starring our lady Danning. In the comic, we follow the adventures of covert agent Tianna Matthews, as she fights the forces of global terror. Only I remember her main threat in this book is a lot of scantily-clad female terrorists lead by a REALLY hot red-headed terrorist. An interesting thing about Tianna is that, for being involved in such a lethal field of work, she tends to favor non-lethal solutions. During a major airport battle sequence, she uses on her enemies a dart gun... that apparently shoots claw-like sleeping darts. That's all well and good, but I still think a dart to the FACE is not going to just settle for "peaceful slumber". At the conclusion of the book, we are left with an impression that we would see further adventures of Tianna Matthews in future issues to come. As far as I know, the number one issue I own may as well be a ONE-SHOT for potential future issue availability.
There are still tons of celebrity comics I've yet to explore... one personal "Holy Grail" is a Billy Ray Cyrus comic I've seen a cover for on various Facebook groups... but this is just a simple sampling. Because if there's a means to finding another way to spreading your mass appeal, then a wise celebrity would seek to take advantage of that. Cue comic books as a potential venue that is STILL used to this very day! (Need I mention the FLOOD of appearances by Barack Obama in comics during his initial Presidential election?)
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