Posted in: Comics | Tagged:

Ethan Sacks' Writer's Commentary on Kiss: Zombies #3 – Land Of The Dead Meet Footloose

Published Mon, 17 Feb 2020 12:00:41 -0600

Ethan Sacks has his writer's commentary on Kiss: Zombies #3, on sale now from Dynamite, to share. If you have one to share, why not send it to richjohnston@bleedingcool.com?

Page 1

My original pitch for KISS: Zombies was Romero's "Land of the Dead" meets "Seven Samurai" meets "A Quiet Place" meets "Footloose." If you can picture that hellish stew, then you have a sense of the tone of the saga: The members of KISS are awakened from cryogenic sleep 70 years into a zombie apocalypse with the catch being that the zombies are attracted to sound. That means the powers that be left behind in civilization are not exactly thrilled to have a rock n' roll band arrive to throw the status quo in chaos. The Leader may project intimidation, but he's clearly scared of what Demon, Starchild, Catman and Spaceman represent — and not just the danger of their loud music drawing zombies. They are, in his mind, a threat to his position of power.

Page 2

This whole issue is my love letter to the master of horror, George Romero, who is as responsible as anyone for breathing life (if you will) into the zombie genre. There's the obvious tribute of his name on the mailbox, but also the members of KISS and the three teens that woke them are seeking refuge in a house that bears quite the resemblance to the one from "Night of the Living Dead." Artist Rodney Buscemi nailed the Easter eggs, down to the weird gas pump that plays a part in the movie.

Page 3

Yup, those people hiding out in the house may have been a tad inspired by the characters in that 1968 classic film. But the main stars of this page are the bad guys of the issue, the Big Pig and his weird band of survivors. They've found a way to herd zombies using sounds and use it to terrorize outsiders. Seventy years after the apocalypse started, the new world order has altered many of the survivors for the worst. There are monsters out there of the living variety, too.

Page 4

I wanted to give each of the members of KISS their own solos, if you will. And one of the visuals I loved was the idea of Ace killing zombies by smashing a guitar over a head and then using the broken guitar neck to stab one in the face. God, I love how Rodney rendered those panels.

Panel 5

One member of the band, our band, that needs to get a lot more credit is colorist Dijjo Lima, who does an amazing job setting the mood. On this page, take a look at those zombies lumbering toward the reader. It really looks like they shuffled straight out of a horror movie, like they're lit by the glow from an old bunny-eared television set in a dark living room.

Panel 6

My personal love of KISS started when I was very young, around four years old, seeing them on my older cousin's vinyl album covers. Gene Simmons, aka Demon, in particular scared me, but in a good way. I was so fascinated with that look. For this scene, I wanted to capture that feeling when he surprises that masked guard by popping out of the shadows.

Panel 7

We settled on the idea of masks for this band of evil survivors to both project that there's something seriously wrong with them and to make them a little scary. It's clear they've given up their humanity. But because they're wearing masks, they are devoid of emotional expression. Take the bunny, for example. The mask seems to suggest that she's content, but the eyes betray the terror she feels as she realizes they're all dead….

Page 8

Take a long look at the fiery explosion: This is an art team in complete sync – each lick of flame looks unique, both in lifework and in color. But there's also the amazing lettering work by Troy Peteri. You can really feel that combustion, while the letters don't overshadow the art.

Panel 9

The mark of how good Buscemi is as an artist is all the background detail he puts into every panel. In fact, he draws some of his friends as zombies, which is why they have such distinctive, nuanced faces. He doesn't do faceless hordes. It all feels so real. Also, while KISS are the heroes of the story, I wanted to make sure that the teenagers who freed them contained at least one P.O.V. (Point of View) figure to whom the reader could relate. So Laila, an important character in the series, gets to help save the day here with her smarts and courage.

Page 10

It was important to me, from my very first pitch to our amazing editor Kevin Ketner, that KISS not be supernatural heroes. That they be "normal" humans. Sure, they're extra special, but they don't have powers to blast their way out of danger. So, in this scene, the reader should be afraid as Ace and others are swarmed by the zombie horde. They can die just like the rest of the characters.

Page 11

Now, just because they're human, doesn't mean they aren't badass heroes: Starchild gets to play the hero in this scene, ending the Big Pig's reign of terror with a well-aimed tour bus. Yup, having the impact from the bus cut short the villain in mid-monologue was intentional.

Page 12

For the first time in the saga, our heroes have a second to catch their breathe and decide what they want to do next. They have no interest, however, in getting dragged into the problems of New Detroit, the settlement from where Laila, Crusher and Hank have come. This is where the creative team needed to wrangle them and get them back on track despite the characters' obvious reluctance. So, we remind them and the reader that there was a mysterious message out of Cleveland that led the teens to KISS's cryogenic tubes under Madison Square Garden. KISS, not knowing about that message, are determined to follow this lead. The quest continues!

Page 13

But before they go too far, they need to restock some supplies. And that gave me the second opportunity to declare my undying love for Romero. The shopping mall sequence is an obvious tip of the bloody scalp to "Dawn of the Dead."

Page 14-15

Zombie aficionados know that the 1978 film is a little social commentary on consumer culture. Our scene is more a commentary on how integral "Dawn of the Dead" is in our personal pop culture canons. It also gave Rodney a chance to really showcase his artistic skills with zombies even further.

Page 16

There's just too many of them! So KISS and the teens have to run… and climb to the second level courtesy of a half-destroyed staircase. Seems like there was a great battle here and the survivors, at least while they survived, tried to hold out upstairs. I have this whole backstory in my head about what happened to those survivors once they ran out of supplies. Suffice to say we see one of them soon…

Page 17

As KISS and the two teens in the mall split up, I wanted to let audiences get to know Hank, the third teen who's often cast as a a third wheel since Laila and Crusher are a couple. But he's got a good heart and when he sees a baseball bat in the window, he thinks it would be a good gift for his best friend, Crusher. He's always thinking about others. True confession: I wanted readers to really like him before…before….well, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Page 18

It's hard to do jump scares in a 2-D medium, but I was determined to insert some of them to make this feel like a horror movie and I'm armed with Rodney Buscemi, who can do anything. This zombie that pops out and is entangled in the net is one of the aforementioned survivors. Or was. Also, this was a good chance to give Hank a much deserved hero's moment as he whacks the zombie on the head.

Page 19

And here's the big shocker of the issue: Hank walks in and discovers Crusher in communications with the Leader back home. Turns out Crusher is a sort of double agent and the reason the Leader seems to know so much. It's a case of the misguided lad thinking he's doing what's best for the love of his life, Laila, when in reality he's making everything so much worse. Crusher just sees KISS as a threat to the status quo, even if hiding behind giant walls and living life quietly is — the furthest thing from the lyrics to Rock and Roll All Nite — not a great status quo. When Hank threatens to tell Laila, Crusher does not hesitate to attack him.

Page 20

So, Hank falls to his death. I wanted it to be heartbreaking. Crusher realizes he really didn't want to do it… even to protect his secret. He just panicked. But it's too late. I also wanted to emphasize the stakes of living (and dying) in a zombie apocalypse. These aren't seven people just running from adventure to adventure. Some of them are not going to make it.