Disappointed is the word that comes to mind with KISS Kompendium. The main reason why I picked it up in the first place was A) I'm a huge fan of KISS and B) I'm a huge fan of Angel Medina. The idea of turning the KISS characters into characters not of this world, a creation that serves itself well. I certainly like the idea of using them as 'God-like' beings that were more supernatural in presentation instead of the typical 'KISS guys turn into superheroes and battle monsters' angle that the first couple of comics took. It was hokey and just didn't work for me.

So, the idea of this new take would fly right? Well, yes and no. I like the new direction of where they took the characters, but I thought the writing was beyond sub-par with no foresight in creating some sort of mythology for the 'Four as one. The art by Angel and his successor Clayton Crain was fantastic and the one area where the original issues of Psycho Circus shined. It's the writing that truly cripples itself in the end. First off, there are far too many stand alone issues. Granted there were a few that had two part stories. But as a whole, there really was no connection from one issue to the next, so it never was building toward something much larger, which is what I was hoping to get. Also, the writing itself was somewhat of a rehash and too similar to Spawn and not even close to being as good either.

The issues that came after the final installment of Psycho Circus was really bad, both in writing as well as art. It was enough for me to decide to throw in the towel and not bother trying to finish the book. No need to mention how weak the first two issues are that open the book. It was from the 70's so I can give it a pass. Kinda. The book is worth a Rent from the Library if you're looking for some cool art to feast your eyes on. Just don't expect much of anything else. 3 Stars out of 5.