KISS's Gene Simmons Whips Up the Heat with Sexy Comic, Dominatrix

No-holds-barred first arc of sultry superhero to be released as trade paperback in April

Rock legend Gene Simmons' Dominatrix, his leather-clad heroine with an attitude, promises not only compelling action but also to raise thermometers a degree or two when she hits store shelves this April as a trade paperback from IDW Publishing (www.idwpublishing.com) and Simmons Comics Group (www.Simmons-Comics.com). This is definitely not your father's comic book. The ground-breaking first arc tells the story of a professional dominatrix, Dominique Stern, who becomes ensnared in a world of government cover-ups and international conspiracies. Simmons describes the story as "T&A meets CIA."

The TPB, which includes six stories that were originally run as individual comics issues, is written by Sean Taylor, who also authored Fishnet Angel, and is illustrated by artists Flavio Hoffe and Esteve Polls (who also illustrated a tale in the debut Simmons Comics Group release, Gene Simmons House of Horrors). Adding to the package is a new introduction from Gene Simmons; a photo collage from a Dominatrix party featuring Gene and some real-life dominatrices; an art gallery with all of the original cover art; and an outro and new Dominatrix prose story by Taylor.

Dominatrix is the story of Dominique Stern. After a client loses his composure during an intense session and blurts out top-secret information, Dominique finds herself a reluctant superhero who must save herself, her friends, the jerk who got her into the mess, and quite possibly her country.

"'Dominatrix' came to me in a flash," says Simmons. "Comic books and pop culture in general have always toyed around with the leather/rubber-bound heroine. It's sexy and kick-ass. [But] they always skirted the sexuality issue. I decided to meet it head-on, so to speak."

Simmons based the character on a semi-real dominatrix he knows socially. "After talking with her about the lifestyle," he says, "[I] combined it with clandestine Manchurian Candidate and Nick Fury's Hydra stuff [a super-spy from Marvel Comics], oh, yes, and pills. Special pills." 

To complete the spicy story and package, the comic TPB is graced with a sexy, painted cover by CVO creator Alex Garner.

The Gene Simmons Dominatrix TPB will be in stores April 9, 2008; call 1-888-comic-book (1-888-266-4226) to find a store near you.

ABOUT IDW PUBLISHING
IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients. Among its best-selling titles are Hasbro's THE TRANSFORMERS; Paramount/CBS's STAR TREK; and Fox's ANGEL. IDW's 30 DAYS OF NIGHT film from Sony Pictures was released in October 2007 and was the #1 movie in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at www.idwpublishing.com.

About Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is the co-founder of KISS, a band that has broken box office records set by the Beatles and Elvis and which, after 34 years, continues to be the juggernaut of licensing and merchandising, with almost 3,000 licensed products: everything from KISS Kondoms to KISS Kaskets.

Simmons can also be seen on TV every week (alongside his family) on Gene Simmons Family Jewels, currently airing on A&E. He also starred in Gene Simmons Rock School (shown on VH-1 in the U.S., as well as in 22 other countries). His cartoon show is My Dad the Rock Star (which has shown on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons for four years), and he created Mr. Romance for the Oxygen Network.

He is partnered in the Simmons Abramson Marketing venture, which does worldwide branding/marketing for the legendary Indy Racing League, as well as the iconic Indy 500-seen in 200 countries around the world and on ABC/ESPN in the U.S.

He owns Simmons Records, Simmons Books, and Simmons Audio Visual. He has authored two New York Times/LA Times books: KISS and Makeup from Crown Books and Sex Money KISS from Simmons Books-Phoenix Books. He even has his own U.S. postage stamp. For more information on Simmons, go to www.GeneSimmons.com.