I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-Attack of the Phantoms (1978).

Technically, not exactly a soundtrack, but I do talk about the music, so it counts.

I don’t think I was allowed to see Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park movie when it came on TV in 1978.  I have seen it many times since then, and have enjoyed its cheesiness each time.  But it has been many years since I last watched it (it was on a recorded VHS tape, so it’s at least ten years).  Imagine my delight to see that it was included on the KISSOLOGY Vol 2 DVD.

Except, rather than the TV movie, what they have included is the “European theatrical” release (did this really get shown in theaters in Europe?  Judging by the poster that I placed here, yes.).

I can’t really compare the two as it has been so long, but I knew there were a few differences right off the bat.  The most obvious to me was the inclusion of Kiss solo songs over random (sort of appropriate) scenes.  The use of “Radioactive” when Gene is crushing things was inspired.  And “Fractured Mirror” works well anywhere in the movie.  The Peter songs seem out of place, and I’m not entirely sure about connecting Abner Devereaux to “Mr. Make Believe” but I guess that’s the least of the movie’s problems, right?

This version also has some lengthy concert scenes with the band rocking out in front of stock footage of fans.  I simply don’t reall if this was included in the original, but I think one of the sonsg actually sounded live (while the others were clearly mimed).  According to various internet sites, Attack also removes a lot of Ace’s dialogue.  This seems very likely, as I thought he had a lot more bad puns.  And I had to wonder if that’s why they included this version rather than the Phantom of the Park (since Gene seems to dislike Ace so much).

What really strikes me about the movie though is how much Kiss is NOT in it.  I mean, it’s at least 30 minutes before they show up at all (we get some delightful scenes with Chopper and his 30-year-old-teenage thugs).  They do some concerts but, since they are the crux of the plot, you’d think they’d have more than a few actual lines.  Of course, it’s not a very good movie, so what’s the point in nitpicking?

Like how all of a sudden, she’s hanging out with the band while they’re all sitting around.  And Paul is playing acoustic guitar and Peter crooning “Beth.”  I’d love to get a copy of the guitar version of “Beth,” though!  Or how the whole concept of the Kiss talismen is not even introduced until like the last 15 minutes of the movie.

It’s of course all worth it to hear the supremely awesome robot Kiss band’s song “Rip and Destroy” (to the tune of “Hotter Than Hell”) which the fans at first hate but quickly come around to.  And then decide that it would be a good idea to rip up the theme park (which we sadly do not get to see).

Of course, watching this version makes me want to see the original TV version just to see what the differences were, but it sounds like that DVD will never see the light of day.  I wonder if I still have that VHS tape anywhere?

[READ: January 15, 2010] North World Vol 2.

As Volume 2 of this saga opens, we see Conrad settling down.  He has retired his sword, moved home with his dad and begun working in his dad’s business as an accountant.

But he really can’t settle down.  The local thugs are still plotting revenge against him and his coworker, Kailee (a kick ass witch), shows up wondering why he hasn’t completed his assignment yet.  His assignment?  Conrad was tired of slaying evil giant animals, so he took a bigger assignment.  Go to Coeur de Lac to fight a demon summoner.  The problem is that Couer du Lac is where he’s from, and where he ran away from many many years ago.

He’s conflicted about going home, but when he gets back to Couer de Lac, he realizes that things seem not quite right.

The old Inn that burned down (with his mother inside!) has been rebuilt and looks exactly the same.  And no one seems to remember anything about a fire.  Plus, people recognize him, which isn’t necessarily a good thing as he was something a troublemaker back in school.

The only peace he’s finding is with his ex-girlfriend’s fiance (!), who is rather charming and even manages to calm him (inviting him out sailing and also making him his best man). But bits of his past keep creeping back up to nettle him.

Some pretty major revelations happen about half way through that really change a lot of what we’ve known about the characters thus far, but I’m not going to spoil any of them.  Suffice it to say that there are some pretty dynamic revelations, and lots of cool fighting sequences.  Overall, I found the story to be very engaging and very entertaining.

I enjoyed watching a minor character grow into prominence, and I enjoyed the very well thought out back story come into play.  And, most importantly, I love the whole premise of the story that there is a world of normalcy (inns and accountants and high school), but just across the way there are talking bears, giant animals, sword-wielding warriors and demons (which no one really seems to know exist, even though Conrad’s grandfather was a warrior too).

I’m still a little negative on the art.  I like the style of the characters, which I find to be rather unique, but there were many scenes where I just couldn’t tell who was who.  Specifically, there’s a scene where several of the men are together and there’s a shocking revelation about one of them, and yet I wasn’t sure who it was.  And it took a pretty long time for me to figure out which guy he was meant to be.

It also strikes me that the drawing style seem more appropriate for comic strips, rather than comic books.  And in many ways I think that’s very refreshing.  But in a black and white comic, there needs to be very specific demarcations between characters so they don’t get lost in a crowd.  On the other hand, the battle scenes are rendered very well. Sometimes in graphic novels the fighting scenes get lost in a muddle of black lines and confusion.  But here, Brown distinguishes things very nicely.

I was just reading on the NorthWorld site that Brown is taking a bit of sabbatical on the story, but that he hopes to have volume 3 out some time in July.  I’ll be waiting! Volume 2 doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, exactly.  In fact, the series could easily end right there and still be satisfying; however, knowing that there will be more has me excited to see whats next for our young hero.