NEWS HEADLINES
KISS COMICS GROUP JOINT VENTURE WITH PLATINUM STUDIOS
 KISS Creates Its Own New Comic Book Company with Platinum Studios
Collectors Limited Edition Preview Book Available Now
Signatures Network to handle worldwide licensing
Beverly Hills, Calif. – (January 30, 2007) – Platinum Studios, Inc., an entertainment company that controls the world’s largest independent library of comic book characters, and KISS Catalog Ltd., the billion-dollar merchandising empire created and managed by original members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, announced the creation of a new comic book entertainment company, the KISS Comics Group. This is the first time KISS will be producing its own comic book-based characters; this co-run venture will enable KISS and Platinum Studios to publish and expand the comic book characters’ images onto numerous multi-media platforms including print, mobile, online, film, television and licensed merchandise products.
Debut comic “KISS 4K” printed as the Largest Comic Book Ever Printed
KISS 4K tells the story of the transformation of the KISS band members into their eternal evil fighting versions, however, once they transform, they are unable to transform back into their human forms. Fans can get a sneak peak at KISS 4K images today at www.KISSComicsGroup.com and images are available for mobile download at www.PlatinumStudiosMobile.com. The comic book series will debut as the largest comic book ever printed at the Wizard World Convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center, March 16-18, 2007 and continue in standard comic size once a month thereafter.
 “Gene Simmons approached me with the idea of launching KISS Comics Group and we negotiated the deal structure and parameters of the joint venture and working together has simply been incredible,” said Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Platinum Studios’ founder and chairman. “Platinum Studios has been working with independent comic book creators for years; KISS’ worldwide legion of fans spans an enormous age range, providing this new company with a given global audience.”
"We’ve had other licensed KISS comic books before but never our own imprint and never with the wide reach across so many multi-media platforms," said Gene Simmons, a founding member of KISS. “Paul Stanley and I are personally involved in all day-to-day decisions and we are looking forward to extending the KISS legacy, images and sound to our fans around the world.”
Says KISS co-founder Paul Stanley "As the iconic KISS characters have continued to evolve far beyond our beginning in rock music, we have always looked for the ideal situation for a KISS comic book outlet that was as far reaching as we originally conceived and intended. Platinum fills that slot perfectly."
Signatures Network and Dell Furano, which already handle worldwide licensing for KISS Catalogue Ltd, will be handling worldwide licensing for KISS Comics Group and for KISS 4K on behalf of the co-venture. Characters from Platinum Studios library of more than 3,800 will appear in the KISS Comics books.
Fans can get the Limited Edition Collectors Preview book of KISS 4K and order Launch Edition KISS 4K merchandise including t-shirts, hats, mugs and posters at www.kisscomicsgroup.com or www.kissonline.com while supplies last. In addition, Launch Edition Preview images of KISS 4K are available for mobile download at www.PlatinumStudiosMobile.com.
About Platinum Studios www.platinumstudios.com
Platinum Studios is an entertainment company that controls the world’s largest independent library of comic book characters, which it adapts and produces for all forms of media. Platinum Studios’ library contains more than 3,800 characters and a full range of genres and styles. With deals in place with some of the entertainment and new media’s top players, Platinum is a recognized leader in the creation of new content across all media. For more information, please see www.platinumstudios.com.
About KISS Catalogue Ltd www.kissonline.com
For 34 years, KISS has been and continues to be the juggernaut of licensing and merchandising. Through its own company, KISS CATALOG, it has leveraged its iconic name and world famous logo, images and makeup designs to produce the most extensive range of licensed products of any rock band in history. For more information, please see www.kissonline.com
Kiss creates comicbook company
Rock group rolls on shingle
By PHIL GALLO
 After 34 years of a comicbook presence in rock 'n' roll, Kiss has created a comicbook entertainment company.
Platinum Studios and Kiss Catalog, the company run by Kiss leaders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, have partnered to create the Kiss Comics Group, which will kick off with a book, "Kiss 4K," and eventually venture out into platforms such as mobile, online, film, television and licensed merchandise products.
"Kiss 4K," the story of the transformation of Simmons, Stanley and other Kiss band members from rock stars to world-protecting warrior spirits, will debut as the world's largest comicbook, priced at $50. It will be the first comicbook-based property to simultaneously launch all of its merchandise in the U.S., France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Eventually, a new Kiss comic involving characters King of All Beasts, Demon, Starchild and Celestial will appear weekly online at Kisscomicsgroup.com. "Kiss 4K" will be unveiled at the Wizard World convention in Los Angeles in March.
The second title is expected to be "Kiss Girls," which features four teenagers who "talk about shopping and are about as dysfunctional as anyone until something happens to them and they get to wear the Kiss makeup and look good doing it," Simmons said.
Simmons and Platinum Studios founder and chairman Scott Rosenberg started discussions about creating the joint venture at the 2005 Comic-Con.
"Kiss Comics Group and Platinum Studios -- they are the same as we are," Simmons told Daily Variety. "This is a company not burdened with corporate considerations. It's all about the one-on-one."
Signatures Network and Dell Furano will be handling worldwide licensing for Kiss Comics Group. Characters from Platinum Studios' library of more than 3,800 will appear in the Kiss books.
Kiss has had a comic presence for nearly 30 years. Band started with Marvel in 1978 and in the '90s issued comics with Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane and Dark Horse.
Platinum Studios has more than a dozen of its projects in various stages of production at several film studios, among them "Cowboys & Aliens," "The Darkness" and "Unique."
KISS Seals Comics Deal
By Boris Kit
Jan 30, 2007
The rock group Kiss has partnered with comic book production company Platinum Studios to create a new comic book entertainment company called the Kiss Comics Group.
While this is not the first time there have been comics featuring the members of the band, it will be the first time that Kiss -- under the banner of Kiss Catalog Ltd., run by original members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley -- will produce its own comic book-based characters.
The co-run venture aims to be more than a publisher; it plans to expand the comic book characters' images onto multimedia platforms including print, mobile, online, film, television and licensed merchandise.
First up from the KCG will be "Kiss 4K," the story of Simmons, Stanley and other band members from rock stars to world-protecting warrior spirits. "4K" will be released in March as a 3-foot comic priced at $50, with an intent to make it the largest comic book ever published. That will be followed by merchandise including apparel, video games and comic strips for cell phones.
Platinum, which has projects such as "Cowboys and Aliens" set up at Sony, is counting on the multigenerational Kiss fans, as well as more than 4,000 fan sites, from around the globe and will launch simultaneously in the U.S., France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
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The band members said they will be involved in all day-to-day decisions and relish the idea of making a multiplatform thrust.
"The Kiss comics that have come out were licenses; they weren't truly of part of the mythology," Platinum chairman Scott Mitchell Rosenberg said. "This is all of us working together. (Simmons and Stanley) care about every panel of every comic and how an image looks on a shirt."
This is the cover of the new number of the swedish comic magazine namned Pondus. Some fun KISS stuff in it too.
Take care
Nicholas Stalfors, Sweden
 Here's a great "KISS Merchandise" sighting. Fox News did a report on "coffee drinking" in which, through out the segment, newswoman E.D. Hill held up a KISS Coffee Mug. When it wasn't in her hand, she sat it on her table in plain view of the Fox News cameras. It was a true KISS moment!!
Mark Stewart
Greenville, N. Carolina
 We are back!!!
Our GENE SIMMONS FAMILY JEWELS tv crews, as well as Miss Tweed, Miss Sophie, Mr. Nick and myself spent 10 days in London and Paris -- with no days off, shooting every day and doing promo for the premier of Season I on England's Biography Channel.
We visited Abbey Road, Olympic Studios, various Parisian locations and...gained 5 pounds.
Got back and went to a meeting literally as I got off the plane with my partner RICH ABRAMSON -- re a big venture, yet to be announced.
Lots of news coming soon re: COMICS GROUPS (two of them!!!), REAL ESTATE deals, JEWELRY deal, RETAIL JOINT VENTURE deal, MOBILE PHONE deal, BROADBAND/TV deal, LIC, MERCH deal, new TV SHOW, FILM deal and more!!!
 I haven’t a question for Gene just wanted to let him know we are getting the show Family Jewels in Ireland now on Sky Biography Channel and its great at last something good to watch!!!
Regards Paula.
KISS is everywhere!! Here are some KISS fans that were at the AFC Championship game in Indy this weekend!
Gene Simmons, Carlos Santana, Charlie Sheen
Make Unlikely Designers
Sunday , January 21, 2007
By Samantha Jonas-Hain
Celebrity branding has never been hotter — or more bizarre.
KISS rocker Gene Simmons is peddling an "elegant" new perfume. Guitar god Carlos Santana has a new line of sexy women's shoes. And "Two and Half Men" star Charlie Sheen is shaking up the kiddie couture market.
Why are these already successful stars branching out into what appears to be foreign and very unlikely territory?
You guessed right: It's all about the Benjamins.
“It doesn’t have to make sense,” Simmons told FOXNews.com. “What does KISS have to do with shampoo or coffee? Nothing. The reason to get involved in anything is commerce.”
There are other odd pairings. Donald Trump, a known teetotaler, just launched Trump Super Premium Vodka. Rocker Jon Bon Jovi is the co-founder of the Rock Star Baby line of baby gear. And actor Jackie Chan recently launched an organic skin care line.
“Nowadays, celebrities realize they are like stock portfolios," said Marshall Cohen, chief analyst at market research information company NPD Group. "They need to diversify, because even though they are hot today, they know tomorrow they could be gone. Finding alternative ways to put your name out there helps keep you in the spotlight for a longer amount of time."
 Cohen added that celebrities like Simmons generally make between 10 and 16 percent of the gross sales of products that bear their names.
Indeed, when Simmons appears in stores to hawk his perfumes, an average of 2,500 people show up, and his product sells between $35,000 and $50,000 at every stop, said Lori Zelenko, a representative for KISS Fragrances.
"He has the magical touch. People want him to sign bottles. Gene Simmons has women who have been waiting 30 years to touch the guy," Zelenko added.
Most celebrity-branded goods are obvious attempts to ride the wave of success stirred by Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Sean John clothing line and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s merchandising empire.
The $1.3 billion Olsen powerhouse, which capitalizes on the former "Full House" stars' names, has inspired Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Hilary Duff, Jennifer Lopez and countless other stars to cash in on fashion and lifestyle products.
Hip-hop mogul Combs has similarly paved the way for other rappers to play stylist. Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Outkast and Jay-Z have all made their personal styles available at clothing stores around the country, and even Justin Timberlake is living up to his “SexyBack” reputation with his new denim company William Rast.
“All it takes is one successful entity to breed competition,” said Cohen.
But what sets Sheen, Santana and KISS apart from Jessica Simpson's Dessert body cosmetics and Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. apparel is the unlikeliness of the products they are selling.
What does KISS, best known for white face paint, breathing fire and rock 'n' roll, have to do with a delicate women’s body splash?
Not much, according to Simmons.
"We're a rock brand instead of just a rock band,” said the star, who launched his new KISS Her and KISS Him fragrances Oct. 1 and has a 27-city chain of KISS restaurants in the works. "There is nothing we can’t do."
Unlikely as these products are, they are selling. CARLOS by Carlos Santana Shoes says business is booming (with partial proceeds going to charity).
And Sheen, who plays a childless ladies' man on his hit sitcom, has had steady sales with his Sheen Kidz children's clothing line, which was picked up by Los Angeles' trendy Kitson boutique and Bloomingdale's, according to Sheen Kidz.
“Being able to align yourself with a celebrity product, regardless of quantity or quality, is something stores want because the name on the product already gets recognition, which is the key to getting a jump-start on success,” said Cohen.
Most of the time, a celebrity product will sell on novelty alone. KISS fan Howie Davis, a 25-year-old New York City lawyer, wasn't impressed with the smell of KISS Him ... but he still got a kick out of it.
"I thought the packaging was a cool, classic KISS design," Davis said. "The smell is pretty generic, but I don't know how they can package a KISS smell without smelling pretty gross."
Davis added that he doesn't think people buy it for the smell.
"You're not going to impress anyone when they ask you what cologne you are wearing and you say 'KISS cologne,'" he said.
According to a recent NPD survey of 3,500 consumers, 21 percent of consumers said their purchases are influenced by celebrities or endorsements by celebrities.
And celebs like Simmons know better than to stick their tongues out at this moneymaking potential.
“Some celebrities dabble in things, but this is a business. This is show business. The business part is right up there,” he said.
This foto is from CARROT TOP's show in Vegas, to which I was invited and attended..you'll see this and much more when this episode airs in the New Season of GENE SIMMONS FAMILY JEWELS in the Spring.
KISSOLOGY 5X PLATINUM
The RIAA has certified KISSOLOGY I, our 6 Hr. DVD as 5X Platium.
To find out more go to KISSONLINE.COM.
January 15th -
GENE SIMMONS FAMILY JEWELS in Las Vegas
Our camera crews followed myself and Rich Abramson to Las Vegas to film the ongoings for a future show. We attended the Consumer Electronics Show, where new relationships were forged for new potential ventures, among them COBY ELECTRONICS -- a stellar company.
And, I attended the AVN Awards (The Adult Video Awards), where I presented with the lovely Tera Patrick -- and was surprised when I was awarded the (...ahem) 1st GOLDEN TONGUE AWARD. I have it in front of me and it's....interesting. You'll see it on the show.
While in Vegas, we ran into various well wishers -- among them: CARROT TOP, who invited us to his show, which we filmed. To say he was funny, is to say a roller coaster is a nice ride. He never stopped, and my cheeks hurt from laughing. DAVE NAVARRO, JENNA JAMISON, CRISS ANGEL, and more cleavage per square inch than...well, just "more".
One of the funnier moments happened when one of our staff was sitting next to me in the front row adjusting my microphone. Now, in front of us, the girls were going to and fro in their stiletto heeled, fully lifted and separated outfits. As he rose to his feet, he turned his face to his right and smashed headlong into two of the largest pair of God's wonders. A "head on" collision. She was fine with it -- one of the hazards of her trade, one would assume. He, turned beet red. And, he became the "butt" of many a joke.
 I just love your show ''Gene Simmons Family Jewels'', it airs on MusiMax (similar to VH1, a french canadian music channel).
And another question, how many times did you come to Montreal with KISS.
 Your show "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" finally comes to South America!
Starting January 5th on "A&E"! YEAH!
Best wishes for you and your family for this new year!
Greetings from Chile ,
Claudia.
KISS COFFEEHOUSE To Celebrate 1st Anniversary!!!
From KISSONLINE.com
The KISS Coffeehouse made the list of top headlines for 2006 in South Carolina's Home Page - The State.
The following was posted in their 2006 year end review:
KISS COFFEEHOUSE OPENS AT BROADWAY AT THE BEACH - It sounds good as long as Gene Simmons doesn't stir the coffee with his tongue.
In other KISS COFFEEHOUSE news - the COFFEEHOUSE is currently making plans for a huge first Anniversary celebration. The event is planned for some time in mid June and KISSONLINE will be there! So don't make your summer vacation plans just yet!
Visit the COFFEEHOUSE website at www.kisscoffeehouse.com
New letters posted...
Hey Gene
Sad to say, I played two roles in this 'classic'. A secret service guy and a (...uh) transvestite. John Stamos and Vanity starred.
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