Gene Simmons Double-Dips For A Daring Dominatrix

by Vince Brusio

He’s one of the few rock stars that doesn’t need an introduction. You already know he is, and why wouldn’t you? His band is a worldwide phenomenon, and he, personally, has little to worry about because he doesn’t allow himself to worry. That’s for someone else to do. He spends his time doing what he wants, and that includes bringing back a babe he trotted out years ago that now has a second chance at life through Arcana Studio. His name is Gene Simmons, her name is Dominatrix, and in this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview, we learn about how Simmons’ stories are about to start rolling out again beginning with Gene Simmons’ Dominatrix: Hellbent In Heels #1 (SEP171171).

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Vince Brusio: Gene, many of us have listened to your music with KISS, watched the videos, attended the concerts, seen your movie roles, but may not have read the adventures of your comic book character Dominatrix the first time she was made available to order in the PREVIEWS catalog. Now many of us want to get up to speed for the second coming. Through Arcana Studio, you're releasing Gene Simmons’ Dominatrix: Hellbent in Heels as a 3-issue mini-series. What can you tell us about your character, Dominatrix? What makes her more than just a woman? What makes her a firehouse?

Gene Simmons: I have always been a fan boy. In fact, I've been a fan even before the term became popular. The first convention I ever went to was the Luna con convention of 1968, which was then a general convention that had sci-fi, movies and comics.

I published my own fanzines, I created my first two comic book characters when I was 14. Omar the Cliffdweller Up and The Astronauts.

I have to admit to being the driving force for our little band getting into the comic book world in 1978, when our first Marvel comic became their biggest seller to date, until McFarlane’s Spider-Man.

When I started the Simmons Comics Group, I wanted to create different characters, but all deeply embedded in the mythology and the sense of wonder I had as a kid who first started eagerly turning the pages of my favorite comic books.

Dominatrix is a story of a young, attractive female, with a background that doesn't involve parents or a regular upbringing in many ways, she is a loner. And she becomes a REAL dominatrix. A sexual mistress of sorts. She’s completely detached. It’s a job that pays well. A job where her clients never get to touch her. And a job where she doesn't have any emotional ties to her clients.

This is the story of a reluctant heroine that gets caught up in a whirlwind story, fashioned around a secret war going on between an organization called “Them” and a government-funded group secretly calling themselves “The Company.” It involves pills that imbue someone with powers. It involves both entities hunting for Dominatrix. It is a much deeper origin story and journey I don't care to divulge at this time. It'll be a lot more fun to find out the twists and turns as we go along. 

Vince Brusio: Your mother instilled in you a good work ethic. You've said in your book Sex Money Kiss how she's commented that you were a good earner. This can be translated to how you don't let failures get in your way of succeeding. "No" and "failure" mean nothing, you say. Try everything, and without shame. So what are you trying to do this time around with Dominatrix that you were not able to do this first time? Does Arcana Studio bring certain assets to publishing the book which you didn't have originally?

Gene Simmons: This actually goes to the heart of survival, in its most basic form. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Failure is a great teacher. It tells you what you are doing wrong. As a result, we have tried to improve the storylines, dialogue, and especially the artwork. I have always been a major fan of not only Kirby, but Russ Manning (especially on Magnus Robot Fighter and Brothers of the Spear) and Russ Heath, Al Williamson, Wally Wood and of course Frazetta's work at EC.

Stay with us. Your loyalty to us will pay off.

Vince Brusio: What's your rationale for coming back to comics after having done so well in various other businesses like, for example, over 3,000 licensed / merchandised items for KISS? Why are comics worth your time?

Gene Simmons: The answer boils down to a simple idea. I love comic books. And have loved them ever since I first came to America as an eight-year-old boy. If you’re counting, that's 60 years of comic book love.

Vince Brusio: Another one of your characters named Zipper is returning in Zipper: Cosmic Jungle. Can you tell us more about the alien among us?

Gene Simmons: Basically, the book and the character was inspired by Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. One of my favorite books as a young teenager. I was always fascinated by the American ideal of the individual. And the word I. The most powerful word in the English language.

Once I understood the heartbeat of what I wanted to do, creating Zipper came quite easily.

Vince Brusio: If we could look into the future with X-ray eyes, might we see that you're going to go three for three? Is it in the cards to also bring back Gene Simmons' House of Horrors?

Gene Simmons: Gene Simmons’ House of Horrors will be a book rebirth I am really looking forward to. Because it will give different writers and artists a chance to stretch and come up with stories that have a sense of wonder.

Some of the stories might come from yours truly.

Stay tuned.

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Check out this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive preview of Zipper: Cosmic Jungle #1.

Look for it in the upcoming October PREVIEWS!

Follow Gene on Twitter!

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Vince Brusio writes about comics, and writes comics. Aside from being a life-long KISS fan, he is also the long-serving Editor of PREVIEWSworld.com, the creator of PUSSYCATS, and encourages everyone to keep the faith...and keep reading comics.