Gene Simmons Says Comic Books Saved His Life (Exclusive)

While Gene Simmons might be best known for his lengthy tenure in the band KISS, his career has intersected with pop culture in some other fascinating ways. That includes quite a few forays into the world of comics, from publishing zines at an early age to working on the early 2000s comic series Dominatrix. In July, Dominatrix will be relaunched into a new four-issue miniseries, bringing Simmons back into the comic sphere once again. While speaking to ComicBook.com's Chris Killian about the book, Simmons revealed that reading comics as a kid essentially "saved" his life.

"When I first came to America — I was born in Israel, and I couldn't speak English very well," Simmons explained in our interview, which you can check out above. "At about 8.5 years of age... Comic books basically saved my life in a way that even television or... certainly school couldn't do it... just opened up the imagination of this kind of fantasy world where people can do extraordinary things. Nobody's ordinary, everybody's extraordinary."

What is Dominatrix about?

In Dominatrix, Dominique Stern is used to making people hurt-but they always ask for it first. When one of her sessions is interrupted by mysterious agents who seem to have hyper-strength, Dom's narrow escape leads her down the rabbit hole of a global conspiracy. The series is based on a story by Gene Simmons with scripts by Holly Interlandi (Cradle of Filth) and art by S L Gallant & Maria Keane (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero).

"Gene Simmons is a creative powerhouse and a comics aficionado to boot, one of the first to explore the convergence of music and comics, and just a huge inspiration for all that we do here," said Opus Comics and Incendium founder, Llexi Leon, when the relaunch was announced. "We're excited to launch our collaboration with a complete reimagining of Gene's Dominatrix series for the comics market."

"It's a huge thrill to reintroduce fans to Dominatrix with this fresh new take," Interlandi added. "Gene has been so open to working with us and taking his characters and story in a new, yet somewhat familiar, direction. I'm looking forward to seeing what fans make of it all."

Will you be checking out Dominatrix? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!