The KISS Kruise II kicked off to an amazing start yesterday! As the day began, the Port of Miami was invaded by thousands of fans in KISS shirts and costumes. Our ship, the Norwegian Pearl, remained in port for an extra hour to allow fans affected by Hurricane Sandy more time to board.

KISS played a sailaway concert as the Pearl left the Port of Miami. More than 2200 members of the KISS Navy sang along as the band played classics, lesser-heard tracks and many instant requests from fans. Some highlights: "Comin' Home," "A Million to One," "All Hell's Breakin' Loose," "Nothin' to Lose," and "Only You." Paul also announced during the show that there will be a KISS Kruise III!

As yesterday was Halloween, many Kruisers embraced the holiday, showing off their best scary, creative or sexy Halloween costumes! (The guy dressed as the "Elder Door" got lots of cheers!) Young KISS Kruisers enjoyed a Trick-or-Treat treasure hunt around the ship, and hundreds of people competed in a poolside costume party. Tommy judged the costume contest, which got lots of laughs from fans when Eric Singer took the stage during the "child" costume division... on his knees. In addition to "child-sized Eric Singer," there were many great KISS-themed costumes! Other Kruisers got into the Halloween spirit decorating their cabin doors for the event.

The guys have been out and about quite a bit already on the Kruise - Paul was strolling the pool deck during the costume contest, making one young boy's day when he noted that the little, makeup-clad Starchild was portraying "Small Stanley." He later joined the stage on the costume contest judging platform. Eric dined in one of the ship's restaurants, delighting fans at adjacent tables.

Just as with the first KISS Kruise, there's an amazing sense of community when you're surrounded by thousands of like-minded KISS fans! Fans from more than 30 countries are represented on board, and it's a lot of fun to see custom t-shirts, flags, and signs carried by KISS fans from so many different nations. Fans from KISS Army Norway surprised diners in the buffet by placing Viking-horn helmets on their heads, then waving the Norwegian flag behind them for a photo!

Tomorrow's schedule of events features a KISS-themed wedding vow renewal, a KISS t-shirt swap, and the first of two indoor KISS shows at sea!

Photos by Jill Cataldo and Steve Sils for KISSonline

Check out these members of the KISS Navy dressed to kill on Halloween night!

Photos by Steve Sils and Keith Leroux for KISSonline.

Happy Halloween, KISS Army! Be safe and have fun!

Thank you to everyone who sent KISSOnline their great KISS Halloween photos!

Here are some more of the many great KISS Halloween fan photos sent to KISSOnline recently!

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Here's KISS performing a special song for Monday Night Football on ESPN this week!

Thanks to Alex for sending the clip to KISSonline!

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Check out Minnesota Viking's Brian Robison rockin' as Gene Simmons for Halloween!

Here are some of the many great KISS Halloween fan photos sent to KISSOnline recently!

Keep them coming, KISS Army...we love seeing them!

Thanks to our friends from KISS Army Spain for sending us this cover of the latest issue of the German 'Break Out' magazine featuring KISS!

Vocal puppet group 'The Torpedian Harmonists' return with a fun cover of KISS' "Love Gun!"

Hello KISSOnline!

We are Picoula, Spice Ice, Starvey and Gemon from THE TORPEDIAN HARMONISTS.

The first animalistic KISS-Tribute worldwide from Germany.

Have fun!

The Torpedian Harmonists

LETTERS

Trisha Yearwood Shows Off Rockin’ And Unexpected Costume For Halloween!

In the photo: L-R: August Brooks, Allie Brooks, Yearwood, and friend Kim LeFlore (Photo: Food Network)

By Wendy Geller | Our Country

Everyone loves to dress up for Halloween--and that goes for everyone in Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood's famous household, as well! Yearwood, along with two of her teenaged stepdaughters, showed off her holiday spirit when she dressed up heavy-metal style for a new episode of her Food Network cooking show Trisha's Southern Kitchen.

Yep, that's August and Allie Brooks (who are 18 and 16, respectively), along with a family friend, who joined the Grammy-winning country diva to paint themselves up as the members of iconic rock band KISS.

A country star dressed up like Gene Simmons?! Well, don't laugh--the entire (real) lineup of KISS did show up as presenters earlier this year for the 2012 Academy of Country Music Awards, after all. Perhaps Simmons is planning on donning a cowboy hat this Halloween in return.

Yearwood and the kids complete the festive episode by whipping up some goodies for anyone needing sustenance on the trick-or-treating circuit: Chicken tortilla soup, red candy apple slices, and a pumpkin roll cake. Recipes are available on the Food Network site for anyone who'd like to cook along with the family.

There's no word yet on whether Garth Brooks himself will show off his own costume on the program (it looks like all the KISS slots are taken, anyway). However, he is scheduled to make an appearance on the episode to discuss favorite family Halloween stories, so fans will definitely want to tune in.

The recent Country Hall of Fame inductee was not featured on the first season of his wife's show. "I wanted to do it on my own at first...make sure I was comfortable first. He would do anything I wanted, but I didn't want to put him in a situation until I'd kind of felt it out," Yearwood explained prior to the series' debut.

The special Halloween episode of Trisha's Southern Kitchen, "Trisha's Tricks And Treats," will air on Saturday, October 27 at 11 a.m. ET/PT.

All KISS, All the Time!!

Airing Friday, October 26 at 6 pm ET through Monday, October 29 at 3 am ET on Ch. 39.

Taking over Hair Nation for the weekend, Scare Nation is a 24/7 all-KISS, limited-run channel that will showcase music from the band’s entire career. Playing everything from their 1974 self-titled debut through their 20th studio album, "Monster," listeners will also hear the band members talking about their new album, touring, their fans and much more.

Scare Nation will feature an encore broadcast of “SiriusXM’s Town Hall with KISS” on Saturday, October 27 at 12 pm ET.

In celebration of KISS's 20th studio album, MONSTER, KISS sat down with 20 lucky SiriusXM subscribers and host Jose Mangin for a fan Q&A. Here, they describe the origins of their anthem "Rock and Roll All Night" and even some never-before-revealed alternate names for the band.

KISS: MONSTER - The Official Magazine #2 in 3D NOW ON SALE!

Following up on FANGORIA’s well received first installment, we present the second issue of KISS: MONSTER- THE OFFICIAL ALBUM AND TOUR MAGAZINE, a LIMITED EDITION collector’s mag featuring new interviews about the making of the new KISS album, MONSTER, as well as incredible, insightful features on the smash summer tour and other great moments in KISStory, past and present.

And…it’s in 3D!

That’s right, inside you’ll find 14 pages of exclusive, new concert photos presented in dynamic 3D: SEE Gene’s axe thrust toward you, his blood dribbling right onto your lap! SEE Tommy’s rockets aiming straight at your face! SEE Eric’s drums rising right into your living room! SEE Paul swinging right from the crowd into your arms!

Other features include a new interview with MONSTER co-producer Greg Collins; the band reflecting on their recent pre-tour trip to London; artist Ken Kelly remembering the making of classic KISS covers DESTROYER and LOVE GUN; Gene talking about his memorable villainous movie roles; Paul flashing back to his role in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA; Top Thirty Alternative KISS Klassics; GIANT fold out KISS poster…and so much more!

This incredible LIMITED EDITION collector’s item will be sold EXCLUSIVELY through FANGORIA.com, not in stores.

KISS: MONSTER – THE OFFICIAL ALBUM AND TOUR MAGAZINE is available for purchase NOW from FANGORIA.

Be sure to stay tuned for more details…

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE KISS: MONSTER – THE OFFICIAL ALBUM AND TOUR MAGAZINE NOW!

Posted by PS Hayes

KISS #5
Written by Chris Ryall
Art by Wagner Reis
Colors by Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Letters by Shawn Lee
Edited by Tom Waltz
Covers by Sam Shearon, Jamal Igle & Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 24, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

KISS #5 is a game changer. Seriously, folks. It takes the whole concept of KISS and turns it on its ear. Two words, kids: KISS GIRLS. That’s right, you wanted hot girls, you GOT hot girls! Not to mention The Phantom of the Park!

Writer Chris Ryall takes everyone’s “favorite” movie, KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park, and puts a WHOLE new spin on it. The basics are still there, like the evil Abner Devereaux and, of course, the amusement park. I can’t tell you what a refreshing change of pace this is, and Ryall proves with this issue that the sky truly IS the limit when it comes to this comic. So far, it’s been very enjoyable, going from different eras in time watching the group take on the henchmen of the evil Destroyer, but this issue he makes everything fresh and totally different. Don’t get me wrong, we all love the group, but it’s nice to get a total 180 once in awhile. This book is something that you’re going to want to read at least a couple of times – it’s that good – and you’re going to make sure that you don’t miss anything. Maybe it’s my love of KISS or my love of KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park movie (c’mon, it was fun), but I honestly can’t remember enjoying a comic this much in a long time.

The art by Wagner Reis is outstanding! He’s the perfect choice for this issue. He excels at drawing great-looking girls, monsters, and amusement parks. From first page to last, this art is a total home run. He’s got a great style, the page layouts are fantastic, and his storytelling ability is superb. You can totally follow the story without even reading the word balloons, and THAT is a mark of a great artist. His backgrounds are highly detailed and fun to look at as well. All around great art here in this issue!

I can’t recommend a comic as highly as I recommend this one. For real. Ryall and Reis are the perfect team for this story and I’d love to see them collaborate more on this series, or on a different series all together. But, back to this book: it’s a great jumping on point for new readers (as is every other issue, which is a fantastic maneuver by IDW), it’s highly entertaining, and not only will you be really excited for the next issue, you’ll want to dig out your copy of KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park and give it another watch.

http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/10/24/comic-review-kiss-5/

Pictured are six of the various covers available for KISS Comics Issue #5 - KISS GIRLS: KISS Meets The Phantom. There is also an "unmasked" version of the top right cover: It's the same design, except the girls are not wearing makeup.

CLICK HERE to view a KISS #5 "KISS Girls" part 1. 5-page preview.