Howard Chaykin’s trailblazing crime noir and erotica classic Black Kiss is getting the compendium treatment. Image Comics will collect the acclaimed series and its follow-ups in a massive black-and-white paperback this winter.
Chaykin, the Inkpot and multiple Eagle Award-winning creator of American Flagg! and Time2, launched the original Black Kiss series in 1988. The new Black Kiss Compendium brings decades of the provocative saga together in one volume.
The Complete ‘Black Kiss’ Saga
The collection includes the original Black Kiss #1-12 and the sequel series Black Kiss II #1-6. It will also feature Black Kiss XXXmas in July Special, Black Kiss Hallowe’en, and new material.
The result gives readers a single-volume edition of Chaykin’s cult classic. The compendium collects the crime, horror, sex, and Hollywood intrigue that have defined Black Kiss since its debut.
Vampires Meet Hollywood Noir
Black Kiss blends several distinct genres into one dark story. It combines the erotic vampires of Anne Rice with the occult Hollywood underbelly of Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and Raymond Chandler-inspired hardboiled crime noir.
The story moves through a twisted vision of Los Angeles filled with secrets and danger. Hollywood glamour quickly gives way to murder, organized crime, supernatural threats, and conspiracy.
Sex, Crime and the Occult
At the center of Black Kiss are a Golden Age Hollywood starlet and a sex worker searching for the truth. Their story leads into an occult Vatican coverup with consequences stretching through Hollywood’s darkest corners.
The unapologetically not-safe-for-work comic fills those streets with femme fatales, vampires, mafiosos, and more. Its characters move through alleyways and smoke-choked lounges across the mean streets of La-La Land.
‘Black Kiss Compendium’ Arrives in November
The Black Kiss Compendium paperback will arrive at comic book shops and digital platforms on Wednesday, November 18. The collection will reach bookstores on Tuesday, December 15.
Image Comics will publish the complete volume this winter. The release gives longtime fans and new readers a chance to experience Chaykin’s provocative noir saga in one collection.
