Gene Simmons claims comic book victory

Gene Simmons says geeks across the world have "won" now superheroes are so popular.

The Kiss rocker has been a life-long fan of comic books and has put his name to his own range of the publications.

Gene is thrilled comics are popular and has also enjoyed seeing how well movies such as Avengers Assemble and The Amazing Spider-Man have gone down with fans.

"In simple terms, we've won," he told USA Today. "When I was growing up, they used to make fun of us: 'Oh, that comic-book funny-animal stuff.' Really? Comic books have surpassed almost all other forms of literature because superheroes have taken the place of cowboys as the great mythic American character.

"They have secret identities and individual problems - no different than the Greek gods who were vain and jealous and fought with each other. The Greeks had their gods, and we have our comic books."

Gene will attend Comic-Con in San Diego later this month, where he will promote his new range of animated literature.

The characters he's introducing include a reluctant hero dressed in leather and a female who often finds herself feeling "hot and bothered".

He is adamant his comics will take the world by storm. "It's never enough for me just to have a thing in my mind," he explained. "I want to hold it, play with it. It becomes part of your everyday life, the bobblehead you keep on your office table and all that other fun stuff.

"Plus, if you're a big fan of a character or a superhero, you want to wear the T-shirt and proudly arch your back and say, 'Yeaaah. That's the real me inside.'"