Released in June of 1977, Love Gun is the sixth studio album by KISS. It was notable for being the first album to feature a song with lead guitarist Ace Frehley on lead vocals; "Shock Me," thus making it the first KISS album to feature lead vocal performances from all four band members. It was also the last studio album to feature drummer Peter Criss on every song, as he was replaced by session drummer Anton Fig for all but one song on 1979's Dynasty. Original copies of Love Gun included a cardboard "Love Gun," along with a merchandise order form. The album cover was painted by fantasy artist Ken Kelly, who previously contributed the cover for 1976's Destroyer.
In honor of the anniversary, Check out KISS Live In Houston in 1977, the first night of the Love Gun Tour above
Today also marks the anniversary of the release of the band's first comic book. It was June 30, 1977, when Marvel Comics issued the first of two comic books based on KISS. According to lore, the red ink used in the comic book was mixed with small amounts of blood from each member of KISS. Apparently, KISS did have a notary on hand to put their stamp on a document saying she witnessed the blood being drawn and mixed in with the ink. Since then, the story has been debunked, but original copies of the comic book in good condition sell for a small fortune these days.
In honor of this very special day in 1977, take a look inside that famous first KISS comic book, above.