Written by: Ollie Kaplan
Sanrio stans, get ready: IDW Publishing is collaborating with Japan’s Sanrio on the first new Hello Kitty comic book series in over a decade. Revealed in an exclusive with Variety, the partnership will bring Kitty White to IDW for the first time — and once you see who’s on the creative team behind it, it just might knock that signature red bow right off Kitty’s head.
IDW has teamed up with Sanrio to bring the iconic kawaii brand to print comics for the first time since Hello Kitty and her friends starred in a 2010s original wordless graphic novel series, created by the talented team of Jacob Chabot (The Mighty Skullboy Army), Victoria Maderna, Jorge Monlongo (Over the Garden Wall), Giovanni Castro, and the late-Ian McGinty (Welcome to Showside), as well as a rotating roster of exciting guest artists. Volume one of the six-volume series, Hello Kitty: Here We Go!, debuted with VIZ Media’s Perfect Square imprint at 2013’s San Diego Comic-Con International, with a collected box set published in 2015. Then, for the character’s 40th anniversary in 2014, Perfect Square published Hello Kitty, Hello 40: A Celebration in 40 Stories (Plus One for Good Luck), which consists of 41 short comic stories from a wide range of international creators who’ve been inspired by the adorable white feline — from Tiny Titans artist Art Baltazar to American Born Chinese author Gene Luen Yang to Snotgirl co-creator and artist Leslie Hung. Unfortunately, both of these releases appear to be out of print; however, don’t fret, used editions are still available at affordable prices through online booksellers (at least for now).
Outside of the VIZ series, Hello Kitty has had a modest comics history spanning both print and digital formats. She first appeared on the printed page a few years after her 1974 debut, in a manga series serialized from 1976 to 1979 in Sanrio’s shōjo manga magazine Ririka (Lyrica), which is best known for publishing Osamu Tezuka’s original Unico manga, before starring in two manga series published by Shueisha’s shōjo magazine Ribon — Hello Kitty Doki by Tomomi Fukube, which ran from May 2007 to April 2008, and Hello Kitty Peace!! by Anzu Momoyama, which debuted in June 2008 (and the history of what happened to the series after that seems to have disappeared from the internet).
More recently, Sanrio launched a monthly webcomic on Home-Sha’s website Comip! in 2016 that reimagined Hello Kitty as a strawberry-themed superhero named “Ichigoman,” a nod to the Japanese word for strawberry, ichigo, and inspired by artwork by Kitty’s original designer, Yuko Yamaguchi. Written by Toshiki Inoue (Kamen Rider), illustrated by Shakua Sinkai, and in collaboration with voice actor Kōhei Murakamithe webcomic sees the pop culture icon battle monsters with a giant robot. Although the series has ended, Kitty’s alter ego, Ichigoman, recently made an appearance in Sunblink’s life simulation game, 2025’s Hello Kitty Island Adventure.
IDW and Sanrio’s multi-title partnership will begin with Hello Kitty: Hello World!, a brand-new series starring Hello Kitty and friends as they embark on a global world tour to solve a mysterious riddle. Each issue promises new destinations, new riddles, and new characters to meet along the way, which honestly sounds like the perfect format for Hello Kitty’s endlessly expansive universe. But what’s especially exciting is who’s leading the creative team: Eisner Award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer) brings serious literary credibility to the title and artist Cody Lemieux (Gnome Granny) has something different a whimsical art style that feels like a natural fit for Sanrio’s aesthetic, setting up this comic with the real potential to be something special for both longtime fans and younger readers just discovering the franchise.
“It’s truly an honor to team up with Sanrio to create Hello Kitty comics,” commented Davidi Jonas, CEO of IDW. “We’re thrilled to craft comics that celebrate the cute and fun spirit of the franchise while uplifting readers of every age. We can’t wait for these comics to bring inspiring and joyful stories to comic shops everywhere.”
“It’s time! Hello Kitty and her friends are coming to the comic world with IDW,” exclaimed Associate Editor Bixie Mathieu. ”These beloved characters have been delighting fans for generations, and it’s easy to see why– their joy, whimsy, and friendship make for uplifting storytelling! With so many talented people pouring their hearts into these series, we promise longtime and new fans alike that these stories will be a delight, from the core of their storytelling to the exuberant art on the page! If you’re interested in a heartfelt reading experience unlike anything else, hello!”
Hello Kitty: Hello World!‘s debut issue drops July 22, 2026 — timed perfectly to coincide with San Diego Comic-Con, so expect plenty of buzz (and probably some very cute variant covers) coming out of that week. More information about Hello World! and other new Hello Kitty universe comic book titles – and crossovers – will be revealed soon.
Will Hello Kitty comics finally “take over” the American comic industry?
Source: IDW Publishing
