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Hello Kitty by VIZ Media - Will Minimalism Save Comics?


Cover art to 'Hello Kitty: Fashion Music Wonderland' by Jacob Chabot, published by VIZ Media.

The world’s most adorable mascot is coming to comic book form.

VIZ Media, in its continued collaboration with Sanrio, announced it’s going to publish a series of original Hello Kitty graphic novels for 2013. One special limited-edition comic, Hello Kitty: Fashion Music Wonderland, will debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2013 while a main series called Hello Kitty: Here We Go! will be coming out in Fall 2013. 

To folks who follow VIZ Media, this is something VIZ has been building up for quite a while. The company has expressed interest in growing their VIZ Kids imprint for many reasons. What better way to help further grow the comics industry with a dose of minimalism. Yes, Hello Kitty is extremely cute and putting her face on any product makes everyone blush in delight. What makes Hello Kitty appealing is how Sanrio used a few aspects of minimalism to create a simple, yet addictive look.

One of comics’ biggest problems is it can be considered intimidating to get people into comics. You also have to add the fact the children are distracted by so much information these days. Reading is also becoming a dying art. The list goes on and on.

However, Hello Kitty’s minimalist advantage is that she can shaped in any way the user of one of her products sees fit. Her appearance in a comic book/graphic novel could signify a variety of emotions that children can relate to. Think of Hello Kitty as an educational avatar. This combined with her look provides a great incentive for young girls to read comics and get more involved in reading. Comic books are good for kids, you know.

Whether this can be as big as something like the U.S. shoujo manga movement back in the early-to-mid 2000s’ remains to be seen, but Hello Kitty is on a whole other level. If the series is pushed hard and takes off alongside the “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” comic book, the future will be extremely bright with much-needed diversity. Plus, cuteness REALLY sells among children and women. Especially CUTE animals.

Get ready to have your hearts filled with colorful pictures of mouth-less, yet creative cuteness. 


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