Mariko Tamaki Teases All-Ages Mystery in Hello Kitty: Hello World #1 First Look (EXCLUSIVE)

June 26, 2026, 11:00am

When it comes to pop culture figures, the word “iconic” gets thrown around a lot, but in the case of Hello Kitty, it’s entirely warranted. The beloved character has been wildly popular since her introduction by Sanrio in 1974. Over the decades, she’s been at the center at an ever-expanding media world that includes everything from merch to movies, to comics, and beyond. Now, arriving in August is a brand-new Hello Kitty comic from IDW: Hello Kitty: Hello World!

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The new series arrives in shops on August 12th and is being written by Eisner Award winning writer Mariko Tamaki and features art from Cody Lemieux. The story will see Hello Kitty and her friends head out on a world tour to solve a riddle, meeting new characters along the way. But this isn’t just a fun, colorful adventure. Think of it more as a cozy puzzle but don’t just take our word for it; we not only have an exclusive first look but spoke with Tamaki all about Hello Kitty: Hello World! as well and found out everything you need to know about the upcoming series—and we even know who would win in a fight between Batman and Hello Kitty.

Hello Kitty: Hello World Is a Mystery With Easter Eggs For Older Fans (And Fun Clues For Young Readers, Too)

ComicBook: Hello Kitty—and more broadly the entire delightful world of Sanrio characters—has been truly beloved by generations of fans. What has it been like for you to be a part of this new series?

Mariko Tamaki: I often talk about writing comics as an opportunity to play with these very famous, very beloved toys. This time, these characters are really and truly MY beloved toys. I have Sanrio characters everywhere. I will never turn down a Hello Kitty plushie. I could be on a sinking row boat in the middle of the ocean and I would be thrilled by another My Melody keychain. So, yes, it’s been an awesome experience.

I love that Hello Kitty: Hello World! #1 really modernizes our girl Hello Kitty in a sense as we find her with her own podcast. What went into your approach for how you created this iteration of Hello Kitty?

I wanted to find a story that let you learn about this world organically. Hello Kitty is a universe of cool characters and I wanted to highlight them without the introducing of each friend feeling like leg work. I can’t recall what led me to the podcast and the mystery. Possibly I just had the flash of Hello Kitty with the magnifying glass and cap and couldn’t shake how cute that was.

I love that this book is very cozy and very all-ages accessible, but as the story continues it starts to take on a very almost cozy true crime aspect as the mystery presents itself. What can you tease for us about this grand mystery adventure that we’re about to go on with Hello Kitty and friends?

This is a mystery among friends. So, it’s more of a puzzle, a knitting together of what seem like coincidences, then an investigation. I think for older readers who are mystery fans there’s a few Easter eggs in there. For younger readers there’s clues for you to figure out what happened before Hello Kitty does!

As someone who reads a lot of comics, I’m a fan of your work in general and I know that a lot of people are familiar with your work in the superhero space—for me, your work on Detective Comics always comes to mind and it seems oddly appropriate here with the mystery of this story. I have to ask, who is more challenging to wrote: Batman or Hello Kitty?

Haha, I mean, look. We all contain multitudes. I love me a Batman story. There is also something lovely about hanging out in Hello Kitty’s world! Hello Kitty also cooks more which I enjoy.

Which of the characters in Friend Town did you find to be the most surprising to write—be that in terms of being challenging or fun or simply just unexpected?

Pompompurin is the most tactically challenging for me to type, for some reason. But I love him.

And, because Sanrio has so many incredible characters—who is your favorite character? I’ve been ride or die for Chococat for years.

In my twenties, I was hardcore Batz Maru. Now I’m My Melody.

And this one is just for fun because I do this with almost everyone who has written something Batman related and something very not Batman related: who do you think would win in a battle of wits, Batman or Hello Kitty?

Hello Kitty. For sure. Cute wins every time.

Here is Everything You Need to Know About Hello Kitty: Hello World #1

Hello Kitty: Hello World! #1 hits stores on August 12th and has a final order cutoff date of June 29th and is Hello Kitty and her friends’ first major swing into the world of comic books. “Everything is going well in Hello Kitty’s life: Her friends are happy, her radio show is popular, and she even as the perfect gift to give! But all of that comes to a screeching halt when My Melody bursts in to reveal that her bow has gone missing! Suddenly, the iconic symbols of our favorite characters all start disappearing, and it’s up to Hello Kitty to solve the case! But that’s not all—as friends start to suspect each other, our super detective must solve the mystery and keep everyone together! It’s a mess on Hello Kitty can solve!”

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