Gene Simmons, the front man for the rock band Kiss, revealed this past weekend that he met with executives to discuss, in his words, "a KISS-Hello Kitty worldwide deal. Wow."
As Sanrio's most recognizable character, Hello Kitty has already joined forces with the rock band X Japan to create "Visual-Kei Kitty" (pictured at left). The artist duo Mad Barbarians (Unko-san) designed official Hello Kitty Zombie Friends for Kitan Club's mascot lineup this September. ASCII Media Works' Tokyo Kawaii Magazine will be selling T-shirts and rubber straps that combine Hello Kitty with Hatsune Miku and other virtual idol characters from Crypton Future Media.
Simmons himself played Jack ill Dark, the "Emperor" of rock, in the live-action film adaptation of Kiminori Wakasugi's Detroit Metal City comedy manga.
Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip.