Ranking Die Kitty Die

For fans of Arhie comics, Ruiz and Parent put their considerable talent into their personal Kickstarter project Die Kitty Die! This Cheryl-look alike is Kitty Ravencroft, a witch whose adventures have dominated comics for decades. But it seems she has lost her charms and her creator has decided on a great publicity stunt to regain interest. Kill Kitty off, in real life and in the book! Now Kitty’s five ex-husbands, and old friends are vying for the chance to kill her and get their own comic line. Kitty’s own evil cousin, Katty wants to be the reboot Kitty. What’s a witch to do?

This is an R-rated, hilariously inappropriate and maybe problematic adventure for some. But I don’t offend easily, I thought it was a riot as the duo gently ribbed the comic industry while putting as many innuendos and pin ups as possible. Now there’s four volumes but since I can’t find Starstruck anywhere online or in stores, I can only rank the first three.

1. Hollywood or Bust: Kitty was able to survive all the attempts on her life which is good because the mercenary saga has boosted comic sales and now she’s going to be in the movies! Kitty plans to be entirely in charge of her image but seems like someone doesn’t want Kitty to be in charge and tries to bump her off with the Hexecutioner! Maybe because this is the first one I read but it gets top spot with its balanced story, introduction of Kitty’s old friends, clever tv and Hollywood references and of course =, the lovable rascal Maxi Millions (totally not a ripoff of R.R. at all).
2. Heaven and Hell: Since the last volume ended in a cliffhanger, we are all left with one question: Who shot K.R? Kitty wants to know too but first must stand trial as to whether she’s to go to heaven or hell. This was an excellent volume between Kitty’s friends on Earth engaging in Scooby Doo hijinks to find Kitty’s killer while Kitty teams up with Li’l Satan an meets God aka Bea Arthur (made in his image, of course!). I loved it, just hysterical. Plus they cleverly reference a certain old comic ad to create their version of a Satanic king. The only reason it gets bumped to second is because of a dropped storyline where the Grimm Reaper and Derek team up to find Kitty’s killer and get dropped entirely.
3. Die Kitty Die: Ah the first one always has the hardest responsibility of introducing everyone, and balancing the timeline, plot urgency and stakes. Of course, this was a more comical take because comic and it’s clear they were having fun in going all out on the pervy selves but some of the storyline just felt rushed in the last two issues.