01. Goodbye Kitty

• Published Date:  March 2005
  (see the Notes below about the image's previous publication history)
• Parody Subject:  Hello Kitty plush doll
• Concept Writer/Artist:  David Gross
• Date of Rough Concept Drawing:  April 2004
• Painter:  David Gross
• Date of Final Painting:  April 2004
• Notes:  Gross developed "Goodbye Kitty" to be a Topps giveaway card for the 2004 San Diego Comic-Con. The image was first seen on June 25, 2004 at a Topps Vault auction preview event in New York City. Topps distributed the promo card version at the Comic-Con July 22-25, 2004; at the time the editors had not decided whether "Kitty" would be in the ANS2 base set.

Art Stages

Rough Concept Drawing Only minor differences can be seen between the rough sketch and the final painting. On the rough, a peg hole is present at the top middle of the package, and the logo subtitle reads "Rotting Plush Doll."

Finished Art For the final painting, Gross dropped the peg hole and changed the placement of the logo subtitle (now shortened to "Rotting Plush"). The Topps Vault sold the finished art for "Goodbye Kitty" for $2,278.53 in an eBay auction which ran from August 22 - 29, 2006.

Printed Stickers

Card Front & Back The shape of the black border around the "Kitty" image was reproduced faithfully on the ANS2 base set card, but the border was altered during production for the promo card version (see a side-by-side comparison of the printed cards.) The Bottom Left (BL) piece of the "Count Funkula" puzzle is found on the back of "Goodbye Kitty."

Promo Card Version, Front & Back The "Goodbye Kitty" promo card, numbered P1, promised Fall '04 as the ANS2 publication date, but the Test Release of the series did not reach store shelves until Spring '05.

Chase Card Version, Front & Back Tattoo # 2 of 10