Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! Vol. 1: Hooked on a Feline

by Kate Leth

[Quirky Cat]

I knew going into Patsy Walker that the plot was going to be a bit…fluffy (the artwork certainly heavily implies that) but I was still surprised by how light and cheerful it was. Think Squirrel Girl in NY with psychic abilities. Accompanying the cheerful writing style is a bright art style. The two actually do work wonderfully together (can you imagine how odd it would have been had the color palette been all dark and foreboding? No thank you).



I have to confess: before reading Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat my only exposure to Pasty was through the Jessica Jones Netflix series. Now I knew things would be different between the two, but I was still surprised by the number and depth of those differences. In this world Pasty and Jessica don’t seem to know each other (yet), Patsy isn’t a radio host, but instead a currently unemployed superhero that can sense psychic abilities (and magically change into her costume – I mean that literally). Instead of being pals with Jessica, she’s pals with another well-known superhero woman, Jen (aka She-Hulk). An interesting combo to say the least! I could go on with all the other differences, but those were the most obvious ones.
I mentioned that Hellcat read as a little fluffy for me, and that’s true. If you’re looking for a feel good or not super serious superhero story, then this is the comic for you. While it made for a refreshing change, I did find myself having trouble taking anything seriously (even the parts I think I was supposed to take more seriously, like the job crises for meta-humans). For example, one of the enemies Patsy faces is a guy that can literally summon bed bugs. Um, while gross, not that scary or threatening. Definitely a C-lister villain, and if we’re being honest I’m being generous with calling him that. Then there’s the fake Enchantress (which to their credit they actually jokingly call her that at a couple of points), she’s the level of knock-off I’d expect from an external company war, not an internal company joke. Though she was funny at times, so there’s that.
All in all while I didn’t love Hellcat I will admit that it was a relaxing read. The issues read pretty well as standalones (almost, at least) so there’s less pressure to run off and read the next one ASAP - I’ll admit sometimes I could use a break from all the cliffhangers in other series. So I’ll probably keep reading this series, if nothing else than as some idle amusement.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks