Patsy Walker aka Hellcat! Vol 1: Hooked on a Feline by Kate Leth and Brittney L Williams

Patsy Walker aka Hellcat! Vol 1: Hooked on a Feline written by Kate Leth and illustrated by Brittney L Williams is the first collected volume of a brand new ongoing series featuring (obviously) the titular character. You might remember me mentioning Patsy/Hellcat in my She-Hulk reviews. This new series follows on from the same situation, with some overlapping character and also some new characters. And, of course, a focus on Patsy rather than She-Hulk/Jen.

Patsy Walker has managed to escape her past, her enemies and Hell itself (literally) - but nothing compares to job hunting in New York City! Between trying to make rent and dodging bullets, Patsy barely has time to deal with her mother's exploitative romance comics about Patsy's past resurfacing, much less how they start to interfere with her work and dating life. As she goes from living a double life to a triple, what the hell is Patsy Walker supposed to do? There'll be friendship and burgers, monsters and rent checks and a ghost from the past with questionable motives! Comics' most flexible heroine has been a provisional Avenger, a Defender, Satan's daughter-in-law and a dead woman–but she's never been anything like this!

This comic was excellent and even better than I expected. I was expecting to enjoy it because I like the character (and She-Hulk!). What I didn't see coming, however, was the lightheartedness and sheer fun of the comic. On that front, I'd say it was probably most like Squirrel Girl, with a similar — but not identical — style of puns, quips and jokes. There were several laugh-out-loud moments for me.

The story is basically: Patsy gets fired from being Jen's investigator because Jen is broke and then Patsy has bad-guy-thwarting adventures while trying to set up a new business. There's also the matter of romance stories that Patsy's mum wrote about teenaged Patsy and friends resurfacing, which Patsy is not impressed by.

I also really liked the art. It was bright and cheerful and Hellcat was often drawn in a chibi style, which was just adorable. Also, She-Hulk got to have pants as part of her hero costume! Win!

This was an excellent and entertaining read. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fun comics and doesn't hate female characters. I will definitely be reading the next volume in this series and hope that it runs for MANY issues. <3

5 / 5 stars

First published: July 2016, Marvel
Series: Yes, first collected volume of an ongoing series, containing issues #1–5
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Some comic book shop or other (Orbital Comics in London, I think)