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

Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! #1

by Kate Leth (Writer), Brittney Williams (Illustrator)

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!

Collecting: Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! 1-6

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

136 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2016

About the author

Kate Leth is a Canadian author and illustrator working in comics, animation, design, and feelings. A grown-up goth and pop culture devotee, Kate specializes in work for kids and teens. Their comics work includes Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!; Girl Over Paris; Spell on Wheels; and Adventure Time, among others.

They live in Halifax, Nova Scotia with an absolutely ridiculous cat and several regrets. They are queer and genderfluid/non-binary, a fact that greatly influences their work. Kate uses they/them pronouns, but probably won’t correct you.

Reviews

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Squirrel Girl? You'll probably like Patsy Walker, too. It has a similar, silly sense of humor, though I just didn't love it quite as much as I love Squirrel Girl.

[Heatherblakely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compilation of my reviews of the individual issues, with the newest on top:

6. (Technically done with this volume now) What happened to Williams? This art is cute but a little too cute--when I started reading I assumed I was looking at childhood Patsy playing, not adult Patsy working. I liked the story in this one, but again, I felt like I was reading about kids. (Also Jen called Patsy "babe" and my gaydar pinged.)

5. So many strong women! I love Jen, and I love all the female friendships in this. (Dumb question--is this Valkyrie the same Valkyrie that Tessa Thompson is playing in Thor?)

4. THE TATTOO ARTIST IS SO CUTE. I like that we're getting a stronger plot, but I also would love to read about the gang just hanging around.

3. I don't have it??

2. I LOVED this because it was good but also because my two favorite girls are in it and also I cried at seeing how everyone was in Patsy's phone with emoticons but I also was not completely sober (read in January 2016)

1. First of all, I'd just like to say that I went into an actual comic store to buy this, and I didn't burst into flames or get quizzed or anything (yes, I was worried about both of those things, and what actually happened is no one bothered me and the girl at the register complimented my piercings, which is one of the easiest ways to get me in your corner). So ten points to Ravenclaw for me supporting local businesses, hooray.

This issue is really fun. It's not too serious, there's no brooding, there's not really even a villain. It's mainly background info, which I needed, and an introduction to the characters, which I also needed. There are references to Wicked and Harry Potter and some other things, and there are great little details everywhere--Patsy's in a gay bookstore and reading a book called Butts: Volume IX, there's a queer female couple in a bar, stuff like that. I'm slightly biased because cats are my shtick, but I loved this. I laughed out loud multiple times. It's great. Plus, the writer, artist, and color artist are all female. Hooray!


ALSO YOU CAN SEND IN PICTURES OF YOUR CATS AND THEY MIGHT PRINT THEM, SO I MAY DO THAT.

^..^ meow

EDIT: Also, look, she's hanging out with my homegirls, America Chavez and Kate Bishop.



(read in January 2016)

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

almost too cutesy for me, reads like an even more saccharine version of squirrel girl (which i enjoy don't get me wrong!), so I was going to drop it but then they intro jessica jones on the last page so they got me. they got me.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheerfully energetic and candy-colored adventures of a well-meaning young super-heroine trying to establish (or maybe reinvent is more like it) a career and name for herself in a sunny and sanitized version of New York City. Patsy's amusing cameo appearance in the earlier She-Hulk, Volume 1: Law and Disorder led me to check out her own solo title. Barring the abruptly odd change in artwork for the final chapter, things were otherwise done just right in this lightweight volume. Lots of playful dialogue, some adorable scenes (like Patsy summoning her 'super-friend' gal pals for an impromptu dinner after stressful work day), and a continual upbeat tone made this one a lot of fun.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Rating: —> 4.5 Stars

RE-READ(!) 07/19/2022—
Same rating & review for the most part! I really LOVED THIS! Hellcat in action reminds me of my cat, sort of, which I suppose is the point 😂.... this is just adorable & I LOVED the modernization (aka erasure of homophobia, fatpobia, etc. of the past!), to me, that is almost what shined the most. Patsy obviously takes the whole damn cake here, and the humour is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Plus, as I said last time around, my love Jessica Jones shows up here, which is NEVER a bad thing! Gahhhh such a big J Jones fan 😍.

And I mean the title? Hooked on a Feline?!? Perfection & Cute AF!

*sings chorus to More Than A Feeling with Hooked On A Feline replacing said title*


March 2018— I enjoyed a bit of backstory on Miss Walker... awesome that J Jones actually makes an appearance and will in the next volume :-)

[Larakaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

ah, this was really something special. I really like how the depiction of patsy/Hellcat changes with her mood. From classic heroine to cute chibi and more. It has a kind of light and positive feeling but isn't too ridiculous. The supporting cast is great and very likeable.

Also: great bisexual representation! woohoo!

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patsy Walker is trying to get her life back together in NYC. She's decided to stay away from the big super battles and focus on helping the little guys so to speak. She fights and then helps out some people with very minor super powers as she struggles through a bunch of dead end jobs. Kate Leth does a wonderful job of incorporating the Patsy Walker romance comics of the Timely comics era. They are now comics Patsy's mom wrote about her and her friends when she was a teenager.

The Good: Kate Leth and Brittney Walker take everything that's wrong with Squirrel Girl and gets it write with Hellcat. The book is funny, cutesy, and full of heart with art that is perfect for this kind of book.

The Bad: That fill in art for issue 6 was brutally bad. It pretty much ruined the issue.

The Ugly: Brittney Williams draws Howard the Duck like he's Howard the Seagull. Get that beak right, woman!

[Peter Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look through the reviews, you'll see the word "cutesy" pop up a lot. And they're not wrong. If you've got a reader who's into Moongirl or maybe those Batgirl comics that were aimed at a younger audience, they'll probably like this one. But if those are on the younger side, you might take a pass.

Which is too bad because I like the setup. I like where it's going, I like the whole thing where Patsy Walker's mom based some romance books on her. I liked how the moment was handled when a superpowered newbie is being "tempted" into joining a villain, and I like how that resolves itself. Just because someone hasn't fought superpower battles doesn't make them a moron.

But it's three stars for me. Fun, but not Squirrel Girl fun.

Okay, and let's get into the one stupid fanboy thing that I found confusing in this book. I normally don't like to argue about the in-comic logic, but screw it: Why would you, Patsy Walker, get a tattoo of Hellcat, your secret superhero identity? On your shoulder? Winking as if to say, "Yep, I'm her! Don't tell, kay?"

That seems like a really terrible idea. It's like Clark Kent wearing red and blue around the office all the time, or Bruce Wayne wearing those warm winter hats that look like animal heads with the pointed ears. Why invite the speculation? Patsy Walker and Hellcat are both conspicuously in the same place at the same time, and they both have flowing red hair. They're both famous-ish (Patsy Walker perhaps more so than Hellcat). I'm starting to think Patsy Walker WANTS to get caught.

Also, it just occurred to me that Luke Cage probably can't get a tattoo, right? Because he has impenetrable skin?

I haven't been sleeping well. Coincidence? Coincidence that I haven't been sleeping well and have been thinking about whether fictional characters should get tattoos? Doubtful.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why but I probably never would have picked this up, if I hadn't seen it while browsing through the comics on Prime Reading. Now, I just wanna spend all my money on things Hellcat.

I seriously loved this. The artwork was super great. I loved the characters. I loved the stories. It's just super fun to read and I had such a great time with this. It's also kinda adorable. I LOVE IT.

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

so sick of cutesy comics. I get it Disney owns Marvel now but I am not a 12 yr old girl and really do not find drama laden books fun.

[Chessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I kind of sort of hated the jarring art shift in the last issue (#6), I'm giving this a 4.5 but rounding up. I super loved this! Patsy is just such an awesome earnest person - she's trying to do the right thing, even though it's not coming easy. Loved the art in issues 1-5 and all the rad cameos from other comics - I've never actually considered reading Howard the Duck before, but now I'm kind of wondering...(my only experience is the terrible 80s movie).

I laughed out loud a LOT. Loved Ian and Tom and of course Jen (She-Hulk). Excited to see more of Jessica Jones!

All this to say, I just bought volume 2 and can't wait to dive in.

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it.

[Nadja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun quick read. Loved the artwork and all the characters. All that sass! ^_^

[The Lion's Share · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but not great, I'd like to know more about her origin, but I think all these new marvel now girl hero books are aimed at a younger female crowd, not really as good as I thought it would be.

[Lila (Hardcover Haven) · Rating 5 out of 5]

very, very cute! i have a new superheroine to adore now!

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly saw this comic while checking out the comic book section at my local bookstore and I was immediately intrigued - first by the art an then also by the title (the title of this volume is first of the many puns you will come across while reading this comic because there are puns everywhere and I love it). I wasn't familiar at all with the older Patsy Walker comics, but I shall definitely give them a go after discovering this gem. Of course, you don't actually need any previous knowledge to get through this comic since it's probably geared more towards new readers, although I'm sure there are some sneaky references that only older fans will get (I may be wrong though).

So, Patsy Walker is just your average - nope, not average at all, she fights crime as Hellcat, which is her superhero alias, and all the while she also struggles to pay rent in Brooklyn (I'm still not sure how exactly she manges to pay rent, but ok I'll let that slide). She sort of gets laid-off at her current job, which means she has to face the cruel reality of trying to make a living in NYC. However, she doesn't have to worry about that for long since she's extremely likeable and has a really amazing group of friends (I mean, She-Hulk is like her BFF!). So she then somehow manages to get a job in retail (obviously not for long as she gets fired literally on the first day), which she probably could've kept for longer, but her superhero senses and an old 'friend' from her childhood sort of get in the way. I did already mention that she's extremely likeable and makes friends with everyone (she ends up being roomies with a guy who robbed a truck lol), which is not really a bad thing and all in all it's a very cute comic with full of girl power and horrible yet amazing puns. Exactly what one needs in life.

I'd recommend this to everyone so pls GO READ IT RIGH NAO lol.

P.S. At times you could definitely see that the art was very manga-inspired (especially in the extra short story at the end), which went well with the overall style and the characters, but I still think they could've toned that down a little. Because sometimes I really had the feeline (hah, see what I did there?) that I was reading a manga and not a Marvel comic. Anyway, just wanted to add that.

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was lush.

[kels · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's super cute. Yep. Adorable, bright, fun, sweet. I really like the art style - very animated and poppy.

Things I loved about this: diverse cast, awesome female friendships, queer representation that isn't ooohed and aahhed over. Even the background felt super vibrant and natural, instead of that typical flat-white we often see in comics.

So why only the three stars? Well, the thing is this: I feel like Marvel is churning out interchangeable female headliners, all sassy and quirky and silly and adorable. You could replace Hellcat with Gwenpool or Squirrel Girl, and have the exact same story. And they're all so damned cute and friendly. It's like they've decided that *this* is what women want to see from comics - super cutesy Manic Pixie Dream Girl superheroes who save the world by making friends. And I don't - I want realistic, three-dimensional characters who are interesting, flawed, ugly, raw, exciting, vulnerable, powerful. I'm not twelve anymore; I want superheroes with depth. And Hellcat just doesn't deliver for me.

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this for its bright and cheerful art and for its breezy and fun writing. Hellcat comes across as a very likeable character. The main plot for the first few issues focuses on Hellcat coming across minor villains who she eventually recruits for a superhero temp agency that she is putting together. This volume is pretty solid except for the last issue which has a change in artist and which loses its writing focus.

[Skip · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this was awful. Let's chalk it up to I'm not the intended audience. The issues in the book and the dialogue were juvenile. And, the employment service for super heroes is hardly a novel concept. In fact, the only thing I liked was the author's choice to feature openly gay characters, which is refreshing for this genre.

[Alexandra Calaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

My cat's full name is now Nimona Louise Hellcat. ALSO - the fan letters in the back with all the cats reading Hellcat? OMG. ADORBS.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5.

This is the best thing that has happened to me since Charles Soule's run on She Hulk.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, outside of the Jessica Jones Netflix series, I have basically no exposure to Patsy Walker as herself or Hellcat. I wasn't sure what I would think of this, but it seemed interesting, and I've liked some of Kate Leth's webcomics, so I was prepared to give it a try. I'm so glad I did.

This was so much fun! The art was extremely cute, and I mean that in the best possible way. The characters were charming, fun, and easy to connect with. The sense of humour was great. The story was fun, but I was genuinely interested in the outcome--and there was enough left open to have me putting volume two on hold at the library right away. I loved seeing some guest appearances from some of my favourite Marvel characters from the last couple years, like Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Howard the Duck. I also loved the bi and gay rep!

I know there are people who are tired of comics that are "too cutesy" and such, but I can't get enough of the cute. I'm tired of superhero comics that take themselves too seriously, especially since those seem to be the ones that are a bitch to follow if I haven't already read a hundred issues of the comic beforehand.

If you're looking for a good time, look no further. This is a ton of fun, and I recommend it wholeheartedly. I look forward to reading volume two.

[Shaun Winters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read some stories featuring Hellcat, thanks largely to West Coast Avengers and Avengers stories that I read growing up. Those stories were by far more serious than this collection. This takes a comedic look at her life as a superhero, but also as a person trying to survive. Overall, the story is enjoyable and the side characters are interesting and add some strength to the comedy side of things. It also has a strong postive message of people can change and even though they may do something bad they are still redeemable. If you are a serious comic fan this won't be for you, but if you don't mind seeing superheroes being somewhat goofy this will be a most enjoyable read. I found myself laughing and smiling throughout it.

[Sean O · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this series. The first five issues was a complete arc which had a very good artist, which transitioned from cartoony to soap-opera-y. (The last issue had a seriously flawed artist, which managed to tell a story, but in a style that did nothing for me.)

I thought the first arc was really good. It introduced all the main characters, and did it in a fun breezy style. Patsy Walker is Hellcat, and she's a kind, fun, and rather ditzy person who just happens to be a superhero.

I really liked it. It wasn't super-serious, but it didn't have to be.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the things I love is that they show people with superpowers who don’t want to fight crime but just want like...normal jobs!

The art was right up my alley too; expressive characters, fairly bright colours and some enviable outfits (looking at you Bailey)!

Only problem I had was that the plot felt a bit jumpy but overall this was a fun read! I’ll be jumping back into this world again for sure!!

Ps. She-Hulk and Valkyrie are total BABES and I love them

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super-clean-cut book, easy to put in the "get kids hooked on comics" category.

Love me a cover with 9 great comics heroes:


Super-fun with the silly friends' moments:

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg this is so fun and adorable and bouncy and of course it was cancelled prematurely.

[Jessamyn Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uplifting and funny in the same vein as Ryan North's Squirrel Girl.

[Robin Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun beginning to a new series! (12+)

*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me first, I will ask you to remove that use immediately. Thank you!*