Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!, Volume 1: Hooked On A Feline by Kate Leth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
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.