Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! #4 (2016)
written by Kate Leth
art by Brittney L. Williams & Megan Wilson
A comiXologist Recommends (a new start for an venerable vampette)
Hollywood will eat you alive, even if you’re a vampire. After just a few hours in town, Vampirella is caught on camera taking down a mysterious masked thug who broke into her new gothic mansion, and the video goes viral. Not one to procrastinate, she immediately updates her look to keep a low profile and follows her only lead from her attacker, but somehow ends up with an agent. L.A., am I right?
Kate Leth @kateordie brought her sass master A-game with this script (fave: internet news headline “Half-Naked Monster Woman Owns Home Invader”) and Eman Casallos’s spooky interiors and fierce monsters effortlessly bring you into the world of Vampirella without exposition.
If you’ve never picked up a Vampirella book before, this is a great place to start, and if you’re a long time fan, you’ll appreciate this new take on the ever-tough vampire heroine. Also, you’ll probably want to cosplay her new look immediately.
Kara Szamborski supervises the Production Coordinator team at comiXology and co-hosts the weekly comiXologist podcast to help you find the perfect comic to read. She’s probably online trying to find those boots Vampirella’s wearing while you read this.
School Spirit by Kate Leth @kateordie and Arielle Jovellanos is new today from Rosy Press @rosypress
Just in time for Valentine’s Day! Check out the sensational serial originally printed in Fresh Romance.
It’s not typical for a human to turn into a wolf? Excuse me, I need to go see my doctor.
Lumberjanes #22 by Kate Leth @kateordie , Shannon Waters and Cary Pietsch is new today!
Kate Leth is coming on strong these days with books like Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat.
A comiXologist Recommends
By Kate Leth, Brittney L. Williams, and Megan Wilson
AKA HELL YES
Sometimes the thing that makes a superhero interesting is what sets them apart from the mundane – their extraordinary abilities and the grand, spectacular scenarios that play out around them. But sometimes all that super-ness can seem a little remote, and after a while I start to find myself more interested in the minutia of superhero lives. Like, how do they pay the bills? I mean, not every superhero is a Tony Stark or a Bruce Wayne.
Some superheroes are more of a Patsy Walker. She also wonders how people with super powers are supposed to pay the bills, because this is a particular problem for Patsy and her friends. And this is a problem Patsy is determined to solve, using to their advantage the very thing that makes it a challenge.
We may not have the ability to sense mystical energy, or possess the power of telekinesis, or learned to kick butt on the moon. But we can all relate to needing to figure out life, and how to manage our own unique potential that maybe sometimes feels like a burden. Patsy Walker is here to tell you that life is hard but you are important and you can do it.
In many ways, this is a Patsy that fans of Jessica Jones (on Netflix) will recognize. She is your best friend and your conscience and do NOT mess with her if you know what’s good for you. But this Patsy lives in a world that is decidedly less grim than the show. The colors in this book are downright cheerful, the panels are packed with charming details, and the dialogue is upbeat. (All the high fives for that line about the fridge, Kate!)
I predict that Hellcat will join the ranks of Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel, proving that fun, bright comics about young women have an eager audience. And if you were wondering if you should join that audience, the answer is HELL YES.
Tia Vasiliou is a Digital Editor at ComiXology. She hopes to one day learn butt-kicking on the moon.
We’re getting excited for the Small Press Expo by giving you half off of some of our favorite indie comics when you use the code spx at checkout!
A comiXologist recommends:
Fresh Romance #4
by: Lindsay Smith
I don’t know about you, but I have a select group of comics I refer to when I want to… convert someone.
No, not like that. There are no spiked kool-aid drinks, stranger-danger, basement baptisms here. When I want to convert someone to comics, I have a list of titles that I know will work for someone who says that they just don’t think they “like comics”.
Well, TWIST, until recently I would have told you that I just didn’t really have an interest in comics in the romance genre. Fresh Romance, an anthology from Janelle Asselin’s Rosy Press, has totally bungled my stance on romance comics and I hope the creators behind it are only the first in an exciting revival of this genre.
There are 3 romances per issue of Fresh Romance; “School Spirit” which is a queer high school tale amongst a very charming flirtatious group of friends with a dash of magic added in, “Ruined” which follows a regency era arranged marriage and is utterly compelling despite a familiar story line, and “The Ruby Equation” which shows us what life could be like as a fairy/barista who is so caught up in her assignment to make matches that she gets lost in the numbers and forgets about true chemistry.
In issue #4 of Fresh Romance, out this week, the group flirtations start to catch up with Malie, Justine, and Miles. Catherine and Andrew have finally reached their wedding night… but Catherine might be hiding more than we’ve realized. And Ruby learns just how hot your cheeks can feel when you start blushing… plus she might be starting to understand what chemistry really is.
With irresistible characters written by Sarah Kuhn, Kate Leth, and Sarah Vaughn, accompanied by stellar art from Arielle Jovellanos, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Sally Jane Thompson, Fresh Romance #4 is certainly worth your while, even if you think the romance genre just isn’t for you.
[Read Fresh Romance #4 on comiXology]
Lindsay Smith is a member of the International Production Team. She lives in Brooklyn and has been invited to join multiple cults…. She probably just has one of those faces, right?
*splish sploosh*
This has been a Silas appreciation post. Now, go read Power Up #1 by kateordie & eiffelart
