Writer Christopher Cantwell recently concluded a multi-year run on Marvel’s Iron Man ongoing series, a run which saw Cantwell bring Patsy Walker, also known as the superhero Hellcat, into Tony Stark’s life in a big way. Patsy played a huge role throughout that run, and now Marvel is putting Hellcat front and center again in a new five-issue miniseries written by Cantwell and illustrated by Alex Lins. Covers for the series, which finds the character embroiled in a murder mystery, will be by Pere Pérez.
Here’s how Marvel describes the new series:
Patsy is back on the West Coast, living in a house haunted by the ghost of her mother! When someone close to Patsy’s inner circle is murdered, Hellcat becomes the prime suspect! Now Patsy must prove her innocence and evade both the police and the supernatural threat of the Sleepwalkers. To add to the perils she faces, her demonic ex Daimon Hellstrom shows up and that’s never a good thing.
Sleepwalkers? Any relation to the iconic ’90s character Sleepwalker? Given Cantwell’s affinity for offbeat, oddball characters, anything is possible.
Hellcat is the latest teaming for Cantwell and Lins, who previous worked together on a Moon Knight story for the character’s Black, White, and Blood anthology series. In a statement announcing the new series, the two creators described the direction Patsy Walker’s life is headed and how their latest collaboration came to be:
“It’s been so rewarding to go even deeper with Hellcat in this new miniseries, and work so closely with Alex Lins on this book,” Cantwell said. “I feel like Patsy was a great voice of conscience and groundedness in Iron Man, but we also hinted at some internal struggles and lingering darkness within her, which we explored even more in our Iron Man/Hellcat Annual issue this summer. But now, I think we’re really harnessing the full power of her character in her own story, and finally unifying all these disparate pieces of her Marvel history—from her since-retconned cheery teenage years, to her time in the romance genre, to her ground-level heroing and vigilante days, to her more supernatural exploits—into one cohesive and definitive HELLCAT tale. This book is first and foremost a noir murder mystery—it’s got grit and doesn’t pull punches—and this is Patsy looking into the darkness she’s struggled with throughout her entire life in order to see how much of it still remains in her soul.”
“The first project I did with Chris was Moon Knight: Black, White and Blood and I quickly realized that he was that amazing kid in the playground that not only has the best ideas, but also the ones that invite everyone in to play with his toys,” Lins added. “He writes in such a visual way that opens things up for artists to contribute and feel part of the process. His stories are well paced, clever, and BIG on imagery so as an artist, you can’t ask for much more! From deeply broken character scenes to Hellcat fighting up some unsung super villains, this series has it all. I sense I might get to draw that CREEPY little bunny from Iron Man/Hellcat Annual so that would be a highlight in my career.”
Look for Hellcat #1 (of 5) to arrive in stores and digitally on the Ides of March, Wednesday, March 15th.