• Written by: Christopher Cantwell
• Art by: Alex Lins
• Colors by: K.J. Díaz
• Letters by: VC’s Arian Maher
• Cover art by: Pere Pérez, Marte Gracia
• Cover price: $3.99
• Release date: May 24, 2023

Hellcat #3 widens and deepens the investigation into Spalding Grantham’s murder when Patsy Walker discovers Grantham had dark secrets with a connection to the forces of Hell.

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Is It Good?

Tedious. In a word, Hellcat #3 is tedious. The basis of a curious murder mystery is present in Christopher Cantwell’s plot, but the delivery zigs and zags for miles, so you’re motion sick and annoyed before getting to the final page. Mysteries can be effective when they include misdirection, but too much of anything is almost always a bad thing.

When last we left Patsy Walker, she was gunned down by the police after barging into Hedy’s apartment. Elsewhere, Sleepwalker’s investigation into Spalding’s secrets crossed paths with Blackheart. Now, Patsy resurrects herself with the power of Hell, Blackheart appears to be afraid of (Hell)cats, Patsy and Dreamwalker learn Spalding was into shady hobbies, and Daimon (Patsy’s dead ex-husband living inside a stuffed bunny) doesn’t appear to be on the up-and-up.

In a nutshell, that’s a lot of weirdness to power through without a clear focus. Therein lies the first of two problems with Cantwell’s script.

First, the plot is too unfocused to hold a reader’s attention. We’re focusing on 12-year-old Patsy’s interactions with her divorced parents, 16-year-old Patsy’s dilemma over a paper-writing scandal at school, Patsy’s romantic relationship with Patsy and his penchant for photography, Dreamwalker’s contentious relationship with his human alter ego, Patsy’s contentious relationship with her ex-friend Hedy, her dead ex-husband Daimon, and her dead-but-present-as-a-ghost mother, and this new development with a relationship between Spalding and Blackheart.

In fairness, none of those subplots are confusing, but you’re forced to keep tabs on so many subplots at once because all (supposedly) have some meaning or relevance to the plot. It’s tiring.

The second flaw is the number of back-and-forth exchanges that happen in nearly every conversation. Imagine the majority of a dialog-heavy comic where every conversation sounds something like this:

“Did you kill him?”

“No. Did you kill him?”

“No. Did so-and-so kill him?”

“No, So-and-so didn’t have the power to kill him, but you have the power to kill him?”

“Well, I don’t remember killing him. Do you remember killing him?”

“No. Maybe so-and-so remembers who killed him?”

Oy!

How’s the art? Alex Lins’s penchant for exaggerated body proportions is less obvious in this issue, so that’s a plus, but the art is just okay. You won’t be wowed by it, and it isn’t horrible, so it’s serviceable.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Hellcat #3 is not a good comic. There are too many subplots designed to add texture but lack substance, and the dialog-heavy issue relies too much upon quid-pro-quo exchanges between characters that ultimately lead nowhere. Couple the tedious writing with just serviceable art, and you wind up with a comic that’s a chore to read.

5/10