This past weekend the eyes of the comic book community were focused on Chicago, as the annual C2E2 Convention was held at the South Building At McCormick Place. As fans have come to expect over the years, Marvel had a large presence at the show, with several announcements over the course of the three day event. One of these announcements was that Jessica Jones, and Hellcat would come face to face this June.
Netflix’s hit television series, Jessica Jones, introduced Patricia Walker to fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She served as the second female lead by virtue of being the title character’s adoptive sister, and best friend. Rachael Taylor was universally praised for her performance, and the MCU had another great female character to root for. In the comics Patricia “Patsy” Walker, having been created in 1944, is one of Marvel’s oldest characters. She goes by the superhero name of Hellcat, and doesn’t share the connection to Jessica Jones that her TV counterpart does.
In fact, it was announced this past weekend that June’s Patsy Walker a.k.a. Hellcat #7, from the creative team of Kate Leth and Brittney Williams, will see the two characters meet for the first time in the comic book universe.
Speaking to Newsarama, Leth discussed the relationship between the two characters in the comics:
Newsarama: Kate, let’s get right to this — Jessica Jones is coming to Patsy Walker a.k.a. Hellcat in June’s #7. Viewers of Jones’ Netflix series know they’re friends, but how are they connected in comic books?
Kate Leth: They haven’t yet met in the books, but they’re definitely about to. Jessica’s been set on the case to find out all she can about Patsy Walker, but it quickly becomes more complicated than that when she discovers that Patsy is also Hellcat!
Nrama: Is the Jessica Jones show itself inspiring you at all in how you write the character? Or Rachael Taylor’s Patsy Walker?
Leth: There’s definitely an influence. I love Kristen Ritter’s dry sarcasm and vulnerability as Jessica Jones, so those elements are reflected in her appearance in Hellcat. As for Rachael Taylor, I definitely tweaked some bits of Patsy after watching the show because Rachael is just so incredible, but comic Patsy’s attitude was already pretty well-established. Obviously our comic is a very different animal than the TV series, so it’s all about picking the bits and pieces that work in our world.
Fans of both characters will want to pick up Patsy Walker a.k.a Hellcat #7 when it hits stands this June. For more coverage of all things Marvel make sure to keep your eyes peeled on The Marvel Report, and follow us on Twitter @TheMarvelReport