ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Women of Marvel,’ Issue #1

Women of Marvel #1 is an anthology one-shot published by Marvel Comics. In the vein of Marvel’s Voices: Legacy and Marvel’s Voices: Identity, the one-shot focuses on the House of Ideas’ female characters. More importantly, it features a wide roster of female creators writing and illustrating the stories. And in perfect timing, it also happens to release during Women’s History Month!

“Real Witches” features Patty Prue, a girl who wants to learn magic, encountering the Scarlet Witch. It’s written by Mirka Adolfo, illustrated by Sumeyye Kesgin, and colored by Brittany Peer. “Showing Up” stars Jessica Jones and is written and colored by Jordie Bellaire, with Zoe Thorogood providing art. “Comb Foot” has an unlikely team-up between Squirrel Girl and Black Widow. It’s written by Charlie Jane Andrews, penciled by Emma Kubert, inked by Elisabetta D’Amico, and colored by Giada Marchisio. Finally, “Cry of the Jungle” also centers on another unlikely union, this time between Shanna the She-Devil and Silver Sable. It’s written by Rhianna Pratchett, illustrated by Alina Erofeeva, and colored by Ruth Redmond. VC’s Ariana Maher handles lettering for most of the issue, with VC’s Cory Petit stepping in to handle letters for “Comb Foot.” Petit even manages to capture the same offbeat lettering that ran through the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series!

But the highlight of the one-shot is the overarching story “Four Jobs Felicia Hated (And One She Didn’t),” which features the Black Cat. True to the story’s title, writer Preeti Chibber explores five heists that Felicia Hardy has pulled off and how four of them ended in relative disaster. Each job is illustrated by a different artist, to boot. “Bad Job #1” is illustrated by Eleonora Carlini and colored by Rachelle Rosenberg, “Bad Job #2” is illustrated by Claire Roe and colored by Rosenberg, “Bad Job #3” is illustrated and colored by Jen Bartel, and “Bad Job #4” is illustrated and colored by Marguerite Sauvage. Finally, both parts of “The One She Didn’t” are illustrated by Ann Maulina and colored by Rosenberg.

“Four Jobs Felicia Hated (And One She Didn’t)” is at times hilarious, action-packed, and emotional, and sometimes all three, depending on the job Black Cat takes up. Chibber gets how complex Felicia is as a character. Though she’s a thief, she uses her bad luck abilities to stop another pair of thieves when she tries to take a vacation, and one of the jobs ends up bringing up aches from the past. The artists also have fun illustrating the various stages of Felicia’s past; Carlini’s story is drawn to evoke the feel of Space Invaders, especially as Felicia is robbing the X-Men’s foe Arcade. Bartel’s art is gorgeous as always (including a moment where Felicia punches out a guy who looks like a dead ringer for Tuxedo Mask), and Sauvage, best known for illustrating the DC Bombshells comics, brings that same sense of allure to her story.

The other standouts of the issue are “Real Witches” and “Showing Up.” Both Wanda Maximoff and Jessica Jones have dealt with different forms of trauma, the former from losing her children and the latter dealing with the Purple Man’s manipulation. Both Adolfo and Bellaire understand what makes these characters tick, and Kesgin and Thorogood draw moodier stories that feature heart-to-heart conversations. Women of Marvel #1 also features interviews with the creators where they discuss their influences and features an intro by prolific writer Gail Simone. The only flaw is that I wish that Storm, who has a spot on the cover, had a story focused on her.

Women of Marvel #1 focuses on the House of Ideas’ female heroes, courtesy of a roster of female creators. I highly suggest picking it up, especially if you’re a fan of the Black Cat. And I freely admit that the timing of this one-shot is perfect, significantly as comic book schedules have been affected due to the COVID-19 paper shortage.

Women of Marvel #1 will be available wherever comics are sold on March 9, 2022.