This May, IDW Publishing is releasing a six-issue miniseries about a family of spies with more cat puns and references than I can count just in the first issue alone. The official synopsis reads:
Caught up in the glamor and excessive lifestyle of an international career criminal, Felix Lamarr lives only for the thrill of the next big score. Suddenly contacted by his estranged and wealthy grandmother, he is shocked to learn that she is a storied career criminal herself—the lithe and legendary burglar Kitty Midnight—and that she wants him to partner with her cat-themed associates on a lucrative upcoming heist. Unaccustomed to collaboration, Felix declines Kitty’s offer…but a shocking incident sends his life into a sudden, chaotic tailspin. Framed for murder and on the run from a mysterious syndicate, he leaps at full-throttle from one international hot spot to the next in a deadly game of cat and mouse!
The creative team includes writer Andrew Wheeler (Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer’s Guides and Sins of The Black Flamingo) and Greek artist Ilias Kyriazis (Galaxy Quest: Global Warning and Collapser). In addition to the central team and cover B artist Morgan Beem, variant cover art includes the talent of Sweeney Boo, Alex Moore, and Veronica Fish.
Wheeler told TMS via email, “Ilias is the perfect partner to work with because he’s such a dynamic and inventive storyteller, and I was thrilled to see how Dennis and Auguste enriched his stunning layouts. We’re a very European team with a very international sensibility, and I think that comes through on the page!”
The Mary Sue exclusive preview
I had the pleasure of looking at an advance copy of issue one, and it’s as fast-pasted and adventurous as it promises! While the aims and themes are very different (so far, anyways), it gives me the same vibes as Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora’s Once & Future (Boom! Studios). Cat Fight #1 feels like it was influenced by Eartha Kitt’s campy Catwoman performance and the sleekness of spy stories like James Bond or The Kingsman franchise. Also, the story features a badass but definitely imperfect grandmother reminiscent of Ana (Overwatch) and Bridgette (Once & Future)—tuly an international, intergenerational, and fashionable caper.
IDW offered The Mary Sue readers a behind-the-scenes look at the process pages of CatFight #1! For creatives and aspiring comic book artists, these pages are an invaluable resource of understanding the process of visual storytelling. For everyone else—they are just cool as hell! The publisher shared three pages of the pencils (Kyriazis), inks (Auguste), and colors (Dennis Yatras). You can even see the notes and symbols scribbled in the panels and margins.
I wanted Cat Fight to embrace a lot of what I love about comics; action, glamour, spectacle, humour, and most of all fun! Comics can be so joyful and propulsive, and we need that kind of escape right now!
Andrew Wheeler
To get the full context of the scene, you’ll have to pick up issue one and read the text. Cat Fight #1 releases May 31, so put in your orders at your local comic shop to ensure a copy is ready for you to pick up this spring!
(featured image: IDW)
