Disclaimer: All of the comics reviewed in this column were either provided by the respective creators/companies, or were purchased from Dr. Volts Comics in Salt Lake City.
BIFF! BANG!! POW … WOW!!!
By Jerk-Bot
SHE-HULK #1 (monthly comic mini-series, full color, Marvel Comics, $2.99) (10 out of 10)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Charles Soule (script); Javier Pulido (art); Muntsa Vicente (colors) and VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters).
In here 30-plus years of her “existence,” She-Hulk has been a character whose creators had questionable motives, as well as being one that’s never quite lived up to her potential.
The gamma-powered alter-ego of Jennifer Walters, she was created as a knee-jerk response to perceived “sexism” in Marvel Comics, which gave rise to monthly titles featuring such heroines as Dazzler, Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman. Most of these were simply female counterparts to best-selling hero titles, which included She-Hulk.
The first of these was “Savage She-Hulk,” originally written by Stan “Sexist, or Sexy?” Lee and drawn by comics veteran John Buscema. Jennifer, a cousin to Bruce “The Incredible Hulk” Banner, gained similar powers after receiving a blood transfusion from him.
But neither Lee nor any of the various writers who followed him on the book could really figure out what they wanted the title and character to be. Enter writer/artist John Byrne, whose “Sensational She-Hulk,” re-launched the character and sent her in a fresher, more original direction before the book turned into a fourth-wall-breaking goof-fest.
The writers who have followed Lee and Byrne have either gone in the “Sensational” direction (such as writer Dan Slott’s acclaimed but poor-selling run) or have gone in a completely different one (such as when writer Peter David turned her into a super-powered bounty hunter).
Arguably, she’s been most successful as a member of a superhero team (including lengthy periods in both The Avengers and Fantastic Four). And aside from Slott, writers who have put their stamp on the character seem to forget that Jennifer is not just a crime fighter, she’s also a lawyer — something that’s clearly on new writer Charles Soule, himself a legal eagle.
Soule (“Letter 44,” DC’s “Swamp Thing”) and artist Javier Pulido (“Hawkeye,” DC’s “Human Target”) are apparently re-establishing that side of the character in the simply titled, “She-Hulk,” for the Marvel NOW! directive. The title’s first issue finds Jennifer leaving a job at a high-power New York City law firm but quickly picking up a new client in Holly Harrow, the widow of late criminal scientist Jonas Harrow.
THE GOOD.
Soule is one of comics’ most prolific talents – he’s currently writing a half-dozen titles split between the Big Two publishers. But each title has its own unique “voice,” and this new “She-Hulk” is no exception. The first issue is an entertaining blend of boardroom drama, subtle character humor and superheroic action (Jen gets into a couple of scraps with overprotective security robots), all of its briskly paced. Seriously, this very readable issue flies by so quickly you’ll forget that it’s a full, 22-issue tale.
And he’s ably assisted by underrated penciler Pulido, whose style might be described as “cartoony” by fans of the supposedly more “realistic” art of the bulk of current comics artists. However, Pulido’s art has a strong sense of flow and dynamics that’s lacking from so much of today’s four-color funnies. He also creates a version of Jennifer that’s both sexy and strong – unlike Buscema’s original take, which looked a bit too “brutish,” or Byrne’s, which veered on becoming “cheesecake” at times.
THE BAD.
Soule does suppose that readers are well-acquainted with the character and her particular continuity, and drops them directly into this story without much ado. A three-paragraph “bio” on the title page should ensure that readers aren’t completely left in the cold.
Those looking for an explanation of how and why the character got to this place may be left wanting as well.
THE UGLY.
And yes, this may be a little “inside” (Jen’s past history with Tony “Iron Man” Stark is referenced briefly), and the Harrow situation might not be as fully fleshed-out/explained as it could be. But really, that’s just a minor complaint at best.
IN CONCLUSION.
Fast-moving and fun, this is how all first issues should read. Really, it’s perhaps the best of all the recent first issues from Marvel NOW! Other writers should use it as a model, and create similarly, self-contained debuts.
The challenge, obviously, is to see if subsequent issues can live up to the standards of this one. But, given where the story leaves her, there are any number of directions in which Soule, Pulido and Co. could take the character. (Here’s hoping the inevitable She-Hulk/Daredevil crossover is as fun as it needs to be.)
Overall rating: 10 out of 10
Jeff Michael Vice, aka Jerk-bot, can be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com), as well as be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff)