She-Hulk #4
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Juan Bobillo She-Hulk
may be one of the best damn superhero books being made today.
Weren’t
expecting that, were you? I know I sure as hell wasn’t.
Oh,
there was never any point where I didn’t understand
She-Hulk was more than a female version of the Big Green
(a recent talk with a non-comic reading female friend brought
to light that the name sorta connotes a musclebound man-hating
lesbian), but the idea of a sassy, sexy, strong-girl superhero
coping with life in a man’s world… Well, let’s
just say it never hooked me.
I guess
a fundamental problem I found with the character was the
lack of an alter ego. It’s kind of a minor point,
these days, when you have so many heroes who don’t
lead dual lives and never use an alias, but here you had
a character that started out as a normal woman, hulked-out,
and never looked back. She got all the benefits of being
like Hulk but (eventually) none of the baggage of being
an id given form.
And,
well, that’s kinda boring.
You’re
super strong, eh? Living out all your fantasies without
consequence? Really? No, that’s great. Good for you.
No, really, that’s… that’s nice.
‘Cause,
let’s face it, what is Hulk without Bruce Banner?
What is Batman without Bruce Wayne? What is Superman without
Clark Kent? What is Blue Beetle without Ted Kord?
Thankfully,
Dan Slott must’ve been asking himself the same question
when writing this re-launch, because we’ve seen more
of Jen Walters (rather than She-Hulk) in these four issues
than I remember seeing in everything I’ve read before.
The
story this month is one that’s been a long time coming:
Pug, Jen’s new buddy at the law firm of Goodman, Lieber,
Kurtberg, & Holliway, has her hook him up with Spider-man
so they can sue the pants off J. Jonah Jameson for libel.
As it turns out, Pug also wants to ask her out on a date.
Only problem is he wants to ask Jen, not She-Hulk.
Oh,
and then there’s the other problem. You know; the
one where publicly announcing the exact time and place Spidey
and J. Jonah Jameson will be in the same room attracts the
attention of a vengeful Scorpion and Alistair Smythe.
I don’t
know whether it’s a purely stylistic choice or a constant
fear of cancellation, but She-Hulk’s strongly
episodic plotting makes it a book I look forward to reading
every month. There’s always a bit of mystery and some
running threads to keep you coming back for more, but it’s
amazing how refreshing it is to read a superhero book that
gives you a complete story.
No crossovers,
no ‘to be continued’s, and no three month waits
between cliffhangers (sadly, it looks like this may be coming
to an end with a two issue arc starting up next month).
And,
despite all the talk of how Emma Frost is supposed
to be a Marvel comic for girls, I have to say this book
is far better suited to that task. She-Hulk is
what many women wish they could be: strong, independent,
carefree, sexy, intelligent, famous, and desired by millions.
It’s a power-fantasy on par with Captain Marvel (DC’s,
not Marvel’s). One minute, you’re a boring average
person who just happens to fit in the comic’s main
audience demographic. The next, you’re everything
you ever wanted to be but could never have.
Yet
in She-Hulk, all the people who matter don’t
want the voluptuous, green, amazon super-vixen. They want
Jen Walters. They want the serious-minded, mature, dependable
young woman; not the party girl. Honestly, who really wants
the party girl when the party’s over?
Okay,
maybe that’s not the best question to ask a bunch
of fanboys…
Still,
Dan Slott’s hit the nail on the head, here. His scripts
are wordy as hell, but the pacing is smooth and easy. The
feel of the book is like some amalgam of Mark Waid’s
Fantastic Four and Brian Michael Bendis’
The Pulse. At times INSANELY steeped in the lore
of the Marvel Universe but always entertaining and guaranteed
to make you laugh.
Seeing
Slott’s prior credits on Batman Adventures, JLA
Adventures, and the Ren and Stimpy books gives
a bit of insight as to where the man’s coming from,
but when you see Arkham Asylum: Living Hell up
there, as well, you know we’ve only hit the tip of
the iceberg.
Juan
Bobillo’s artwork has been both praised and derided,
but I can’t really say much good or bad about it.
The European flavor of it takes some getting used to, but
there are still times when the anatomy seems a bit off.
Jen’s face sometimes looks disproportionate to her
head, but that really just seems to happen when she’s
hulked out.
Then
there’s his decision to create the least form-fitting
Spidey costume I’ve seen in quite a while. I can respect
it for the way it harkens to the Ditko era and attempts
to put a less “guy in tights” spin on things,
but, admittedly, Spidey’s never looked more like a
guy in pajamas than he does here.
But,
starting next issue, for good or bad, we get to see a more
conventional take from Paul Pelletier (Negation).
Hopefully that decision will boost sales some because rumor
has been floating around that Marvel’s considering
canceling the book or possibily re-vamping it for a younger
audience.
Yeah,
I know; it sounds like yet another wonderful revelation
from the House of Ideas. Let’s just latch on to the
idea that it’s a crazy rumor for a while, though,
‘k?
Rating:
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