SHE-HULK #1
Written by comic scribe and lawyer himself Charles Soule, She-Hulk cashes in on the quirky and less punching based aesthetics of similar Marvel titles like Hawkeye and The Superior Foes of Spider-Man to form a series that we could subtitle “Law & Order: Marvel U.” The long-winded portions of the comic’s dialogue will likely lose some readers, shame on them for that, but it’s Javier Pulido’s artwork that will keep them interested to the ending. Pulido’s style worked like a charm with Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye, and seeing it in conjunction with a similar tone, albeit different plot, proves he’s an exceptional artist capable of handling many archetypes.
It’s always clear when an artist is phoning it in, especially when certain panels appear nearly identical the ones previous, but in She-Hulk Pulido is displaying some of the most honest and unique work on the stands. Even the panel layouts are intricately planned and displayed so as to convey the proper beats in the story. It’s truly remarkable work. It would be easy for some to dismiss Pulido’s work as “cartooney,” especially for a character like She-Hulk, but if you’re going to write a story about a seven-foot-tall green woman that is a lawyer, do you really want a “realistic” approach?
Soule has proven himself time and time again as a writer, with work on DC’s Superman/Wonder Woman and Marvel’s Thunderbolts, but She-Hulk takes him into new territory and it’s just as exciting as his more action focused book. It might surprise you to learn the series is quite light on action, in lieu of focusing on the character traits of Jennifer as a person, which is a smart move. In his previous comics, Soule has shown he writes teams and duos well, so it’s refreshing to see him manage a solo character with the same panache and wit that he’s brought to so many other characters.
She-Hulk is a smartly written comic that is just as engaging and interesting as its more fighting oriented siblings at Marvel. What it lacks in action it makes up for in character and plot. While artist Javier Pulido knocks it out of the park, this team shows us why Marvel is known as the “House of Ideas,” because they’re blazing a new path here.
Rating: 9/10
Head over to page 2 to see our review of X-Force #1!
