Writers Jason Aaron & Ed McGuinness

Inkers Mark Morales with Ed McGuinness

Color Artist Jason Keith

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Cover Ed McGuinness & Val Staples

Variant Cover Paolo Rivera

Graphic Designer Carlos Lao

This was an issue devoted entirely to Jennifer Walters, which normally I would be very approving of, I’m a big fan of She-Hulk, unfortunately this was a book that I did not enjoy very much. 

Almost the entirety of the book centers around She-Hulk thinking about and dealing with the changes wrought upon her by an encounter with a dying Celestial, the experience has made her, for lack of a better word, even more “Hulky”.  She’s more aggressive, stronger, more irritable, and more prone to taking action with less forethought.  

The first few pages of the issue are of her arguing points about her new condition in a courtroom, She-Hulk on the witness stand, lawyer She-Hulk pestering her from before the tables that the prosecutor and defense would sit behind. The gist of the conversation/hostile questioning is that Jennifers unconscious former self is very unhappy with her current selfs current condition.  The most interesting part of this section of the book was that this scene played out in a Wakandan Psychoactive Calisthenics session administered by Black Panther. Honestly, I was expecting the scene to end with She-Hulk waking up in sweat-soaked sheets due to the tiring nature of the device.

The book then jumps to some pretty standard pre-fight pep talking administered by Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, before She-Hulk lets loose on King Ulik, the troll ruling Australia in Malekiths name. The best part of the fight between her and Ulik is at the end of it when Ulik says, as he’s being beaten severely, as trolls deserve.

“What? What’d I say? That Thor is his name, not a legacy? So how can anyone else use-”

Ulik the Troll

And then after one last big punch from Jennifer.

“Hhgh. Marry me.”

Ulik the Troll

Ha! That was probably the best part of the book, I was actually laughing out loud.  A close second to that was Jennifers response to a spaced-out Daredevils vague warnings at the end of the issue, that was hilarious as well.

Those two bits of dialogue were the high points of this book for me.  I went from bored, annoyed, and back again for most of the issue. The whole thing gave me that feeling, which I don’t have words for, of realizing in the moment of reading, that what I’m reading is filler for a comic book event that’s taken over the whole publishers line. Also, some of the statements in the book are not quite so vague allusions to the current culture war playing out in real life. Which is annoying and happens so often lately in Marvel books that it has to be directed from the top of the company. All of that playing out in my head while reading distracts from the story, a story that wasn’t that fun to begin with.

The art was well done, the inkers especially shined in the book, I felt. The style of the art I did not like however.  The characters looked like Masters of The Universe had a baby with 90’s super heroes. I also didn’t like how She-Hulk was drawn, she was very bulky, very wide, and almost looked like a feminized Wolverine, or something.  Jennifer Walters is strong and beautiful, why not show that?

The colorwork was fine, not bad or good, but I did like how bright it could be at times.

Skip it!