The Sensational She-Hulk Appreciation

[Supermutant2099]

I found this bit of interesting she-hulk memorable from history at a con today. Never knew it existed.

https://img00.deviantart.net/21b8/i/...99-dca7tgg.jpg

Also was finally able to pick up Red She-Hulk pop from last year. Couldn't find suit She-Hulk though. Funny last year I couldn't find the red one. Watch I will find it next year at cons.

[InformationGeek]

It took a very long time, but I finished. Months later, it's done. My article on Mariko Tamaki's Hulk & She-Hulk runs is finished! Enjoy this long overview of them...

Grey and Broken: A look back at Mariko Tamaki’s She-Hulk run

Part of the Article:

The first story was more than just that though. Jen’s first client coming back to work was Masie Brown, an Inhuman woman (I believe at least) who had gone through a very similar traumatic incident in the past that left her…different. She was an outgoing woman who was nearly killed and ever since, had never fully recovered. She begged Jen for help, but due to her own issues during the arc, ended up failing her. To sum up, since the arc was never particularly clear about anything, Masie lashed out at Jen with some kind of monster made up of the fears, trauma, and issues of all the residents at her apartment, causing Jen to hulk out. The arc ended with Masie being thrown in jail and after finally hulking out, our heroine came to peace with who she was now.

The story arc was a critical hit with almost everyone but me. However, having re-read through the arc all at once instead of having it spread out over six months, and also having read the interviews, I see the praise and understand what Tamaki was going for. This was a very different type of She-Hulk story; one that excelled at capturing the emotional trauma and heartache that Jen was going through. You could understand why she was in agony, why it hurt so much to transform, and why she was so desperate to keep her emotions bottled up. I do feel Tamaki could have done better narratively with the use of flashbacks, but her writing in this area was excellent.

Backing her up for this sole arc was Nico Lean, one of many artists to come. Lean also excelled at depicting human drama and the heavy feelings that permeated throughout the arc. You were told and shown how much Jen was hurting, a feeling that was depicted perfectly through the art. Just the scene alone in the first issue of Jennifer on the ground, trying to keep herself from hulking out told you everything you needed to know. He was the right choice to draw the opening storyline.

While the first story arc absolutely brought to life the vision that Tamaki had for her She-Hulk run, the opening was not without its flaws. Deconstructed was a poorly paced story, taking its time to get to Jen finally hulking out. The story warrants a slower, more human-focused approach without a doubt, but the pacing felt slower than it should have been with its weird breaks for humor and sequences drawn out for more than a page or two (like a pair of detectives leaving Brown’s apartment complex). In the final issue, it felt like things were still drawn out, even though the majority of the comic was one long fight scene.

There were other minor problems as well, some of which can be blamed on the nature of superhero medium to a degree. The more introspective look at both Jen and Masie and how they were both similar was appropriate and captured well, but the final issue was a complete turnaround. The careful planning and approach was tossed aside for a stereotypical superhero brawl that ended with Masie being thrown into jail and Jen accepting herself after not being able to for the past five issues. It didn’t feel right for Jen to reach that stage so quickly, along with the fact that a mentally ill woman was thrown into jail and it being treated like the right thing. Leon’s art also didn’t lend itself well to superhero medium either, since he drew Jen’s She-Hulk form mostly the same as her regular self, just painted green. His interpretation of Jen’s new Hulk form didn’t look quite right either, not matching the covers remotely and making her look more like the Witch from Left 4 Dead if she had more muscle mass.

But despite the issues and not quite nailing the ending, Tamaki did succeed in her goals for the first story arc: telling us a story about the former She-Hulk struggling with her Hulk form and dealing with a traumatic event that shaped her. She would not be the same for a long time and the series before us made it clear things would be different. Critics and readers were excited and even I recall many people talking about how interesting it would be going forward with that new Hulk form. However, what came next would quell those cheers and excitement.

[elementalist]

Very well detailed article, it combined a lot of the points we were upset about in a professional manner.

[Sensational C]

It took a very long time, but I finished. Months later, it's done. My article on Mariko Tamaki's Hulk & She-Hulk runs is finished! Enjoy this long overview of them...

Grey and Broken: A look back at Mariko Tamaki’s She-Hulk run

Part of the Article:

Well put, I agree with most of your praises and criticisms of what led and transpired of the Hulk/She-Hulk comic run along with the analysis. The first arch hitting the had on how the trauma affected Jen. Really liked your idea of moving the date issue at the end of the series as it fits more tonally. Dropping Hawkeye from the trauma, the pacing problems, etc.

[KC]

I decided to read the new issue of Avengers in my local comic book store.

spoilers:

The story itself was standard. Jennifer didn't really get much focus in the issue, she was introduced and then she was on a panel at the end. I am still not a fan of Jennifer not wanting to be She-Hulk.

end of spoilers

[Kurolegacy]

I don't particularly mind Jen choosing to just be Jen in her downtime but what I'd love to know is why this issue acts like Jen is still in the same position she was in at the start of her previous solo. Not only did it end with her in a better place but this is now just raising the question of if no one has bothered to tell her that Bruce is alive again given how upset she still seems to be.

[beetee]

Hard to tell from one scene.... but she's green again, so this takes place after her last run.... I'm guessing, "Hulk" continues to emerge as a separate self from Jen with her own personality.... or Aaron is ignoring Tamaki's run altogether... which is par for course for She Hulk writers... :-/ (Not that I was a fan of Tamaki's run or anything, but there is never a sustainable continuity with SH)

[Digifiend]

He's ignoring that run. No doubt about that.

[macattack]

He's ignoring that run. No doubt about that.

More like he's ignoring the conclusion to the run. Jen has improved since her darkest days in the Tamaki run, but she's not where she was in the final 2-3 issues.

Considering the conclusion was rushed and fairly dumb, I don't exactly disagree with him for doing so.

[Supermutant2099]

More like he's ignoring the conclusion to the run. Jen has improved since her darkest days in the Tamaki run, but she's not where she was in the final 2-3 issues.

Considering the conclusion was rushed and fairly dumb, I don't exactly disagree with him for doing so.

The smarter move would have been to ignore the whole thing and just say jen never lost control post CWII. Again that would make more sense in terms of She-Hulk history and character. Who needs unique and fun character. We can just have generic hulk #4 with boobs. #Fail.

[MosSuperman]

Any books you guys recomend for me? I've been wanting to read about her for a while now. Any help?

[InformationGeek]

Any books you guys recomend for me? I've been wanting to read about her for a while now. Any help?

Dan Slott or John Byrne's runs. Soule's is alright, but the art is lacking and the ending is underwhelming. Probably rushed due to being cancelled.

The latest series... Well I wrote about that. Just check above or my signature.

[Ravin' Ray]

if no one has bothered to tell her that Bruce is alive again given how upset she still seems to be.

We might find answers in Immortal Hulk as to what Bruce's public status is and what people close to him know.

He's ignoring that run. No doubt about that.

He explicitly said in interview that he's continuing Jen's character from Tamaki's run though.

The smarter move would have been to ignore the whole thing and just say jen never lost control post CWII.

It happened, it's canon that Jen lost control whether we like it or not.

[Sensational C]

Any books you guys recomend for me? I've been wanting to read about her for a while now. Any help?

Dan Slott or John Byrne's runs. Soule's is alright, but the art is lacking and the ending is underwhelming. Probably rushed due to being cancelled.

The latest series... Well I wrote about that. Just check above or my signature.

^ Those are my top 3 picks for runs too. For my super brief rundowns, Slott's combines so much history while pushing the character and her cast forward and a lot of my favorite Shulkie moments. Byrne's is overflowing with creativity and fun. Soule is much more focused on Jen and lawyering but still have some fun superhero ideas. Followed by A-Force - She-Hulk leading her own Avengers Team 'Nuff Said, Peter David's run was interesting to see what Jen would do if she wan't a lawyer, the og Savage She-Hulk run if you want to see her beginnings, Tamaki's run if you want a darker side to Jen - good intentioned but poorly executed after one arch, She-Hulks - I liked seeing Jen in a mentoring position for Lyra but it never really felt like Jen's book with Bruce calling the shots and the empathy placed on Lyra, then Non-Byrne Sensational, of what I've read, lacks the charm or drama the others had.

[Valamist]

Any books you guys recomend for me? I've been wanting to read about her for a while now. Any help?

Basically what everyone else said. Slotts run was the first She-Hulk book I read and made her my favourite comicbook character of all time. I would say read Peter David's book right after that. I often feel it gets forgotten about, but its actually my favourite She-Hulk book if I am honest.