I like the book's writing quite a bit, it's very good. That's the main reason I'm with the book. I commented solely on the artwork alone because I don't read previews (some exceptions of course), just looked at the imagery to get a taste for what I'll be reading later. As such, I only comment on the artwork and I don't view as a good fit for the book. It's got some interesting use of perspective and angles, but the characters look atrocious (body type and proportions radically changing at points, the facial expressions, and more), the coloring is guady, and the action is mixed.
I'm not even looking for mainstream or house style artwork here like you rudely think I and so many others are, I just want a better artist that would fit so much better. If we must keep the Indie feel and color scheme then for these two fill-in issues, someone like Robbi Rodriguez (he does FBP) would be a much better choice if he wasn't busy that.
Opinions may vary in quality.
My big article on Mariko Tamaki's Hulk & She-Hulk runs, discussing the good, bad, and its creation.
My second big article on She-Hulk, discussing Jason Aaron's focus on her in Avengers #20.
I'd like to open a dialogue with you on that. I agree that the book's "writing technique" is excellent, in the sense that it is economical, worded well, reads fluently, etc.
But writing is not the same as story telling, constructing drama and engaging readers with characters. For example, Bendis's scripts are generally not as technically good as Soule's here in She-Hulk, but Bendis's scripts tell compelling stories. I've not read anything else from Soule yet, so I won't generalize about his work. But here the work is not compelling, IMHO.
I find myself after each issue of Soule's She-Hulk noticing it was really well written, but yet I don't feel like I know Jennifer and I certainly don't care about her. I don't understand what her stakes are. Is she happy as a solo practitioner? Worried? Does she have something to prove to the big firms that now shun her, or could she care less? What were her true motives for helping Vernard extra-judicially? The lure of the bad-boy? A sense of obligation to the client? Just general super-hero ethics? A personal A-type personality that refuses to lose? A great writer has you asking these questions, but also gives you answers in relatively short order. So at the end of the day I feel Jennifer is just bland and uninteresting.
I feel like there is a lot of raw material in the issues, with potentially interesting concepts and plot threads to draw on from Jennifer's legal world. But it's not sewn together into a compelling drama with compelling characters. Even a lighthearted book needs to do these things to be interesting.
Ultimately “better fit” is simply an opinion. By mainstream/fan service, I meant: “She-Hulk drawn in a manner or style that has been seen before in a Marvel comic”—which I think we all agree Wimberly’s style isn’t. I think you inferred that I meant “fan service” derogatorily, but that isn’t my intention.
To all: What is a better term to use?
I wasn’t referring to Pulido’s work in saying “mainstream/fan service” in my sentence you quoted. I don’t believe I’ve said anything specifically pro-Pulido, but perhaps I need to review.
I acknowledge that Ron Wimberly’s line work (and the issues’ palette) is jarring if one has never seen it before (this is not his first comic book)—an acquired taste. And that neither his She-Hulk or Tigra is pretty or sexy as they have been traditionally drawn in official publications.
Last edited by Rasmane; 07-13-2014 at 03:34 PM.