She-Hulk

[Jeff of Earth-J]

When I was in elementary school I would buy every first issue I saw... not because I thought it would be "worth something someday" but because I wanted to be in on the beginning of something. (I had grand visions of Skull the Slayer #200, for example, but the series didn't last quite that long.) By the time I was in junior high school, however, my philosophy had changed. By that time, having so many series "cancelled out from under me," I actively avoided first issues, concentrating instead on filling in gaps of established series. (Among the first I completed were Avengers, Captain America, Hulk, Justice League of America and Legion of Super-Heroes.) I would consider new series "safe to ignore" as long as they didn't cross over with a series I was reading. 

She-Hulk was one such series. I have often described the Incredible Hulk as "my first favorite character," but his female counter-part didn't have all that much to do with his regular title. When I did eventually read The Savage She-Hulk #1 some years later, I wasn't impressed. Eventually the character got to a point I could no longer ignore and I bought the whole series as backissues, but barely remember them (beyond the fact that I wasn't all that impressed with them, either), and I eventually culled them from my collection after having read them only once. Now I'm rereading them in a fancy-schmancy HC collection and it's like reading them for the first time.

Despite Bruce Banner's walk-on (or rather, walk-through) appearance in the first issue, She-Hulk's origin was rooted more in television than in comics. No "She-Hulk" spun out of The Incredible Hulk TV show but, concerned about The Bionic Woman (which had spun out of The Six Million Dollar Man), Stan Lee put together a "quickie" origin story lest the TV people introduce such a character, thereby gaining the rights instead of Marvel Comics.

The first issue was a perfunctory nothing of an origin. It introduced the main character (Jen Walters, cousin of Bruce Banner) but no supporting characters. A villain was mentioned but not shown. she gained her powers through a blood transfusion, but beyond that, Stan Lee (with artist John Buscema) provided no further character or plot development whatsoever before the whole thing was turned over to David Anthony Kraft for development. He was given pretty much a free hand to take the title in any direction he saw fit, based on Lee & Buscema's bare-bones origin story.

Kraft (a.k.a. "DAK") is probably best known for his long-running Comics Interview magazine but, as a writer, is also remembered for his own little section of the Marvel Universe including Defenders, Man-Wolf and She-Hulk, among others. He introduced supporting characters, among them Sheriff Morris Walters (Jen Walters' father), "Buck" Bukowski (her rival), Richard Rory (her boyfriend, as Jen) and Daniel "Zapper" Ridge (her boyfriend, as She-Hulk). Kraft brought Richard  Rory in from Man-Thing, Hellcat from Defenders, Man-Wolf from Marvel Premiere, and Morbius from Adventure into Fear.

Actually, Morbius was previously cured of being a "living vampire" in Peter Parker #38, and Man-Wolf would go on to be cured in Peter Parker Annual #3. The super-villains newly-created for the series include Man-Elephant, the Grappler, Shade, Brute, Seeker, Radius, Torque, Kyr and Earth-Lord (not exactly household names). Kraft likes using his initials as a sound effect in comics he writes ("DAK-KOOM" being a favorite). Michael Golden did a series of covers, #8-11.

Kraft's writing style is solid, but a bit too obvious for my taste. For example, in #22 She-Hulk is being attacked by Radius: "Unhh! Some sort of crystals pelting me... sticking... forming a rock-hard shell around me, holding me in place! NO! I can't let it solidify! I have to fight it! But the metaphor doesn't escape me! All my life I've felt this sort of constriction! I felt it freeze up my father, sealing him in a rock-hard exterior! Let this metaphor be my strength! I won't wear such a shell! I will break free--no matter how immobile my limbs feel! No matter how easy it might be to give up! I-- will-- fight!"

The series comes to a close in #25 leaving one plot thread left dangling. Her father's second wife has cheated him out of their family home and now plans to slap him with "an alimony suit that'll ruin [his] reputation forever!" After the series came to a close, he scripted one final She-Hulk story in Marvel Two-In-One #88, which he mentions twice in his introduction to the collection. First he simply implies that She-Hulk and the Thing slept together, then he comes right out and says it: "She also sleeps with the Thing, if you read between the lines." Uh, uh. Didn't happen.

He kind of takes credit for She-Hulk's later success. "Just when I'd gotten her there, totally differentiated from the Hulk, and the real fun was about to start... The Savage She-Hulk was canceled." He later goes on to say, "My final She-Hulk story, light and lively, got the character damn cose to where I was headed with her from the start. It was practically a done deal. Subsequent She-Hulk series and mini-series had the benefit of being able to pick it up and run with it, something I envy them.

"To their credit, those who came after me picked up pretty much where I left off. Her character trajectory held true to my defining course--from light, sexy humor to teaming up with super-heroes to an eventual romantic relationship with Man-Wolf's alter ego, John Jameson. And perhaps most important of all, a costume of her own--already hinted at by my sequence spoofing early Marvel romance comics, in which She-Hulk models various 'looks' in lieu of her signature tattered white dress. 'She-Hulk chic' teased the inevitable and long overdue costume still to come."

And DAK concludes: "The stage was set. My job was done."

Me, I don't know. If what came later was really what he had in mind all along, he should have taken fewer than 25 issues to set it up. Kudos to him for what he did do, but honestly? The only issue here worth reading is #1, and that only for curiosity's sake. I've read some She-Hulk beyond this (Avengers, Fantastic Four, the John Byrne series), but I don't recall ever seeing the original supporting cast (Zapper, Rory, Bukowski, her father) again. What She-Hulk needs is someone to do what Alan Moore did to Captain Britain. I'm hoping to see some of those characters again; seems like a no-brainer to me. I haven't yet read the Dan Slott or Peter David stuff, but I will.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #9: Titania enters the story as Hercules is taken to court by the Constrictor over injuries and medical bills. She-Hulk has returned from space with increased strength due to the specific exercise regimen she undertook in #8. In order to keep it in check, she dons a modified version of the "Jupiter suit" John Jameson wore when he temporarily gained uncontrolable super-strength.

Regarding her ability to change back and forth at will, She-Hulk does confirm that it happened during Geoff Johns' Avengers run, as Luke asserted).

This scene also happens to be the funniest (IMO) of Slott's run so far.

SHE-HULK: A while back, I received a strong dose of radiation. and after you examined me, Reed, you said I'd never be able to become Jen Walters again. But since the Red Zone Affair with the Avengers, I've been changing back and forth all the time.

THING: Wait a sec, Shulkie. Did he say it like this? "I'm sorry old friend. But it looks like you'll stay this way forever." BWAH HA HA! Oh, brother! Can't even tell you the number of times I've heard Stretcho use that line!

MR. FANTASTIC: Okay, Ben...

THING: I swear, once I caught him practicin' it in the mirror!

ISSUE #10: The origin of Titania related in detail by Zoma the Watcher.

[Richard Willis]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

[Jeff of Earth-J]

INTERLUDE: Avengers (1998) #72-75:

Last night, quite by accident, I came across the box containing the post-Busiek Avengers run, #57/472- 503 plus the Finale. (I had forgotten I had removed it from my "Avengers" box and filed it in a box of random "miscellaneous" comics.) Now that I found it, I thought I might reread the "Red Zone" story. I don't think about this run of issues very often but, as I flipped through the pages it all came flooding back to me. I have only recently discovered what internet trolls truly are [I've lived a sheltered (online) life, I know] and I hope I don't come off sounding like that, but man this was a bad run of issues! And Bendis' run was even worse than Johns'. 

"Red Zone" may have been the catalyst for She-Hulk's transformation, but it's really not as germane to the discussion as the four-part "The Search for the She-Hulk" in #72-75. That's good, because I found "Red Zone" (#65-70) completely unreadable. Johns' artist for that storyline was Olivier Coipel, whose work (this may have been his first; certainly the first I had seen) I found ugly. there's just no other word for it. I later came to admire his work greatly (after I had seen some uninked pencils), so my problem may have been with the inker (Andy Lanning). 

[Issue #71, BTW, was the infamous "massage" issue, the discussion of which I wish we still had access to.]

The artist for "The Search for the She-Hulk" was Scott Kolins but, like Geoff Johns, there was something "off" about his work here in comparison to the work he did at DC. No inker is credited so he must have been inking his own work, but the end result looks like nothing so much as Bill Everett inking Ross Andru in Marvel Feature #1. I'm sorry, but that's the only way I can describe it.

In search of her cousin, Jen Walters has hitchhiked to Bone, Idaho. She is followed by the Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man and scarlet Witch). At this point, her transformation is triggered, not by rage but by fear. Part two folds Ant-Man and the Jack of Hearts into the plot, and part three introduces Hawkeye and Bruce Banner. Hawkeye screws up big time by triggering Banner's transformation into the Hulk. the final part is a full-on Hulk/She-Hulk slugfest. The town is decimated and the Avengers are happy to let the media blame the Hulk. 

The story is so decompressed that all four issues took me only 20 minutes or so to read. Structurally the story is sound, but otherwise insignificant. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #11: Champion empowers Titania with the Gem of Power to revenge the defeat he suffered at she-Hulk's hands back in #8. Meanwhile, Doc Samson pays a visit to She-Hulk during which he reveals that Reed Richards lied about She-Hulk's condition in the graphic novel at his behest. He also mentions her sleeping with the Juggernaut (which she vehemently denies), which is something I do know about, but not enough apparently. I had assumed that that happened in this series, but it did not. (It actually happened in X-Men #435, but I had to consult the internet to find that out.)

But I'm not going to run out and buy a copy of X-Men #435 for reasons which will become clear later in this discussion. Their discussion also includes Avengers #72-75, a happy coincidence, which is still fresh in my mind from reading it earlier this morning.

#11 ends on a cliffhanger in which She-Hulk has reverted to Jen Walters and Titania is about to kill her.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #12: The funniest thing about this issue is that, after the offices of GLK&H have been destroyed, paralegal (and minor supporting character) Stu Cicero has to go to a comic book shop where he upbraids the fanboys. When the dust settles, Jen is Titania's lawyer and Southpaw is on the run with the Mad thinker (his head, anyway). It ends with a metatextual joke. At this point, for whatever reason, the series goes on a pre-planned hiatus for eight months (but we won't have to wait that long). 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

VOLUME 4:

ISSUE #1: Time has passed. The offices of GLK&H have been rebuilt, but Holliway is out of the picture and has been replaced by the mysterious Aurthur Zix. Mallory Book is now confined to a wheelchair and Jen must use a wrist-worn gamma changer in order to transform. The firm lost their longboxes when their previous offices were destroyed and is now in the process of replacing them with trade paperbacks (leading to a metatextual bit about "tradewaiting").

Captain America and Spider-Woman appear as Avengers. Ever since "Avengers Disassembled" this is how I have experienced the Avengers, for the most part: as guest-stars in other comics. The "Avengers" organization still exists (in my head canon), but I have so far been unable to return to regularly reading their own title, despite multiple tries. 

This issue's defendant was caught on film, in front of witnesses, shooting an unarmed man in cold blood. His claim is self-defense because he is a time traveler and alleges the man will kill him in the future (or would have). The TVA (Time Variance Authority) becomes involved, and they send Justice Peace to adjudicate. There's is almost no one who hasn't seen the video of the accused shooting his victim, making jury selection difficult. The solution: pick the jury pool from the recent past. One of the jurists is Clint Barton (Hawkeye), who was killed in the "Avengers Disassembled" debacle. Choosing Clint for the jury isn't actually ethical, but Jen's idea is to use this opportunity to "bring him back from the dead."

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #2: Jen and Pug are now roommates. (Many in the Excelsior were forced to "double-up" after the damage wreaked by Titania in the previous series.) Jenifer sleeps with John Jameson for the first time. Jen's plan had been plan to slip Hawkeye a note, warning him of his imminent demise, before he can be returned to his proper time, before she learns that the entire jury is composed of people who will die within a year of the time from which they were snatched. Then a time-travelling robot disrupts the proceedings and the judge declares a mistrial. Justice Love moves to return all the jurors to their proper times. She-Hulk tries to deliver her warning note to Hawkeye after all. but only half of it is transported with him. Will that be enough to save him? I don't know, but I do know Hawkeye had a pretty decent solo series in the early 2Ks. (The "murder mystery" plays out as well, in an ironic fashion.) In punishment for attempting to disrupt the timeline, Justices Peace and Love sentence She-Hulk to be erased from history!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #"100":

I think that if, back in 2005, more people had told me why I would like She-Hulk rather than that I would like She-Hulk, I might have tried it sooner. She-Hulk's defense attorney is Southpaw, from 15 years in the future, and her character witnesses are plucked from various time zones across the continuum. The absolute funniest sequence is when She-Hulk tries to warn the Stern-era Avengers about the Bendis-era Avengers. She is responsible for something called The Reckoning War. (I knew that sounded familiar, but I haven't read any of it.) Apparently, it is caused by some action she has already taken, so nothing she can do at this point can prevent it. 

Her punishment is to be blasted by the "retroactive cannon" (or "ret-can"), but the villain uses it on Knight Man and Dr. Rocket instead, wiping them from continuity. The Stern-era Wasp ends up with the other half of the note warning Hawkeye of his death. She-Hulk is made responsible for an Avenger guilty of time travel crimes, who has been freed from the custody of the TVA, but his or her identity is unrevealed, but it is hinted that Hawkeye would approve. I can't imagine who that would be. The Swordsman, maybe? But he's not a time-traveler (although there is an alternate dimensional version). Guess I'll find out soon enough. 

[The Baron]

I remember who it was.

Jeff of Earth-J said:

ISSUE #"100":

I think that if, back in 2005, more people had told me why I would like She-Hulk rather than that I would like She-Hulk, I might have tried it sooner. She-Hulk's defense attorney is Southpaw, from 15 years in the future, and her character witnesses are plucked from various time zones across the continuum. The absolute funniest sequence is when She-Hulk tries to warn the Stern-era Avengers about the Bendis-era Avengers. She is responsible for something called The Reckoning War. (I knew that sounded familiar, but I haven't read any of it.) Apparently, it is caused by some action she has already taken, so nothing she can do at this point can prevent it. 

Her punishment is to be blasted by the "retroactive cannon" (or "ret-can"), but the villain uses it on Knight Man and Dr. Rocket instead, wiping them from continuity. The Stern-era Wasp ends up with the other half of the note warning Hawkeye of his death. She-Hulk is made responsible for an Avenger guilty of time travel crimes, who has been freed from the custody of the TVA, but his or her identity is unrevealed, but it is hinted that Hawkeye would approve. I can't imagine who that would be. The Swordsman, maybe? But he's not a time-traveler (although there is an alternate dimensional version). Guess I'll find out soon enough. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #4: This issue is the sequel to "The Search for the She-Hulk" (Avengers #72-75); they even got Scott Kolins to draw it. It fills in the eight-month gap in publication between She-Hulk v3 #12 and v4 #1: Jen Walters was helping rebuild Bone, Idaho, the town she destroyed in Avengers. (In that respect, #4 is like Bill Mantlo's Hulk #293, in which Hulk rebuilt the town of Hadleyville.) The Geoff Johns story didn't have much of a point, but Dan Slott gives it one. One of the mental barriers keeping Jennifer Walters from becoming She-Hulk is the guilt she feels over destroying this town (and the Avengers' subsequent cover-up). She feels that if she can help make amends, maybe she'll be able to transform again.

She's still in contact with her shrink, Doc Samson, who tells her about the gamma-changer. Thing is, he must get readings of her in her Hulk form to set it, so she must change at least once one her own. Most people in the town cannot even see her as Jennifer because of a spell cast by the Scarlet Witch, which prevents anyone who wishes to the the She-Hulk harm from seeing her in her human form. The matter is complicated when evidence suggests that one man was, in fact, killed during the She-Hulk's rampage. 

She-Hulk wasn't responsible for the man's death, but Jen has difficulty transforming even to save her own life. Later, she effects the change in order to apologize to the townsfolk. This (unlike "The Search for the She-Hulk") is a story with a point. Slott also introduces the "Green Cross", an organization set up to deal with Hulk-related destruction. It was founded by the man who, as a teenager, dared Rick Jones to drive onto the gamma bomb test site in the first place. 

At the end of the flashback, She-Hulk meets the time-traveling Avenger she's been made responsible for by the TVA: Matt Hawk, the Two-Gun Kid. I must admit, I never would have guessed that in a million years. Yes, he was made an official Avenger back in the day, but he's not the first member who springs to mind when I think "Avenger" (nor is he among the top ten... or twenty). This should be interesting. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #5: So far, 2GK in the 21st century is shaping up pretty much as I'd hoped. The TVA has ruled that he knows to much about the future to ever be returned to his own time. I know what you're thinking: "How does that square with The Marvels Project (the first issue of which featured an elderly Matt Hawk in New York City in the year 1938)?" Not too bad, actually.

"See, when I got old... they sent me back... back to my home... in my own time. 'Course, I had no family left back here by then... not in Texas or Boston. And anyway... New York... it all begins here, anyway. I hope to be around for that."

I can live with that. He doesn't say who "they" is. The TVA? The Avengers? Plus, I have yet to read the end of She-Hulk v4.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUES #6-7: GLK&H defends Starfox against charges of sexual assault in "Beaus and Eros." Starfox uses his powers to influence two triangles: 1) She-Hulk, Pug & john Jameson, and 2) Mallory Book, 2GK and Awesome Andy. She-Hulk eventually comes to realize that she herself was once influenced into having sex with Starfox (behind the scenes during the Stern run of Avengers). It will be hard to think of Starfox as a hero ever again going forward, but the subtext was alwyas there.