She-Hulk #1 Review

Writer: Charles Soule

Artist: Javier Pulido

She-Hulk is back, but is this a series fitting to the character? Read on to find out.

The official description from Marvel:

JENNIFER WALTERS IS…THE SHE-HULK! A stalwart Avenger, valued member of the FF, savior of the world on more than one occasion, she's also a killer attorney with a pile of degrees and professional respect. A 7-foot-tall drink of cool, emerald water, she's tough enough to knock out Galactus with one punch (possibly?) and has a heart bigger than the moon. But juggling cases and kicking bad guy butt is starting to be a little more complicated than she anticipated. With a new practice, a new paralegal and a mounting number of super villains she's racking up as personal enemies, She Hulk might have bitten off a little more than she can chew…but she just calls that that Tuesday.

She-Hulk is one of my favourite female characters, as although I've never read any of her solo adventures, I've enjoyed her appearances along side her cousin Bruce Banner (aka Hulk) and the Fantastic Four.

Charles Soule has created a lawyer based series that can rival Daredevil any day, utilising his experience as a lawyer perfectly. Soule gives us an entertaining opening issue that is both fun and gripping. The way that he makes light humour of legal jargon is simply amazing, and along with the fantastic dialogue this adds a lot to the overall tone of the issue. The issue was however not quite perfect, as despite being fun and enjoyable the story flew by rather quickly, with the lack of actual action during Jen's robot fight being a little annoying. I still however feel that this will be the kind of series that Jen needs, and look forward to reading more.

I've never been the biggest fan of Javier Pulido's work, but his quirky style actually suits this fun tale. The layout of Pulido's art simply astonished me, as it had a very unique feel, helping the story to flow smoothly. The thing that I loved the most however was the way that Pulido managed to make Jen look like the powerful character she is, as despite not showing her quite as the physical specimen she usually is, she still looked like a lady you wouldn't want to mess with. Added to this the fantastic colours from Muntsa Vicente and I can easily see myself becoming a fan to this style of artwork on this series.

She-Hulk gets off to a terrific start, being  both fun and entertaining. Highly recommended.

Rating: 8/10

Hulk: Red Hulk Review

Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Ed McGuinness

I have been a fan of the Hulk for a long time now, with him being one of my favourite comic book characters. Due to this I've always meant to try this series of the Hulk, which would introduce the Red Hulk to the Marvel Universe, as although I've heard a lot of negative comments about the series as a whole, I am wanting to read it for myself, as to see Red Hulk's development.

Plot

When the Abomination is found dead with a huge hole in his chest, but with reports of this Hulk being red, as well as the fact that Bruce Banner is still in a maximum security cell the question is... who it this Red Hulk?

Review

This was overall a brilliant story, as although it wasn't outstanding, it was very fun and entertaining. Although Jeph Loeb's run on the Hulk hasn't been met kindly by fans, I personally couldn't see much to hate about this story, as he did a wonderful job of it (though I have heard that it's following this that the series gets poor). It was very dramatic and suspenseful, having a lot of mystery to it as well as some very exciting moments. I also loved the character interaction and how Loeb handled the dialogue, as although I wasn't too sure on Hulk seeming as dumb as he did (as he seemed much smarter through Greg Pak's run), the other character interactions were brilliant, and I loved seeing not only some of the most well known Hulk side characters, but also the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. and then director Iron Man being involved. I did however find other characters like Namor to be slightly out of character though.

The artwork on this story was simply phenomenal, and Ed McGuinness did a fantastic job as usual, showing why he's one of the best artists at drawing powerful characters. The detail in McGuinness' artwork was simply amazing, with it being very consistent throughout. The layout of McGuinness' art was also brilliant, and added a lot of depth and tone to the story, as well as being very dynamic and dramatic, also making the story that bit more exciting. Talking of excitement, McGuinness' action sequences added a lot of excitement to the story, with them all being very explosive, as well as at times emotional. I also loved the way that McGuinness managed to show the characters emotions in this story, as well as the general atmosphere throughout, as due to this he managed to make the story much more lively, giving a lot more depth and realism at the same time.

This story would introduce the Red Hulk to the Marvel Universe, with his identity being a mystery throughout. Now although I know the identity of the Red Hulk due to it having been revealed in a later story I won't mention it here for anyone who knows nothing about the character but is considering reading this story. Now what I liked about this Hulk was that he was quite different from the others, being much more tactical and determined. I also loved that there was differences to this Hulk and the other, and how anger affects this one differently. Besides that it was the reaction of the other characters that interested me the most, as it added more suspense and drama.

Red Hulk wouldn't be the only new monster to be revealed in this story, as a blue Abomination type creature named A-Bomb would be introduced. Now this characters identity would be revealed in this story, but again I won't reveal it as to avoid spoilers for people who don't know. Anyway I found A-Bomb to be a very interesting character, and was happy to finally see his original introduction. I also loved the characteristics that A-Bomb has, and how he considers himself Hulk's friend. At the same time I also find Hulk's reaction to A-Bomb to be rather interesting, as well as the fact that Hulk knows who A-Bomb is.

Now with two Hulks with completely different characteristics featuring in this story it was only a matter of time before the two squared off, so it was a good thing that Loeb didn't wait about in doing so. Apart from being exciting the fight was also very interesting and dramatic, and the dialogue between the two Hulks was simply amazing, even if green Hulk seemed less intelligent than he did throughout Pak's run. I did however also love how the fighting between these Hulks was split into two sides, and Loeb would have some very clever development points throughout it, making it all that more interesting.

The fight between the two Hulks wouldn't be the only fight in this story, as Red Hulk would also fight A-Bomb, and eventually Thor. Now it was the fight with Thor that I most enjoyed, and Loeb would produce some very clever development points throughout. I did however feel at times that the fight was a little one sided, and not very respectable towards Thor, but Loeb would rectify this to a certain extent later on in the story. I also loved Red Hulk's reaction to Thor as well, as although the normal Hulk has never had much of an opinion about Thor, I have always considered that to be down to the fact that Hulk only knows what he's seen of Thor, and not the myths, whereas this Red Hulk appears to know him well enough, and yet still has a very disrespectful view towards him.

Final Verdict

This was a fantastic story, and although it isn't one of the best Hulk stories I've ever read, it was one of the most mysterious, having a lot of drama and suspense throughout. It also had a wonderful supporting cast, as well as some brilliant cameos, also having some very exciting action sequences as well. Due to all this I'd recommend this story, as although Loeb's Hulk run isn't considered as one of the best, this story was in my opinion very good.

Rating: 7/10

New She-Hulk Series Out in February

Following all the mysterious teasers that Marvel have been giving recently they have since went out and revealed a new series that will be written by Charles Soule, seeing She-Hulk once again get her own solo series. The series will be released in February and will also see artwork form Javier Pulido.

Soule would tell USA Today that, "She-Hulk has always been a title where weird, cool things can happen. She is a strong — very strong — female character, and comics absolutely cannot have too many of those. There's no reason Jennifer Walters can't be iconic, and we're going to do what we can to make that happen."

Pulido added that, "Yes, she's Hulk's cousin, but she's also gorgeous. That's a very important part of the character, and I plan to keep it. When she comes into a room, her presence calls for the attention of everyone there, not just for her skin's color. She has that kind of magnetism around her."

My Thoughts

I am really excited about this series, as Soule has been doing some brilliant work as of late, and She-Hulk is an amazing character. I also hope that we get to see a bit more lawyering from Jen than we usually get, as given the fact that Soule is also a lawyer it should be quite natural for him to write. I also would love to see another lawyer bar Matt Murdock going about the Marvel Universe, as although she's always stated as one, we very rarely see her as one. I also think that the series should keep Hulk away for at least the first year, but that he should eventually have a cameo appearance.

For the full USA Today article click here.