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Jennifer Walters, aka The Sensational She-Hulk, finds herself dealing with the aftermath of her recent encounters. She was previously caught in a public conflict involving her cousin The Incredible Hulk that went viral on social media. Then, hoping to relax with a girls night out, she found herself in a fight with demons in a trendy New York night club. How will all of this effect her person life? Her career? And what crazy incident will she encounter next?!
- Written by Rainbow Rowell
- Art by Ig Guara
- Colors by Dee Cunniffe
- Letters by Joe Caramagna
The Sensational She-Hulk You Don’t Know
This is my first official review of The Sensational She-Hulk, so we’ve already missed out on a few issues. Not to mention the 15 issue series of She-Hulk that proceeds this one, also written by Rainbow Rowell. Let’s briefly re-cap. Jen is trying to rebuild her life, as normal as it can possibly be.
She takes a job with Mallory Book’s law firm, representing cases for super powered beings. She’s catching up with old friends such as Titania and Ben Grimm. She’s also working on a budding relationship with Jack of Hearts, who seems to be having problems with his powers, making it possible for him to be close enough to Jen without draining all over Gamma energy.
Recently, Jens been dealing with April Booth, a scientist intent on recreating the hulk powers by stealing some of Jen’s blood, which by the way, she succeeds at and becomes “Anathema”. Anathema and Hulk get into a scuffle in the middle of Jen’s neighborhood, causing a bit of destruction that the crowd records and posts to social media. This puts a bit of heat on Jen and so enters Patsy Walker and Carol Danvers to help relieve some stress.
During a girls night out, demons attack the nightclub the 3 are attending causing quite the scene once again! At this point it seems like Jen can’t catch a break. Trouble always seems to find her, relationship ups and downs, and her partner Mallory Book has lost what little patience she had to begin with. What will Jen have to deal with now?
The Sensational She-Hulk Here and Now
Issue #6 picks up with Jen on the receiving end of a tongue lashing from Mallory. The heat on the law firm is too much and she suspends Jen for two weeks so that things can hopefully die down. Jen’s obviously not happy about it and while leaving, she runs into two of her clients, Karkas and Ransak. They were going through issues with a landlord and have found themselves homeless. Jen decides them to her place while she works on a solution.
At home, Jack of Hearts solves all of their problems with the suggestion of a vacation. Karkas and Ransak can stay in their apartment, Jen can relax and get away, and their destination is close enough to the sun that Jack can maintain his proper radiation levels.
The Sensational Hero We Deserve
One of my favorite aspects on this issue is the exploration of Jen’s character, her ethics, her moral code. After bringing Karkas and Ransak to her apartment, willingly opening her home to two people she doesn’t really know, but feels responsible for, Jack takes her to the side to discuss the situation. It’s here that Jen reveals some things about herself that shows why she’s a great hero.
In Jack’s concern over the 2 strangers staying in their home, Jen reminds Jack that he fell through her door and Jen was willing to help him, no questions asked. “I can’t not help people” she says, “That’s not who I am”. She opens up about dealing with people around her making her fell bad about trying to help, and not walking away just because something might “show up on TikTok”.
What Was Will Be Again
From here on we get some awesome call backs to Sensational She-Hulk Vol.1 and a classic storyline involving Jack of Hearts and cameo that most people will probably not understand. It’s fantastic to see Rainbow Rowell dig into some back issues of She-Hulk and Jack of Hearts to revive some interesting storylines that for most would be nothing more than a forgotten memory.
The Sensational Art of She-Hulk
Ig Guara’s art is pleasing to the eye. There’s so many interesting characters and patterns in She-Hulk that look simple but are obviously executed with detail and precision. Jen’s hair is a prime example of that. Each character seems to move with purpose and some with grace that is translated from the page to the imagination thanks to Guara’s facial expressions and accurate body proportions from various angles and perspectives.
We cannot forget the colors, which I believe are a staple in these She-Hulk series, provided by Dee Cunniffe. Purples, pinks, blues, and greens dominate each page with dynamic shades, providing an awesome contrast that keeps the eyes happy. Jack of Hearts is one of those characters whose colors and patterns are so unique and fun. He contrasts well against She-Hulk on the page.
Everything Points To 9/10
I know She-Hulk can be a bit polarizing in todays market. The MCU’s popularity tends to make targets to be ridiculed out of certain characters. It’s ignorant to think that that energy doesn’t trickle down into the comics. She-Hulk and Sensational She-Hulk would not be considered my traditional “cup of tea” in terms of comic book characters or stories. I enjoy Ghost Rider, Wolverine, Batman, TMNT, and horror related media.
She-Hulk lends itself to romantic comedy and “slice of life”, to borrow a phrase. It’s completely the opposite of everything else on my pull list. So please believe me when I tell you, that this character has been a staple for me over the last 2 years.
It’s fun. It’s clever. It’s relatable. I’m always excited to read the next issue. I know it’s not going to click with everyone, but I say it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot. Who knows? You may find yourself reading something that feels like a breath of fresh air!
