Marvel’s core “She-Hulk” series has morphed into an in-depth character study of protagonist Jennifer Walters. Walters recently had her relationship with Jack of Hearts tested thanks to a handsome villain known as The Scoundrel. Thankfully, Jennifer was able to avoid temptation and stay true to her relationship. Recently, Jennifer has even started to practice law again with Mallory at the Book & Walters practice. Plus, Jennifer’s Punch Club is about to get an unexpected visitor. Let’s see if “The Sensational She-Hulk” #1 can continue an epic run of Jennifer’s life without being derailed with a brand new comic book title.
Cover by Jen BartelWritten by Rainbow Rowell and Jessica Gao
Illustrated by Andres Genolet and Gavin Guidry
Colored by Dee Cunniffe and Ruth Redmond
Lettered by VC’s Joe CaramagnaTHE SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK IS BACK! Jen Walters is dusting off her adjective and kicking off a new era! The best hero slash lawyer in the Marvel Universe is going to remind you why she’s so SENSATIONAL, going up against her deadliest challenge yet! PLUS: MARVEL STUDIOS SHE-HULK series writer JESSICA GAO makes hers Marvel in a short story with the Jade Giant!
The most fascinating aspect of Rainbow Rowell and Andres Genolet’s “She-Hulk” run has always stemmed from the complicated relationship between Jennifer and Jack. Thankfully, Rowell and Genolet open the issue by exploring this relationship. Rowell is able to find so much subtlety in terms of the emotion on the page. While the sequence starts with Jack and Jennifer in a strong element of romance, a subtle, sour note leaves this scene in a dark place. Rowell’s use of narration in the panels adds an unexpected element of tension to the scene that expands the subtext even more. Readers can add the narration with Jennifer’s muted expressions to try and pull deeper feelings from the scene. Genolet is great at using negative space in the issue to evoke as much emotion as possible. Genolet also finds really interesting ways to frame panels and keep readers interested with a brilliant use of negative space for Jack late in the comic book. I love the Punch Club sequence where Jennifer is staring at the ground showing that she is unsure of her relationship with Jack.
Seeing Jennifer try and push her feelings down for Jack and go to work carried the subtext of the issue beautifully. Genolet lends incredibly complicated expressions to Jennifer Walters in order to complement Rowell’s unconventional script. Genolet renders the visual gags in the series from Awesome Andy with a beautiful sense of precision. There’s something fascinating about the way that Awesome Andy reacts to his surroundings with tense body language and a small, rectangular head. When Jennifer hears the cases from Karkas and Ransak The Reject, the issue goes through a vivid visual sequence. Dee Cunniffe’s color palette for Karkas brings out his fascinating visual design to the page as well. Seeing Jennifer work at her job with these tall, unconventional characters is a strong scenario.
“She-Hulk” is an subversive comic book hero that seemingly works best when she operates as a magnet for the strange. Jennifer’s Punch Club that was founded alongside other super powered Marvel characters is a great way to realize this idea. Also, The Punch Club is a strong vehicle for Rowell to explore some of the supporting characters in her run like Titania. While there have been a few moments where I have found this plot thread to be too silly, Rowell wisely combines the Punch Club story with the relationship drama with Jack of Hearts to really build up a strong sense of intrigue. Rowell has had a few incredibly unconventional cliffhangers during the previous “She-Hulk” run but the sheer randomness of “The Sensational She-Hulk” #1 cliffhanger is exciting. “The Sensational She-Hulk” #1 goes to some pretty dark places by featuring so many sad aspects of Jen and Jack’s relationship. The end of “The Sensational She-Hulk” #1 feels cathartic after some of the sad elements in the story.
The back-up story in “The Sensational She-Hulk” #1 from writer Jessica Gao has a great sense of personality but is lacking some of the detail in the dialogue and plotting. Jennifer is trying to help young people learn about superheroes by allowing a character named Luis to shadow her. Luis tries to interrupt Jennifer several times but she continues to brush him off. However, the complicated art from Gavin Guidry evoked strong emotion. While Guidry’s line isn’t quite as adept at finding strong expressions like Andres Genolet, there are still great moments with Jennifer here. Jennifer’s helmet for Luis is a great visual gag in the issue. Guidry utilizes tons of strong panel bleeds to capture as much emotion as possible on the page. Luis has some of the best expressions throughout the scene, lending a snarky demeanor towards Jennifer that makes the predictable ending of this story look more visually interesting.
“The Sensational She-Hulk” #1 is a strong entry point for new readers that functions as a great showcase for the complicated relationship between Jennifer and Jack. It is incredibly refreshing to read a comic book that is able to tap into the fascinating subtext of an interesting protagonist like She-Hulk. Rowell has continued to focus on the elements that make Jennifer interesting. Jennifer’s work, relationships with other heroes and superhero identity are captured in fascinating ways throughout this “The Sensational She-Hulk” #1. Jennifer’s new comic book series left me incredibly invested in learning more about her troubled relationship with Jack.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Jennifer’s relationship with Jack of Hearts is tested in “The Sensational She-Hulk” #1!
