She-Hulk #1 // Review
Jen is on her way to work when a supervillain casts her in plain clothes. She's being attacked by someone who can lift 100 tons. It's okay. Jen can press 75, and she's got a much better track record for this kind of thing, as the villain is about to find out in She-Hulk #1. Jen Walters once again gets her own series courtesy of writer Rainbow Rowell and Brazilian artist Rogê Antônio. Colorist Rico Renzi adds stylish depth and texture to the page. It's a thoroughly entertaining introduction that firmly establishes a new beginning for the jade giantess.
Titania runs into Jen on her way to work. Titania knows Jen is She-Hulk. She's looking for a fight. Jen's looking for a chance at some kind of therapy. They both find what they're looking for, even if it's not exactly what Titania had expected. Jen find her way to work. It's a new office for her, but it could easily be mistaken for a closet. She's got nowhere else to go but up in her legal career. Thankfully she has the same friends she's had for decades in other lives. One of these fantastic happens to be the fashionable Janet Van Dyne, who provides her with a lovely apartment and some of her old clothes. Things are looking up.
Rowell has a slick wit about her that takes certain aspects of She-Hulk's life and turns them at interesting angles that playfully mutate timeworn superhero clichés. The opening interaction with Titania is a remarkably shrewd bit of negotiating on a part of Jen. Rowell gets to the heart of long-standing relationships with heroes and villains just as a matter of introducing this new series. It'll be interesting to see what she has in store in the future. Much of the rest of the issue pays homage to some of the better elements of She-Hulk's earlier series. It feels like a pleasant return to John Byrne's Sensational She-Hulk from decades ago. (It even looks like she might have landed in the same apartment she had back then.)
The art team does a beautiful job. Antônio valances detailed rendering with a smart economy of line that gives Renzi plenty of room to gorgeously define light, texture, and intensity in the visuals. The action history page with witty aggression that serves the tone of the story quite well. Delicate and subtle emotions play through the panels with impressive sophistication. Antônio and Renzi manage an awe-inspiring contrast between Jen and She-Hulk that shows a clear connection between the two. Both ends of Jen's life feel equally interesting under Antônio's pen, whether she's staring down Titania, meeting the new boss, or stretching out at her new apartment.
She-Hulk has been around for decades. Rowell and Antônio have found a rhythm and form for her that honors where she's been before and recognizes what works about the character without feeling like too much of a retread for readers who have known Jen for decades. A very appealing opening to a new chapter in Jen's life.
