Comic book reviews for Marvel’s She-Hulks miniseries by Harrison Wilcox and Ryan Stegman
Average rating: 4.25/5 stars.
She-Hulks #1 by Harrison Wilcox
Wow, She-Hulks was a way better story that I expected. And for that, I am very grateful.
But first, let’s talk about the bad. The very bad. That is one horrid cover done by McGuinness and Hollowell. Ugly as heck, untrue to what the art looks inside, untrue to the plot, and super t&a WWF style. Seriously, Lyra and Jen are 2nd cousins. How is this attracting readers? For reals, sales and marketing, who the hell do you think is buying this comic book?
Getting that off my chest, now let’s talk about the actual story.
I’m really pleased with Stegman’s art. I found it much more palatable than his previous work on the She-Hulk backstory, and it reminded me of the art he did for Sif, which I loved. His art was very appropriate here, especially since Lyra is apparently supposed to be high school aged.
Okay, I did not get Lyra was supposed to be that young. Yes, I knew she was a young woman, but I didn’t know she was high school young. Which I’m not really sure how I feel about because a) all the t&a she got in the Hulk comics and b) I’d rather have Jen being the mentor-figure than the mom-figure. (Though on a side note, it does make me want to read a Lyra has two moms, Thundra and Jen, story.)
Bruce has a rather bullshit reason for sending Jen and Lyra away from the Hulk facilities to live in New York City. Especially after he spent all this time wanting to train his son to kill the Hulk, but then basically ignores his daughter. But whatever, Bruce is a giant douche anyway.
Well, I’m very curious to see how this story will turn out. I can’t say I really care about them capturing the Intelligenca, but more about Jen and Lyra and who they are now.
She-Hulks #2 by Harrison Wilcox
This series continues to be awesome. I’m loving the writing and the art work. I’m so happy that She-Hulk is in a good title again.
I thought Wilcox did a great job at balancing both Lyra’s and Jen’s personal lives with their super-heroics. Lyra’s time in high school felt perfect. She’s the new girl, and she’s still adjusting to this universe. Lyra has a really nice characterization that falls between awkward and eager. Likewise, I enjoyed Jen’s moments with Wyatt. Oh, Wyatt. (Somewhere John Byrne is very happy right now that Wilcox seems to be bringing Wyatt back as a love interest.)
The parts with the Wizard and with Bruce were rather blah. I’m just not really a fan, and I guess in order to move the plot along, it’s there. About two too many pages in my estimation. But I suppose that Bruce is Lyra’s father, so there should be some inclusion of him into the storyline.
Amelia spying on Lyra, discovering her secret, and tagging along for the mission felt true to dumb things teens do. I like the bookends of Lyra getting into trouble with the assistant principle for seemingly nothing and then getting into trouble with Jen for something real.
I also enjoyed the little details — like Amelia and the Flip camera — which bring this comic book into the right now. Sometimes superheroes use just their powers or future technology that it’s hard to remember the comic is supposed to be set in current times. Yes, in years to come, these references will date the comic book, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Stegman’s art continues to be very enjoyable. I enjoyed the full-page scene where Lyra and Jen break the glass. His style fits well with this type of fun, adventure character-driven tale. And I can’t applaud him enough for drawing teenage characters like teenagers.
She-Hulks #3 by Harrison Wilcox
This comic book continues to be a blast. I really love the ‘day-in-the-life’ approach that Wilcox has taken to his plot with the overall frame of catching the Intelligencia. He makes the story of Jen trying to raise Lyra and teach her to be a superhero more real by bringing the comic book universe closer to ours. And while I miss fourth-wall breaking She-Hulk, that wouldn’t work here and I’m glad that Wilcox didn’t try. (However, I do wish that Jen would bring Lyra to meet some of her superhero lady friends.)
Bruce and Jen arguing about the parenting of Lyra was brilliant. Though Bruce has zero legs to stand on because every time he’s tried to raise a child, like say Skaar, he’s failed miserably. (Okay, maybe I’ll give him a slight break in that his children were mostly grown before they met him. But unlike Skaar, Lyra was raised by a loving mother and in a society that took care of her when her mother was no longer there.) But the one thing I did not like about this scene is Stegman’s drawings of Jen’s mouth when she’s mad. It looks like she’s singing opera or that she and Bruce are suddenly in a musical number. There’s some subtle missing in their expressions.
I love that Lyra and Amelia Hopkins become friends as it turns out that they have more in common than they initially thought. This really brought me back to my own moments in high school.
But by far, my favorite scene was Jen and Lyra shopping for a dress for Lyra’s school dance. I loved that not every dress looked perfect on Lyra, and how, of course, she wouldn’t understand formal fashion and how encumbering it can be. I also love Jen’s passive aggressive shopping on Bruce’s credit card. I feel like it’s also a nice shout-out to ’80s She-Hulk comics where Jen did spend some time and thought on her wardrobe.
Speaking of outfits, I love Lyra and Jen’s Arctic outfits. Stegman putting Jen in a beanie is perfect.
She-Hulks #4 by Harrison Wilcox
I’m so sad that this miniseries has come to an end. Bwah. I need more She-Hulks in my pull list.
And on top of that, the ending was so sad. Yeah, Lyra needed to learn the lesson that people are scared of Hulks (and other super-powered beings), but it was so harsh. I felt so horrible for her, both in remembrance of that teenage girl I once was and the general that just really sucked.
Of course, Amelia pretended that she didn’t know Lyra was a Hulk. And of course, Jake, the boy that Lyra liked, got hurt by the Wizard.
I did love the detail that Lyra grabbed her ripped dress off the dance floor before she left with Jen. Okay, now I’m just sad and yeah… I realize that I don’t have a lot more to say about this comic book. Except that Wilcox is almost as bad as Byrne in shipping Wyatt and Jen.
Buy She-Hulks: Hunt for the Intelligencia by Harrison Wilcox and Ryan Stegman.
