Hmm. I had high expectations for this, but it seems like the main point of this graphic novel was for John Byrne to repeatedly draw She-Hulk in various stages of undress. In fact, she doesn't come off too heroic here, she's strip searched twice and probed at least once, and she never even gets real revenge on the slimy SHIELD agent who makes it all happen. There is sort of a conflict between She-Hulk and a swarm of sentient cockroaches, but it is almost a side-plot. The problem is the main storyline about She-Hulk proving that she's not a threat isn't much more than a side-plot itself. This plot just doesn't seem to justify itself as a main story.Byrne does a nice job with the art; of course, he draws a pretty She-Hulk (although some of her outfits are awful, awful awful). Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan look pretty cool when they show up, and I always like Wyatt Wingfoot. He's one of the cooler characters in the Marvel U, I think.
I just picked up Byrne's second run on She-Hulk (issues 32-50 or so) so I'm curious to see how this stacks up against those.
Average (story is average, but the art is pretty)
2 comments:
I was young when I bought this graphic novel second hand, like maybe 10 or 11 years old. I was stunned when it came to the nudity (I'm gay, so it wasn't a weird 'stunned') and I agree with your basic assessment of the plot. However, this was one of my all-time favorite books for a long time because it highlighted She-Hulk's devil-may-care attitude towards square people and really showed that behind her sharp wit, powerful muscles, and striking beauty that there's a strong mind. I to think I carry a little She-Hulk with me still by always having a sense of humor in even the most perilous of times.
I love She-Hulk for those same reasons, I just didn't care for how often she found herself being objectified and insulted in this story. Now, if she had delivered more punching-style comeuppance, I might feel differently, but she was sort of robbed of that too!
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