She's Got Issues: She-Hulk 1-12

Not only is she a seven-foot tall green superhero, but she's a lawyer, and she's really hot. Perhaps a cosmetic surgery package should be offered to look like her, instead of Barbie. That'll bring in the nerds.

This run is actually quite well-written, and gives Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk a surprising amount of depth. Despite the requisite shopping scenes, she can be clever, and has emotions just like a real girl. There are wonderful times when you forget that she is a sexy heroine in a sweaty man-nerd's world, but the times when she slips back into "thinking gives you wrinkles" mode are that much more disappointing.

I especially love the beginning of the run-- with her new fame, she overcompensates for lost party-girl time by sleeping around and eventually getting kicked out of Avengers mansion. And she loses her job. Through an interesting turn of events, she gets a new job (with a new apartment) wherein she must be the weak Jennifer Walters whom she has consistently hidden for so long. There's a lot of self-discovery and uncertainty in the writing, and Dan Slott pulls it off wonderfully.

The next story arc is even funnier, involving a lawsuit between Spider-man and J. Jonah Jameson (Spidey suing Jameson!), and Spidey's snappy remarks along with Jen's more mature new self flow easily. Meanwhile, a new cast of side characters have been introduced-- Jen's co-worker "Pug" and "Awesome Andy"-- who have touching moments along the way.

As the series continues, it seems to lose a bit of energy and (in Marvel-style) get more self-reflexive. There is an inherent amount of self-mockery in the fact that Jen's superhuman law firm can cite Marvel comics as precedent, but it gets to somewhat ridiculous levels which could benefit from less exposure. With regards to skankology, my three biggest nitpicks are: Col. John Jameson, Southpaw, and Titania.

There is a side story about Jen's relationship with her neighbor and co-worker "Pug." He's the typical stable, silent type who is clearly in love with her but is doomed to be ignored. During the Spidey trial, Jen is re-introduced to John Jameson, and they start up a relationship, right in front of Pug. He mopes along, putting Jen back together when she needs it, and then sending her off into Jameson's arms-- all without her noticing or caring. Of course, she notices him occasionally, and seems to be charmed, but runs away from him like a ditzy teen back to her prom date. It's so much like a John Hughes movie that I don't know if it is intended to be funny, or just lazy writing.

And, to remind us that she's a woman, She-Hulk is saddled with a charge-- the bratty teen villain Southpaw. Holliway (Jen's boss and Southpaw's grandfather) lamely attempts to explain why he chose her, but is cut short in an attempt to make a joke by drawing attention to the fact that the situation is so stereotypical. The whole thing ends up feeling like "Take Your Daughter to Work Day," with Southpaw complaining incessantly, and She-Hulk trying to provide a good role model for the girl. Instead of dragging the girl around, She-Hulk could have placed her in the care of Awesome Andy, who was named as a backup babysitter-- but then we wouldn't get to see She-Hulk's lame maternal side.

Inevitably, the big fight in the first 12 issues is with Titania-- a supervillain with a pathetically sympathetic backstory riddled with failure. Who better to pit against She-Hulk than a jealous woman desperately trying to prove herself? It's the ultimate catfight (well, that one episode of Justice League Unlimited may have to be the ultimate catfight) and catfights are inherently more dangerous because, as everyone knows, women fight dirty. Titania is seen only once in the rest of the run, and only has a cameo some twenty issues later, having served her function as another spandex-clad pair of boobs in a fight. Although a fair amount of time is given developing her backstory, it is merely lip service to make the reader emotionally invested in the fight.

Sadly, the rest of Dan Slott's run trends down somewhat, with occasional moments of hilarity. Nothing seems to really have the same depth and conflict as the beginning, and he seems to turn to more cliches and self-referential stereotypes in order to mindlessly move the characters and story along. Just like Catwoman during the Ed Brubaker days, she showed so much promise. Sigh.