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About This Series
Issues
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About This
Series:
Issues:
This was actually
the second comic book series for She-Hulk. Her first series,
"Savage She-Hulk", debuted in 1980 and was canceled in 1982 with only
25 issues in its run. The character of She-Hulk was created by
writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema. She was initially
presented as a very serious character, much like her cousin The
Hulk. Unlike the Hulk, however, She-Hulk was always intelligent
and coherent. Although not a bad series or a bad character,
She-Hulk was NOT a huge hit in her original incarnation. Many
people felt it was just The Hulk with a sex change! There was
nothing really different about her character. In addition, she
wasn't drawn anywhere near as sexy or stylish as most comic book
superheroines.
Marvel kept the character around in various titles just to keep her in the loop. It was always pretty obvious that they were going to take another shot at her. Marvel doesn't like to give up on their characters too easy. In 1989 she was granted another series, "The Sensational She-Hulk". This version of She-Hulk couldn't have been more different from The Hulk or any of Marvel's other heroes. Writer and artist John Byrne could be considered the "father" of the new She-Hulk. Her second series was a huge, surprise hit! Byrne did issues #1-8, and #31-50. The series lasted only 60 issues, but it set a precedent. The series may have lasted longer if Byrne was not absent for most of it. Although art for this series was always top-notch, the writing style of the non-Byrne issues is noticably different. Some non-Byrne issues were good, some not-so-good, but faithful readers that got hooked on Byrne's She-Hulk were upset when he left.
"Sensational She-Hulk" was a blast! This series was goofy and funny! She-Hulk was drawn sexier and more stylish than ever before. She never had a costume, unlike other heroines, and wore different, trendy clothes all the time. And She-Hulk almost always broke the fourth wall, admitting she was a comic book character, and so on. She-Hulk could not change back to her previous form, and was always the 6'7" green-skinned giantess. What was unique about this series is that it had a continuity in and of itself, and was not really a part of the Marvel Universe continuity. What happened in "Sensational" stayed in "Sensational". However, a traditional, serious version of She-Hulk appeared in other Marvel titles.
This series still remains the most popular of the She-Hulk titles. She has been attempted several times since the cancellation of "Sensational" in 1994, but low sales led to early cancellations.
Marvel kept the character around in various titles just to keep her in the loop. It was always pretty obvious that they were going to take another shot at her. Marvel doesn't like to give up on their characters too easy. In 1989 she was granted another series, "The Sensational She-Hulk". This version of She-Hulk couldn't have been more different from The Hulk or any of Marvel's other heroes. Writer and artist John Byrne could be considered the "father" of the new She-Hulk. Her second series was a huge, surprise hit! Byrne did issues #1-8, and #31-50. The series lasted only 60 issues, but it set a precedent. The series may have lasted longer if Byrne was not absent for most of it. Although art for this series was always top-notch, the writing style of the non-Byrne issues is noticably different. Some non-Byrne issues were good, some not-so-good, but faithful readers that got hooked on Byrne's She-Hulk were upset when he left.
"Sensational She-Hulk" was a blast! This series was goofy and funny! She-Hulk was drawn sexier and more stylish than ever before. She never had a costume, unlike other heroines, and wore different, trendy clothes all the time. And She-Hulk almost always broke the fourth wall, admitting she was a comic book character, and so on. She-Hulk could not change back to her previous form, and was always the 6'7" green-skinned giantess. What was unique about this series is that it had a continuity in and of itself, and was not really a part of the Marvel Universe continuity. What happened in "Sensational" stayed in "Sensational". However, a traditional, serious version of She-Hulk appeared in other Marvel titles.
This series still remains the most popular of the She-Hulk titles. She has been attempted several times since the cancellation of "Sensational" in 1994, but low sales led to early cancellations.
Issues:
#53: July, 1993.
"To Die & Live in L.A." Part 2 of 6. Pretty good for a
non-Byrne issue. She-Hulk is dead. Her soul goes to a
heavenly place called "The Mall" where "people who like to shop"
go. The Mall is loaded with tons of dead superheroes and
supervillains. She-Hulk meets Bucky, Captain America's original
sidekick, and gets in a fight with the original Green Goblin.
Bucky's funny! It would be interesting to see this humorous
version of the deceased Bucky spun off into his own stories.
#57: November, 1993. "To Die and Live in L.A." Part 6 of 6. This was a good wrap-up for the storyline, but to tell you the truth, everything that happened here could have been condensed to three issues. She-Hulk is brought back from the dead, only to become an ignorant, overly-muscled version of her former self. She is just as musclebound as her famous cousin, now! What prevailed was something we never thought we'd see: an intelligent Hulk fighting a stronger, stupid She-Hulk. Don't worry, She-Hulk is returned to her normal state and everything ends fine. But it is quite a fight sequence. I like how everything strange that happened in the last six issues was finally explained in just a few pages near the end.
#59: January, 1994. Although not done by John Byrne, this was like a John Byrne issue. And that's a good thing. The story in this issue concerns lawyer Jennifer Walters (aka She-Hulk) contending with a cast of kooky supervillain characters in the courtroom. This issue features classic baddies like: Beetle, Blacklash, Blizzard, Boomerang, Jack O'Lantern, Mad Thinker, Porcupine, Ringer, Spymaster, Stilt Man, Taskmaster, Tinkerer, and Trapster.
#60: February, 1994. Last issue! This is another non-Byrne issue done in the Byrne style. It was the best way to do it. A fitting finale. The cover to this issue even mimics the cover to issue #1.
Something happens in almost every panel. Certainly an entertaining read. She-Hulk is inexplicably attacked by a horde of creatures that suspiciously look like the monsters from the "Alien" films. She finds out that they are really robots controlled by the tiny insect villain, the Scarlet Beetle. SB is an evil genius insect bent on making a name for himself in the supervillain world. Unfortunately, She-Hulk squashes his chances...literally.
And the old lady that's been trailing She-Hulk the last several issues? It isn't a villain after all, but Millie the Model! Millie the Model was a popular, humorous character from the 1950s. Now as an older lady, she wants to hire She-Hulk to work for her modeling agency.
The issue ends thanking the readers and the creators in a heartfelt, yet humorous way. Editor Renee Witterstaetter makes an appearance, which is really cool and unique for comics. There aren't too many comic books that break the fourth wall, let alone show one of the real-life creators in its story. I think that's special.
Reasons given for the cancellation of the series include the fact that there was no place for a funny, light-hearted superhero comic at that time, and that sales were down, and so on. I still think that if John Byrne had stayed on, it probably would have lasted longer just because of the name attachment. That, and the fact that a lot of the non-Byrne issues just didn't have the same heart. The writing in most of the non-Byrne issues kind of strayed from his formula, and people got fed up. By the time awesome issues like this started popping up again, it was too late. At any rate, this was a cool series and it deserves to be reprinted for a new generation of readers.
#57: November, 1993. "To Die and Live in L.A." Part 6 of 6. This was a good wrap-up for the storyline, but to tell you the truth, everything that happened here could have been condensed to three issues. She-Hulk is brought back from the dead, only to become an ignorant, overly-muscled version of her former self. She is just as musclebound as her famous cousin, now! What prevailed was something we never thought we'd see: an intelligent Hulk fighting a stronger, stupid She-Hulk. Don't worry, She-Hulk is returned to her normal state and everything ends fine. But it is quite a fight sequence. I like how everything strange that happened in the last six issues was finally explained in just a few pages near the end.
#59: January, 1994. Although not done by John Byrne, this was like a John Byrne issue. And that's a good thing. The story in this issue concerns lawyer Jennifer Walters (aka She-Hulk) contending with a cast of kooky supervillain characters in the courtroom. This issue features classic baddies like: Beetle, Blacklash, Blizzard, Boomerang, Jack O'Lantern, Mad Thinker, Porcupine, Ringer, Spymaster, Stilt Man, Taskmaster, Tinkerer, and Trapster.
#60: February, 1994. Last issue! This is another non-Byrne issue done in the Byrne style. It was the best way to do it. A fitting finale. The cover to this issue even mimics the cover to issue #1.
Something happens in almost every panel. Certainly an entertaining read. She-Hulk is inexplicably attacked by a horde of creatures that suspiciously look like the monsters from the "Alien" films. She finds out that they are really robots controlled by the tiny insect villain, the Scarlet Beetle. SB is an evil genius insect bent on making a name for himself in the supervillain world. Unfortunately, She-Hulk squashes his chances...literally.
And the old lady that's been trailing She-Hulk the last several issues? It isn't a villain after all, but Millie the Model! Millie the Model was a popular, humorous character from the 1950s. Now as an older lady, she wants to hire She-Hulk to work for her modeling agency.
The issue ends thanking the readers and the creators in a heartfelt, yet humorous way. Editor Renee Witterstaetter makes an appearance, which is really cool and unique for comics. There aren't too many comic books that break the fourth wall, let alone show one of the real-life creators in its story. I think that's special.
Reasons given for the cancellation of the series include the fact that there was no place for a funny, light-hearted superhero comic at that time, and that sales were down, and so on. I still think that if John Byrne had stayed on, it probably would have lasted longer just because of the name attachment. That, and the fact that a lot of the non-Byrne issues just didn't have the same heart. The writing in most of the non-Byrne issues kind of strayed from his formula, and people got fed up. By the time awesome issues like this started popping up again, it was too late. At any rate, this was a cool series and it deserves to be reprinted for a new generation of readers.