Love it or hate it, one of the unfortunate side effects of Identity Crisis has been the scuttling of the follow-up to the delightful mini-series, Formerly Known As The Justice League (FKATJL). Where can readers turn for something a little more lighthearted? Something clever and fun to balance out all of the Important Stories That Change Everything?
How about giving She-Hulk a try?
Admittedly, Marvel doesn’t have the greatest track record with intentionally funny comic books. Peter David has pretty much carried that banner, inserting as much humor as feasible in otherwise straightforward super-heroic outings like Captain Marvel, The Incredible Hulk, and X-Factor. John Byrne took a solid stab at the comedy niche with the second She-Hulk title.
But while Byrne gleefully tore down the wall between reader and character, current writer Dan Slott has pulled back a bit on the absurdity. Slott still takes a skewed, affectionate look at super-heroic conventions, but he does so in way that fits more easily into shared universe storytelling.
In this third She-Hulk book, Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk’s alter-ego, has gone to work for a law firm specializing in meta-human issues. The firm has made a mint off of the frequently absurd conventions of life in the Marvel Universe – industrial accidents yielding super-powers, the dead testifying at their own murder trials, a libel suit against the Daily Bugle. And Slott wrings some great gags out of the concept.
Issue #6 finds our heroine trapped in the firm’s skyscraper with dozens of miniaturized super-villains who’ve used her in a complicated plot to escape from their ironically named detention center, “The Big House.” On paper, it sounds like a story that might actually have been played straight in the Silver Age, but Slott and company go for a wide range of laughs, from a sly dialogue to hilarious sight gags.
While similar in tone and intent to FKATJL, She-Hulk benefits from a fairly significant difference. While Keith Giffen was obviously fond of his FKATJL cast, it’s doubtful that he had a whole lot of respect for them. Slott is a bit kinder to She-Hulk; while she may find herself in absurd or undignified situations, her competence as an attorney and an adventurer is never really questioned. She’s in on the joke as opposed to being the butt of it, and she approaches the madness around her with an appealing blend of self-deprecating humor and a can-do attitude.
She-Hulk seems like what a lot of readers have been asking for. It’s different from the run-of-the-mill super-hero title. It doesn’t wallow in the gloom and doom that seem to have re-emerged as a guiding principle for both Marvel and DC. It’s the exact opposite of decompressed storytelling. (Most of the arcs so far have been single-issue, and each is packed with plot, character development, and smart comedy.)
So why aren’t more people buying it? Why not fix that by giving the book a try? There’s really no bad point to pick it up, and Marvel doesn’t seem to be rushing a trade paperback to the shelves.