She-Hulk has been having her moment in the spotlight recently, and it’s a well-deserved one, as one of Marvel’s most iconic and dynamic female characters. She is also one of the few female characters to reach 175 issues of a self-titled solo series. To celebrate this milestone, series author Rainbow Rowell, and series artist Andres Genolet crafted a near-perfect celebratory issue.
Rowell does a stellar job balancing Jen’s personal, work, and superhero lives in this issue. We get a sweet scene with her and Jack, which gives a look at where they are at in their relationship. I love how Jack is allowed to progress as a character as well in this series, and is not just there to be a love interest alone. There are also some very entertaining scenes with Jen and clients, with commentary from Mallory Book that makes it even better. On the superhero side of things, we see Jen face the Scoundrel, a new villain we met in the previous issue. These two have a budding dynamic that reminds me of Black Cat and Spider-Man, which I am very intrigued to see develop over the rest of the arc.
Andres Genolet’s art is charming and fits the tone of the book well. Jen’s varied expressions clearly show how she’s feeling throughout the book, both as a person and when she’s in She-Hulk form. The fight scene between She-Hulk and the Scoundrel is also very dynamic and shows off their chemistry. The Scoundrel’s costume also is a great design, and Genolet draws it perfectly. My favorite has to be the Book Law Office scenes with the multiple heroes waiting for their cases to be heard.
This issue also includes a back-up story, written by series writer Rainbow Rowell, with art by Joe Quinones. The story features some of She-Hulk’s closest friends, like Wasp and Hellcat, as well as newer faces to her circle, such as Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. I greatly appreciate this story, because it shows a group of female superheroes just hanging out and being friends, which is something rarely seen in comics. Rowell instantly creates great chemistry between the characters and portrays their unique voices extremely well. Quinones does an amazing job at capturing each character’s personality through their facial expressions and sense of style. This, in combination with the writing, makes each character feel distinct from one another. The highlight of the story was the scene between Wasp and She-Hulk, which gave us insight into both She-Hulk and Wasp, as well as cemented how important these two are to each other. With this short story alone, Rowell and Quinones make a strong case for an entire series with this cast of characters, and I for one am all for it.
She-Hulk #12 is a celebration of everything that makes She-Hulk the amazing character she is and reinforces that this series is giving us the best take on the character we have had in modern-era comics.
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