See, the thing about She-Hulk is that she’s a silly goose.
That’s the guiding star of this era of the character, which is just as concerned with making the reader laugh as it is in telling stories about the human drama that can spring from a life of superhero-ing. And to be fair, it’s occasionally way more invested in the jokey side of things, often to great effect.
This collection fills in the gaps between John Byrne’s lengthy stints on the series, with Steve Gerber, Simon Furman, Louise Simonson, Buzz Dixon and Dwight Zimmerman each getting a crack at Jennifer and her madcap adventures. If that didn’t sound varied enough, the pencilers bringing these wacky visions to the page are Bryan Hitch, Tom Artis, Tom Morgan, Rik Levins, Aaron Lopresti, and Mike Clark. And while Gerber and Hitch’s stories together are easily the most cartoonish and bizarre (complete with a team-up with Gerber’s own Howard the Duck), the collection still feels like a cohesive whole. Maybe that’s because all of these creators seemed to enjoy venting their frustrations (and bemusement) towards the comics medium by using She-Hulk as a mouthpiece.
This collection lampoons the grimdark ’80s, the obsession and subsequent canning of legacy characters and their creators, the inescapable ad campaign surrounding a certain Caped Crusader’s 1989 summer blockbuster, and so much more. Yet even in the midst of all of these parodies (including an extended and violent riff on Batman: Year One), the book never really feels like it’s punching down.
Much like Jen herself, these creators have fun with these larger-than-life concepts and show a lot of love for the thing they’re spoofing. Not all of it has aged perfectly, but it’s all fantastically inventive. And somehow in the middle of it all, Jen even finds time to go on dates and look out for her fellow man.
A few writers in recent years have dabbled with a return to Jen’s cosmic sense of self-awareness, with the Disney+ series being the most high profile example in some time. There’s a reason why this take on the character resonates with readers, and this volume is a great example of the dizzying heights that Shulkie can reach when a creative team aims for fun above all else. That’s not to say there aren’t moments of genuine pathos, of course. Jen’s special ability isn’t her strength, it’s her compassion and empathy.
She-Hulk feels everything all the time, which is why she makes such a great hero. Writers who understand that aspect of the character — like Charles Soule and Rainbow Rowell, as well as the writers on this book — can really make a She-Hulk book sing, and its that mixture of sweetness, sincerity, and anarchic silliness that makes The Cosmic Squish Principle a must-read for She-Hulk fans.
Also, it’s just wild to learn that the Baloney-Verse preceded the Spider-Verse. She-Hulk really is the blueprint (or greenprint, in this case).
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