Last October, She-Hulk scored a new adjective and #1 issue, continuing Rainbow Rowell’s run on the character. Today, the first story arc of that run gets collected, so if you’ve been trade-waiting, now is the time to jump on board. She-Hulk By Rainbow Rowell Vol. 4: Jen-Sational packs a punch with an excellent first issue and an ongoing melodrama as She-Hulk tries to find some normalcy with her new boyfriend, Jack of Hearts.
Right off the bat, something you’ll note is how good the captioning is by Rowell with letters by Joe Caramagna. There’s a certainty to them as if from her journal, but still clean and easy to read without a notebook look. They’re used throughout to introduce each character clearly and give a bit of info on them. That’s super helpful, especially since some of these Marvel characters are quite obscure. Pair those with an efficient reminder of where She-Hulk and Jack of Hearts are in their relationship up front and it’s a good jumping-on point too.
The pace of the first issue moves at a fast clip once She-Hulk heads to work. She’s encountering enemies at work, characters who need help, and friends who have a fight club but can’t get the rules locked down. It’s all very efficient, with a good payoff in regards to Jack of Hearts messing up a bit in front of She-Hulk’s friends.
There’s some incredible timing when it comes to character acting as well. In a moment where She-Hulk responds to some clients in a single close-up of her face, she says, “Well. I’ll do my best,” and you can see the anguish on her face. She’s trying to help two Deviants, and one of them can’t see the other, which is the problem. You can imagine She-Hulk might be applying their lack of seeing the other as a problem in her own life.
A great scene.
Credit: Marvel
That scene wouldn’t truly work without Andrés Genolet on art. The character acting is so on point, telegraphing the intensity of what characters are thinking or feeling. Or lack thereof when it comes to folks like Absorbing Man. Even the hero that ends up being the cliffhanger has a certain vulnerability to him, which is tough, to say the least, when you see who it is.
The story slows way down with the second issue, however, as the melodrama with Jack of Hearts or Jen doing her lawyer duties is absent. The entire main story is a single action scene, starkly contrasting the first issue. It’s good, but it’s a lot less of what made the first issue so damn good.
The story picks up later showing She-Hulk’s chaotic life, be it listening to ridiculous cases in her office, heading to court to support clients, and being bombarded with jerks in the street. Her life is anything but glamorous, especially since Hulk has turned the general public against her. Once she finally gets home, she’s looking forward to locking herself away with Jack of Hearts for the weekend. Her relationship is complicated, but it’s one of the best things in her life right now. Enter Hellcat.
Sensational She-Hulk remains grounded in a way only Marvel Comics superheroes are. This is the world outside our window, complete with crappy day jobs and messy friends. Sensational She-Hulk is brilliantly energetic and deeply real.
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