She-Hulk #6 // Review
Jen is having some difficulty getting back into a reasonably normal lifestyle. She’s got a job with a law firm, but it’s not easy following the boss’s requirement that she steer clear of superhuman clients. An old friend has approached Jen with a rather lucrative contract, but she’s going to have a hell of a time running it past her boss in She-Hulk #6. Writer Rainbow Rowell continues a fun, well-balanced look at the personal and professional lives of the glamorous jade giantess in an issue rendered for the page by Luca Maresca with color by Rico Renzi.
It’s dress-and-cake Wednesday for Jen. (Something she’s been doing with Patsy Walker for a while.) It’s more than just social, though: Patsy has some info for Jen involving a guy who has been crashing on her couch. She arrives at the office in a dress that is distinctly unprofessional. It’s okay, though: she’s not expecting any clients. Little does she know--there’s one waiting for her in her office. He’s about to propose a huge client base. The fact that he happens to be covered in indigo fur and has a prehensile tail might be a bit of a challenge for her employer, however.
Rowell opens the issue with morning socializing, follows through with a business meeting, and then wraps up with a deep conversation with someone Jen’s attracted to. Rowell follows Jen on what might be a perfectly normal Wednesday for her. Rowell’s sense of humor drifts playfully through a full day spent hanging out with Jen in three different locations. Rowell has a talent for bringing a variety of different social relationships to the page in a number of different ways. The inherently social nature of the series that she’s putting together is a pleasant contrast to some of Marvel’s other offerings.
The drama is a bit crude and stiff in places, but the art team carries moments quite well. The overarching atmosphere of the issue is capably maintained without cluttering the panel with too many details. Some very complex moods, motions, and emotions hit the page in a format that’s not altogether common for a mainstream superhero comic book, and the art team has done a very good job with it. Jen has an impressive range of emotions brought to the page visually. In light of this, a little bit of stiffness around the edges really isn’t that much to have to put up with. It’s fine. Really.
As nice as it is to see things develop the way that they’re developing in Rowell’s series, it would also be nice to see some legitimate action contrasting against all of the taut nuance that Rowell is so good with. The best writers and artists who have worked with Jen over the years have done so in a way that balances her normal life against her superhuman one in a way that feels fresh and distinct. (And an occasional glance over at the reader or the creative team is always appreciated as well.)
