Graphic Novel Review - 'She-Hulk by Peter David Omnibus' by Various

I was sure this 'She-Hulk' omnibus would be a disaster for me at first.

It gets quite convoluted, jumpy and cringey, with confusing character motivations and actions. The storylines by Peter David are post-'Civil War', so I was expecting the dark, "edgy", "realistic" and troubled period in Marvel's history, where the heroes barely act like heroes anymore and no one trusts one another, and often unfortunately for good reasons. In 'She-Hulk', the stuff with Bran Murphy, Arthur Moore, the Behemoth, and the X-Men group, the X-Factor - containing mutants I'd never heard of, nor care about - during a Skrull invasion of earth, baffled and bored me more than anything else; especially 'The Darwin Awards' X-Factor issues. Behemoth was set up as a gigantic threat to She-Hulk in one tiny issue, 'Beasts of the Field', but then he doesn't appear until much later on down the line, and predictably, his ultimate plan and subsequent defeat are rushed, quick and underwhelming. What was the point of him?

Is it standard for comics like these to set up villains who then are seemingly forgotten about until it is too late and the readers have either forgotten them as well or have ceased caring, and their final appearance is tacked on and rushed anyway? I've seen this in other 'She-Hulk' omnibuses.

She-Hulk herself has become very cold, bitter and disillusioned (fitting that the starting storyline is titled 'Jaded', I love multilayered meanings), though for understandable reasons. There's the 'Civil War' garbage and baggage, and through some more superhero/supervillain/legal issues BS she's lost her job as a lawyer, and is now a bounty hunter for villains skipping bail.

But I kept going. I kept reading and wow, in my opinion, it is worth it.

She-Hulk had been slowly but surely recovering and growing back into the hero we know and love, striving to do the right thing no matter what, because it's the right thing and it's what heroes do. She saves lives with no hesitation, at the cost of herself. The part in 'Fathers and Daughters' where she is falling from the sky and briefly transforms back into Jen Walters to avoid an impact with a plane full of passengers has to be one of my favourite moments from her. She also gets an impoverished Black single mother, who has been though the worst trauma throughout her entire life, out of jail.

There're Skrull battles, father-and-daughter issues and the mammoth, intergalactic drama from that, and then there's the girl power! She-Hulk teams up with Valkyrie, Sue Storm and Thundra - together they are the (Lady) Liberators. Later we see Storm/Ororo (who admittedly is barely a presence), Gamora, Mantis (all the green Marvel heroines!), Lyja and Quasar/Phyla-Vell (whoever they are). All sorts of heroics are done, especially political and in regard to foreign warfare and disasters, and the women are friends who care for each other. They respect and trust each other. What a relief!

The omnibus includes fun little issues in the mix, too, like 'What the Hell is Going On with Her Comic Book', which harkens back to her John Byrne fourth wall breaking/smashing era in the eighties and nineties, and a 'Sensational She-Hulk' anniversary special, described as 'The She-Hulk Story That's a Riff on Christmas Carol', and that's what it is. Spider-Man and Stan Lee are in it, and Weezie from the John Byrne days makes a one panel cameo. It's comical, existentialist, and pays homage to the different eras of She-Hulk's comics history.

Despite initial gripes, I ended up really liking 'The Whole Hero Thing' and 'Friends in Need' connected storyline. Each issue ended great, satisfactorily. 'Jaded' has fun and exciting moments. Right from the get-go, it's She-Hulk vs Crusher Creel and Titania.

The final issue is the 'Sensational She-Hulk' fill-in story from 1990, 'She-Hulk: The Movie', also by Peter David. I'd read it before in another, classic 'She-Hulk' omnibus containing John Byrne's stuff. Cartoony comedy antics, spoofs, gags, successful copyright license uses, and fourth wall breaking are here. It's an homage and love letter to Mel Brooks. And it's so cute that back in those days superhero films were thought to never be able to reach $200, million in the box office - "Isn't that the most absurd thing you ever heard?". This is the funniest thing in the whole issue, but only in hindsight, and I don't think it was meant to be a joke at the time.

Interweaving throughout the whole omnibus is She-Hulk/Jen's complicated relationship, and growing deep and devoted friendship, with the Skrull runaway Jazinda. I was fond of their development. They really came to love and care for one another. Female friendship, companionship, and support is strong in this comic!

I swear Mallory Book is female J. Jonah Jameson.

The art is fantastic in every issue. Varied with different styles depending on the artist, of course, but all beautiful and lovely. What gorgeously striking colours! Though I wasn't sure about She-Hulk's red-rimmed eyes in the beginning. I guess it does stand out against her green skin, and it reflects where her character is at the moment. I LOVE the covers. One of them, for 'She-Hulk: Cosmic Collision', is done by none other than Stjepan Šejić!

It seems that every 'She-Hulk' comic omnibus I've read, both classic and in the 2000s, has to contain several or at least a few or just one instance where She-Hulk is suddenly naked. The comic creators don't even try to hide how inappropriate and exploitative (and a couple of times solely gross) they're being. A strong superheroine is more than whatever sex appeal she has! A moment in the middle of the Peter David omnibus is especially egregious, where Jazinda accidently zaps away Shulkie's clothes when trying to transport her into her spaceship. This happens right after Jen saves a bunch of people who were the Skrulls' prisoners on a "herding" vessel. Those same people are now cheering and jeering at her naked and humiliated form. Her badass, defiant and character defining act of heroism is undermined, just like that. What tossers these male writers and artists are. I'd call them wankers but that would be too on the nose and obvious.

This is also the second 'She-Hulk' omnibus I've read that features a Black villain who uses dark magic and voodoo, or a similar practice. Both men are very ruthless, sadistic, manipulative, sneaky and evil. To say this is in bad taste and what the hell were they thinking would be a massive understatement.

Jen remains guy-crazy and open for sex whenever she can. However, she's become self-conscious, concerned over if she can love anyone anymore, and isn't really a proud, sex positive feminist, calling herself a "sexual pinball". And was Peter David seriously in for slut-shaming Jazinda, for having thirty-seven partners in her life (that's nothing, dude, plus she's an alien, and who knows how old she is), even though Jazinda herself clearly doesn't care? WTF was that about?

But I still had good thrill and laugh with the comic, all the same. It's a rocky start and middle, but it's over halfway in when it really has fun and remembers what superhero comics are supposed to be; what they represent. It gets feminist, heartfelt, heartbreaking, and funny and awesome.

I know Jen will be a lawyer again in the future. She's already proven she's not lost her hero's touch, no matter what she's been through and how much she denies it.

She-Hulk - starting to smash the patriarchy!

She-Hulk - saving lives in a myriad of ways, as her amazing self.

'She-Hulk by Peter David' - an Artemis Cresent recommendation for She-Hulk fans.

Final Score: 3.5/5