John Byrne gives the Sensational She-Hulk the VIP treatment in the 18th edition of Marvel Graphic Novel.
In 1979, when She-Hulk debuted in the pages of The Savage She-Hulk #1, aspiring lawyer Jennifer Walters would change into a rampaging green monster whenever someone made her mad. The transformation was like that of her cousin Bruce Banner, who was forced to give Walters a blood transfusion in order to save her life. Over time, Jen came to accept her She-Hulk form. When transformed, Walters is taller, stronger and much more attractive. Jen also becomes much more self confident and sensual as the She-Hulk, eventually earning membership as both an Avenger and part of the Fantastic Four.
The story opens with She-Hulk about to go out for a night on the town with her almost equally masculine beau, the Native American Wyatt Wingfoot. Unbeknownst to She-Hulk, she has been deemed a potential public menace due to a recent berserker rampage by the Incredible Hulk. The President of the United States has ordered SHIELD to bring in She-Hulk for a complete evaluation of the hero's prospective ability to become a threat to public safety. After a squadron of SHIELD agents in L-series anti-Hulk armor are unable to apprehend Jennifer, the law agency's acting director initiates emergency protocols and teleports She-Hulk and Wingfoot up onto the massive SHIELD helicarrier orbiting above the Manhattan skyline.
The action also beams aboard a number of civilians, including a homeless man that in the chaos allows him to slip away unseen. This failure to notice the man will go down as one of SHIELD's greatest blunders as the vagabond is something far more than human. Birthed from the same radioactive energy that courses through the veins of the Hulk and his cousin, the vagrant in reality is a living swarm of cockroaches! And this hive has plans to feast on the nuclear powered core of the SHIELD helicarrier!
After Jen Walter's tenure with the Fantastic Four, John Byrne would continue She-Hulk's solo adventures in the pages of The Sensational She-Hulk. This series would run from 1989-1994 for 60 issues. Byrne would write and illustrate a majority of the series over a course of 3 tenures. Marvel Graphic Novel #18 is a preview of what Byrne had in-store for the emerald enchantress. Sexy costumes, innuendo and partial nudity teases, which would be a staple of Bryne's She-Hulk run, are all a part of this 72-page story. In one scene, Jen is forced to be stripped searched. In observing the over exuberance of the SHIELD guards, She-Hulk asks if she should also jump rope while nude. This concept would go on to be the subject of one of many controversial Byrne covers which depict She-Hulk in a near state of undress.
(Byrne actually gives his rabid male a glimpse of uncensored She-Hulk as her entire nude backside is shown on a monitor in the background of one panel.)
Thanks to She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, a 2023 live action series starring Tatiana Maslany on Disney+, She-Hulk back issues have been in hot demand. This graphic novel doesn't appear to have been off many speculators' radar. Copies of this book can be found online with asking prices as high as $200 with $25 being about the average price requested by online sellers. A non-graded issue was featured recently on a Central North Carolina area comic shop's Facebook page for a similar price.
John Byrne's artwork was inked by Kim DeMulder and vividly colored by Petra Scotese.
Completing this review completes Task #19 (Recommended by a Comic Book Store) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.
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