Another major Marvel heroine is about to make her MCU debut in Phase 4. Tatiana Maslany plays Jennifer Walters and her big, green alter ego in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. And if you're not sure why this is a big deal, you clearly have some reading to do.
She-Hulk may have started off as an offshoot of her cousin, but she's long since blazed her own trail in the Marvel Universe. These are the essential She-Hulk graphic novels you should read to get an understanding of the character, her peculiar sense of humor and what makes her so different from Hulk.
Marvel-Verse: She-Hulk
The Marvel-Verse graphic novels are a handy resource for quickly brushing up on various Marvel heroes. They're designed to be affordable and offer a greatest hits lineup from various Marvel Comics eras. In this case, Marvel-Verse: She-Hulk includes the character's original debut in 1979's Savage She-Hulk #1, along with issues from acclaimed She-Hulk creators like John Byrne and Dan Slott. It even includes a highly underrated She-Hulk tale from 1987's Solo Avengers #14. All in all, it's hard to go wrong with this book as a gateway into the world of She-Hulk.
Buy Marvel-Verse: She-Hulk here.
Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne
She-Hulk may be among the numerous Marvel heroes co-created by Stan Lee, but most fans would agree the character didn't truly come into her own until writer/artist John Byrne came along. Byrne's Sensational She-Hulk fundamentally reinvented the character in the 1980's. Rather than depicting She-Hulk as a carbon copy of her cousin, the series emphasized her comedic side. Byrne gave fans a version of Jen Walters who is loud, proud and fully in control of her Hulk side.
Years before Deadpool landed on the scene, Sensational She-Hulk took the novel approach of focusing on a character who knew she existed inside a comic, interacted with the reader and bickered with the storyteller, Duck Amuck-style. It's no stretch to say Byrne's influence on the character remains strong even decades later.
Buy Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne Vol. 1 here.
She-Hulk by Dan Slott
If Byrne fundamentally overhauled She-Hulk's personality and place in the Marvel Universe, then Dan Slott brought her into the 21st Century. Slott's She-Hulk run sees Jen Walters take a role at the prestigious law firm Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg, & Holliway, where she brings her unique perspective to matters of superhuman law. When Spider-Man decides to sue J. Jonah Jameson for libel, there's only one lawyer to call.
Slott's She-Hulk isn't as overtly meta as Byrne's Sensational She-Hulk, but it does mine the depths of Marvel lore for both comedic and dramatic effect. For instance, the series establishes that a version of Marvel Comics exists within the Marvel Universe, and all their comics are 100% factual accounts of real-life incidents.
This series is frequently hilarious, but it packs plenty of heart, as well. It brings Jen Walters back into the forefront alongside her Hulk persona, and also establishes a top-notch supporting cast. Slott's She-Hulk has become the standard by which all subsequent books are judged. This series, as much as any other, looks to be the inspiration behind the Disney+ show.
Buy She-Hulk by Dan Slott: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 here.
All-New Savage She-Hulk
There was a period in the late '00s where the Marvel Universe was practically overflowing with new versions of Hulk and She-Hulk. Among that motley crew of gamma monsters was Lyra, a refugee from a future timeline who is revealed to be the daughter of Bruce Banner and Thundra.
All-New Savage She-Hulk chronicles Lyra's journey from the future into the present-day Marvel Universe. Her mission is to seek out and kill the world's greatest hero, in the hope that their death will change the future and prevent the extinction of her people. That quest puts her in the path of many a Marvel hero and villain, including Jen Walters.
Jen herself may only be a supporting character in this series, but it's well worth a read for anyone interested in a slightly different take on the She-Hulk concept. And thanks to writer Jeff Parker's witty style, the series does still scratch that comedic itch.
Buy All-New Savage She-Hulk here.
She-Hulk by Soule & Pulido
After a series of status quo changes and an overall expansion of the Hulk family, Marvel brought She-Hulk back to basics with her 2014 series. In this volume, writer Charles Soule and artist Javier Pulido shift the focus back to Jen Walters' ongoing struggle to balance her professional and superhero lives. The big difference in this series is that Shulkie is now a solo lawyer with her own law firm.
There's a lot to love in this criminally short-lived series, whether it's Shulkie defending high-profile clients like Steve Rogers and Doctor Doom's son Kristoff Vernard or bonding with her friend Hellcat. Pulido's art, though somewhat divisive in the Marvel fandom, gives the series a look and vibe all its own. If you've read through all of Slott's She-Hulk and crave more superhero legal drama, this is the sequel you want (though it also stands perfectly well on its own).
Buy She-Hulk by Soule & Pulido: The Complete Collection here.
A-Force Vol. 0: Warzones
While too often comic book crossover events are riddled with superfluous tie-in stories, that was anything but the case with 2015's Secret Wars. That crossover introduced a new version of Battleworld comprised of fragments of dozens of different alternate realities, and the various Secret Wars spinoffs gave fans a closer look at many of these warring fiefdoms.
In the case of A-Force, the focus is on Arcadia, an idyllic island protected by some of Marvel's best and brightest heroines. She-Hulk is shown fighting alongside everyone from Captain Marvel to Dazzler to the Runaways' Sister Grimm. Why it took Marvel this long to give readers an all-women superhero team outside of the X-Men franchise is a mystery, but the wait proved worth it. Particularly because A-Force is written by Ms. Marvel's G. Willow Wilson, ensuring the book is full of strong characterization and humor.
It's also worth pointing out that the Secret Wars miniseries is packaged in a Vol. 0 graphic novel. Marvel followed that tie-in with a short-lived ongoing series set in the regular Marvel Universe, and it's well worth continuing on with the other two volumes in the series.
Buy A-Force Vol. 0: Warzones here.
The Immortal She-Hulk
Much has been made of Al Ewing and Joe Bennett's Immortal Hulk, a horror-tinged revamp of the character that rivals Peter David's Incredible Hulk as the franchise's best. Jen Walters may not be the star of that series, but she does briefly take the spotlight in this one-shot tie-in.
True to its title, The Immortal She-Hulk explores what immortality means for a person like Jennifer Walters. This story explores her three brushes with death - her origin story, the events of Civil War II and her most recent death in Empyre - and Jen's connection to "the Green Door" at the heart of Ewing's Immortal Hulk storyline. The result is both a fascinating character study and great primer for She-Hulk's current status quo. It's definitely worth reading this issue first before diving into the current volume of She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell (which, though still very young, is shaping up to be another definitive run for the character).
Buy Immortal Hulk Vol. 11: Apocrypha here.
For more on She-Hulk, check out a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming Marvel show as well as a look at She-Hulk’s history and how she got her powers.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
