Comic Book Review – Savage She-Hulk #1 of 4

Context:
There’s a new She-Hulk in Town.  Where’s the other one?

Story:
All New Savage She-Hulk is a ‘Dark Reign’ tie-in.  The story begins as the flame-haired, green skinned femme fatale lands in New York City from what we assume to be the future.  It seems pretty obvious that this is a different She-Hulk from the Jen Walters we all knew and loved before. Lyra is her name and she is definitely on a mission, so don’t get in her way.

Without giving too much away, she proceeds to ravage the opposing forces sent to stop her, with bits of flashbacks in between to set up just exactly why she’s there in the first place.  Apparently, she’s looking for something and only has so much time to find it.  The pace is fast, the writing fairly tight, and the dialogue is quick, with just the right amount of exposition to keep the pace flowing without dragging it down.

If you pick it up and start reading, then you’ve got to read to the end…you’ll understand when you get there.

In the back of the issue is a piece titled “A Bunch Of Savages”.  A nice little bonus, this is basically 8 pages of details leading up to the issue it’s contained in, and provides a decent amount of information in case you’re left a little confused.  It includes a casual round-table discussion with Jeff Parker, Paul Tobin, and Fred Van Lente, the writers of ‘Raging Thunder’, the ‘Hulk Family’, and the issue I’m talking about now, respectively.

Art:
I have to say that I liked the art overall.  It’s clean and crisp.  I found nothing confusing when reading through the issue.  Peter Vale & Robert Atkins work off of each other well, and pull the action along without skipping a beat.  I wish today’s artists would show a little more motion in their artwork though.  Every page doesn’t have to look like a pin-up poster.  I won’t mind, really.  My one turn-off with the art was the lack of emotion from the main character throughout the book. Except for a furled brow now and then, there really wasn’t any other emotion that showed from her.  It just made her look a little too robotic for me at times.

What To Look For:
Boudicca, the talking wristwatch-thing, has a great personality. Its dialogue is priceless.

What might put you off:
The basic plot gives men a very bad rap in light of the future that Lyra comes from.  Even though the idea makes sense in the overall scheme, it gets old quick.

Recommendation:
If you like She-Hulk, you’ll probably like this four issue mini-series.  If you’re just not into gamma-babes, then there’s really no point in picking it up.  I’ve read She-Hulk since her first appearance.  I like the character.  I liked this issue as well.  You decide.

Credits

Title: All New Savage She-Hulk
Issue #1 of 4
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Release Date: 5/6/2009
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artists: Peter Vale & Robert Atkins
Inkers: Nelson Pereira & Terry Pallot
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letters: Simon Bowland
Cover art by Alex Garner
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Reviewed by JR Todd

Source