She-Hulk # 22 Review
Author: Peter David
Penciler: Shawn Moll
Inker: Victor Olazaba
Covers: Mike Deodato Jr. & Ed Mcguiness
Preparing myself for this issue, I caught up reading She-Hulk 1-21 by Dan Slott. I remember enjoying the 12 issue run that Slott wrote, before it got canned and damn, is the ongoing series just as fun! Sure some of the guest stars were completely written out of character. But seriously who took this book that seriously? Nobody! And that’s what made it so damn flawless. Instead of cancelling the title when Slott left, veteran writer Peter David has stepped up to try to fill that gap that most people will miss. Of course he is no stranger to the Hulk family at all.
I can safely say that Peter David has decided not to write Slott's She-Hulk, instead giving Jennifer Walters a whole new status quo and a leap in time a few months. That in my opinion is Peter David’s most wise decision. Some other writer might have tried to imitate Slott's writing and it would have been disastrous. I think distancing himself from Slott's work is the best approach. I am a bit upset that after all the trouble that Slott went through to get Jenn back to law, she is now a bounty hunter. But, I guess that it makes more sense than her being an Agent of SHIELD. Lately the villains had been pulled from other Marvel books, so it was nice to be reminded that She-Hulk also has a great rogue gallery.
The big trouble is there’s no real flow here from last month’s issue to this one. Nowhere in the book was it mentioned that we were skipping ahead a few months. Hell, if you didn't read any interviews with David you might have been a little lost at first, but I would like to think most people could have figured it out. David has promised that he will fill in some of the blanks later. That’s fair enough, but it does make this book feel rather disjointed and it might turn some readers off if they didn't know his agenda.
I was never a big fan Rick Burchett's art work. I thought it was too dull and just bland because despite the humor, She-Hulk is still a super-hero book. So, Shawn Moll’s artwork is a big improvement. Moll has a more detailed and has a more traditional style. The art really comes alive visually and the action is top notch. Sure he's not the greatest artist and still has plenty of bolts to tighten up, but I think he really flatters David's script. The new direction is simple, but I can see it working down the line. Peter David is more than capable of sending the character in a bold new entertaining direction. I mean seriously if you've gotten into the character by now, it really won't kill you to stick around a few issues to see where the direction takes us. B-
