Saturday, January 24, 2009

More books I've read in 2009


I was a big fan of Dan Slott's run as writer on She-Hulk. His encyclopedic knowledge of Marvel history and his refusal to take anything too seriously particularly endeared me to him. I was sorry to see him go, but I felt Shulkie would be in good hands with Peter David at the helm. He's a great writer-- his novel Imzadi is one of my all-time favorite books, rising above Star Trek novels to become literature, and during his run on She-Hulk's cousin's book "The Incredible Hulk" was the last time I cared about that book or that character. That said, I had a hard time adjusting to the change in tone in this book, and not just tone but just about everything changed. A new artist --- which should be a good thing as the last one would be ennobled by the word "incompetent", but this one is only marginally better. She-Hulk is no longer a lawyer, she's become a bounty hunter after being disbarred. She's traveling around the country with a Skrull companion who likes to shape-shift into Shulkie's alter ego Jennifer Walters for no reason other than to mess with the reader. We get no explanation for this, nor for her cynical attitude which is new too. The last story was the best, perhaps not coincidentally because it took place mostly in a courtroom and featured one prominent player from the Slott days. It was an enjoyable waste of a couple of hours, but I really would have appreciated it if Peter David had backed up for a minute and let this old She-Hulk fan get reoriented.

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