She-Hulk

I've just finished reading She-Hulk (volume 1): Single Green Female, written by Dan Slott, with art by Juan Bobillo and Paul Pelletier. I have to say, first off, that I wasn't too excited to get this trade. The only reason I did pick it up was because I got it cheap at the Chicago comic convention. Now, that said, I'm glad that I did buy it. Positive word of mouth led to my giving in to its purchase, an investment that I think anyone who's a fan of superheros should indulge. The beginning of the story walks us through a day of She-Hulk at her most typical over-the-top self, partying it up and being all flamboyant in a courtroom. I was rather uninterested in the story at this point, although it did set up the series at the end of the first issue, the hook: a law firm wants She-Hulk to work for them, not as the green-skinned Avenger, but as Jennifer Walters, the brilliant law student. A condition, in fact, to work with the law firm is that she would not turn into the jade hulkess, but remain human. Now, She-hulk loathes her human counterpart, as is apparent by the inner dialogue we are treated to through the story, which makes for an interesting dynamic, as some people see her useful as She-Hulk and some people really find that they are more interested in her in her timid, unspectacular state. Working for this law firm reminds me quite a bit of the last season of Joss Whedon's Angel, where the hero was thrown into an evil law firm that dealt with supernatural cases. This series has, well, the hero thrown into a law firm that deals with superhuman cases. Totally different, right? Anyway, the feel of the series overall is reminescent of old Marvel reprints, like the Essential X-Men volumes that I've read. Stories tend to be contained within a single issue, with wild and outrageous ideas and fun, light-hearted superhuman fights. From the ironically labeled "Big Time" prison designed by Hank Pym, to the Marvel comic books that the law firm uses as evidence in the court, She-Hulk is full of the fun, lighter side of superheros of a more innocent, pre-Watchmen era. Something, I think, everyone can appreciate.