Book Review: Marvel Masterworks: The Savage She-Hulk Vol. 1 by S. Lee et al.

Marvel Masterworks: The Savage She-Hulk Volume 1 written by David Anthony Kraft and Stan Lee, art by Mike Vosburg and John Buscema

In a panic over the success of The Incredible Hulk TV show, Stan Lee quickly rushed out a She-Hulk character. He was worried that the Bionic Woman spin-off from the Six-Million Dollar Man would inspire Hollywood to make a She-Hulk show before Marvel made the character, meaning Marvel wouldn't own the rights to the character. After Lee spit out the origin story, he turned the writing duties over to someone else.

She-Hulk's origin follows Los Angeles lawyer Jennifer Walters. She's a defense attorney going after the mob (and fighting some sexism in the legal system). The mobsters shoot her when her cousin Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk) is in town. He rushes her to the next door neighbor who is a doctor. The doctor isn't home, so Bruce works up a blood transfusion to save Jennifer's life. The situation turns into a problem after Bruce leaves, because his gamma-irradiated blood has given Jennifer abilities like the Hulk. When she gets upset, she transforms into the savage, green-skinned monster of the title.

After Lee's story, David Anthony Kraft decided to take the character in a bit of a different direction. His Jennifer Walters is still in control as She-Hulk, though she struggles to keep the savageness out of her behavior. The mob is still trying to kill her. She loans her car to a friend who dies when the car blows up. Jennifer realizes they were trying to kill her, not her friend. She-Hulk tries to reach the car in time but winds up accused of killing the friend. So Jennifer's alter-ego is branded a criminal and a savage, even though she is innocent and has much more control than Bruce has over his alter-ego.

The story moves along at a good pace and has some interesting twists. Jennifer's dad is the sheriff, so he is after She-Hulk for her "crimes." Buck Bukowski is a district attorney and gives the "lady lawyer" a lot of grief. He's also after She-Hulk since she keeps wrecking his nice sports cars as the story goes along. The legal entanglements make for interesting story fodder.

Since this work was a rush-job from the late 1970s, I had some low expectations. She-Hulk has not always been taken seriously, often intentionally turning her into a fourth-wall-breaking character like Deadpool (though she was in on the act before Deadpool even showed up). The comic hasn't been that successful either, compared to other superheroes. This series is a bit more serious, though not too serious. I found it enjoyable and not as exploitative as I was expecting. Jen is an enjoyable character and as she works through her problems, she definitely grows on the reader.

Recommended if you are a Marvel fan.