Immortal She-Hulk #1
- WRITER
- Al Ewing
- Artist
- Jon Davis-Hunt
- Letterer
- VC's Cory Petit
- Cover Artist
- Joe Bennett, Paul Mounts, Ruy Jose, Mike Spicer, Simone di Meo, Alex Ross, Daniel Warren Johnson
- Publisher
- Marvel Comics
- Price
- 4.99
- Release Date
- 2020-09-23
- Colorist
- Marcio Menyz
The entire Hulk supporting cast has seen significant upheaval as of late following the monstrous resurrection of Bruce Banner and his gamma-radiated alter ego in the pages of The Immortal Hulk. Many friends and foes in the Jade Giant's life have similarly under their own horrific transformations as the Hulk has grappled with the nature of his mortality and the sinister changes that came with his recent rise from the grave. The latest major character to get the immortal is She-Hulk, who has seen yet another brush with death in the Marvel Comics crossover event Empyre, with Al Ewing, writer on Immortal Hulk and Empyre turning the focus on Jennifer Walters in a surprisingly introspective special issue.
Following her apparent death by the invading Cotati during Empyre, Jen reflects on all the encounters with her own mortality that she's had over the years dating back to her cousin Bruce saving her life with the fateful gamma-radiated blood transfusion that led her to become She-Hulk in the first place. And as Jen ponders her new lease on life, the villainous mastermind behind the Hulk family's monstrous transformation surfaces with his own insidious plans for Jen, setting up her role in the main Immortal Hulk series as it moves towards its eventual conclusion.
Ewing has been a steady presence in taking the Hulk line of books in a more horror-oriented direction for the past couple of years now, with a consistent level of quality and critical acclaim. This continues here though much of this issue is more contemplative than the rest of his Immortal Hulk run and deeply steeped in the expansive lore of the Marvel Universe, not just She-Hulk's history but other recent cataclysmic events and heroes that have had their own near-death experience. The horror-tinged action does eventually rear its head by the issue's final act but the deliberate pacing and more meditative tone may throw off readers going in expecting cover-to-cover smashing from a more monstrous iteration of Jennifer Walters.
This more surreal, meditative approach is elevated by Jon Davis-Hunt, joined by colorist Marcio Menyz. Davis-Hunt has really excelled at capturing the balance between big, bombastic superhero action and more expressive, quieter character moments and he gets the chance to really lean into both her. Jennifer Walters is a character haunted by her past and at an existential crossroads moving forward and Davis-Hunt really helps bring that inner turmoil and emotional indecisiveness to visual life. And Menyz's color palette is particularly effective, especially when Jen has her own out of body experiences, veering into the more surreal as the colors give the sequences an effective pop off the page. The visuals themselves don't lean into horror as much as the main Immortal Hulk series has, but that's not necessarily the overall goal here.
The Immortal She-Hulk #1 provides a welcome window into Jennifer Walters' psyche as she grapples her own mortality and place in the Marvel Universe. While positioning She-Hulk for a bigger role in the main Immortal Hulk series and its escalating battle against the story's true, sinister mastermind the issue provides a nice change of pace by leaning more into introspection and character study than entirely focusing on smashing -- though there is smashing to be had! For She-Hulk fans that have been looking for a less savage iteration of the character, this special one-shot issue provides them the chance to see both sides of Jennifer Walters in full.