She-Hulk, v. 4: Laws of Attraction

Collects: She-Hulk #6-13 (2007)

Released: February 2007 (Marvel)

Format: 192 pages / color / $14.99 / ISBN: 9780785122180

I’m not sure what there is to say about that I haven’t said before about writer Dan Slott’s She-Hulk work.

In v. 4, She-Hulk finds herself wrapped up in Civil War, and once again, Slott uses a great deal of continuity — but he uses it to give the stories richness and color rather than adding useless confusion. These unfamiliar with the ins and outs of of She-Hulk continuity — and that includes nearly everyone, really — or Civil War will have little trouble following the story. Slott makes sure the reader knows the backstory and adds the details with humor so informed readers aren’t bored. I consistently Marvel that Slott can tell stories in his lighthearted tone in Marvel’s grimmer and more political universe without a clash of styles, even poking fun at Marvel while doing it. (And getting the Spider-Man job to boot.

If there’s anything bad to say about this book, it’s the art — well, the number of different artists, at least. Any one style could have served the book, and two could have been tolerated. But perhaps to commemorate v. 4 of She-Hulk, there are four different pencilers in the space of seven issues: Will Conrad, Paul Smith, Ron Frenz (breakdowns, with finishes by Sal Buscema), and Rick Burchett. The Frenz / Buscema collaboration is my favorite — it appeals to my Buscema nostalgia — but Smith and Burchett fit the series quite well, being slightly reminiscent of Juan Bobillo. There’s nothing wrong with Conrads’s work, but it has a fiddly “realistic” look that I’ve never cared for. I will say I’m not fond of Greg Horn’s covers for this series, even if he’s lowered his cheesecake / port ratio for the series by quite a bit.

Well — what are you waiting for? Buy this book. If you’ve already got it, buy it again.

Rating: (4.5 of 5)