Marvel Comics’ She-Hulk is clearly written by an attorney who has an appreciation for superhero universes. There is so much expertly written jargon and procedure, and so much fun and elegantly done crossover into other aspects of the Marvel University. Yes, Charles Soule was born to write this book, so praise the dork gods this isn’t one of the books he’s leaving. This issue starts the coolest idea imaginable for this book, a San Francisco court room show-off between She-Hulk and Daredevil, the former of which defending Steve Rogers from a 1940s wrongful death accusation. It’s a good start to this three-issue arc, doing its job without being anything great.

Soule smartly decides to hold off on the majority of the details behind this case in this debut issue, creating just enough intrigue to entice but not frustrate with an abundance of ambiguity. Pieces of the case are teased, and the whole thing certainly looks to be compelling. The characterization of Rogers is spot on, casting him as a noble, morally-strong old man. This story takes place following Rick Rememder’s big saga that made Rogers an old man, and it just works for this story. Seeing this sweet old man, who She-Hulk’s workers constantly swoon over, is just warm and vaguely cute.

The story here does its job, but it’s unfortunately nothing too special so far. No one moment is particularly exciting, and the slow reveal that Daredevil is her rival in the court room is obvious and a tad dull. The art here is great, with loads of color and lots of clean, cute expression. Javier Pulido‘s art is perfect for this book, tonally spot-on for this fun and sometimes serious comic and effective for both action bits and calmer stuff. Again, no page is particularly striking, but it’s quality stuff. It’s a funny book too, which is in part thanks to the visuals.

She-Hulk #8 reads most of all like a solid tease into what I’m sure is going to be great. It’s not quite there yet, but this still entertains.

Story: Charles Soule Art: Javier Pulido
Story: 7.5 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Buy

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