This week marks the debut of an all-new SHE-HULK series. We've seen She-Hulk comics before and there's been different takes on the tone and direction. Jennifer Walters just recently finished a stint as part of the replacement Fantastic Four in the pages of FF. With Charles Soule taking over Jen's story, the question is, what can we expect?
That's just one of the questions we asked Charles.
COMIC VINE: Do you remember the first story you read with She-Hulk?
CHARLES SOULE: I suspect it was a story set during the time when she was a member of the Fantastic Four, but I can’t be certain which issue or storyline. More recently, though, I was a huge fan of the landmark Dan Slott run as it hit shelves in the mid-00s. The humor, art design and focus on the legal side of things – I loved it, and it was a large part of my excitement at being asked to take the book on now.
CV: What will be the tone and focus on the series? Will you focus on her profession as a lawyer, as a superhero, both?
CS: I will tell stories that cover both sides of her “working” life (and her non-working life as well – it’ll be the full picture.) But, since she is a superhero, a lot of her legal work will end up being full of action (and vice versa). It’s a nice, bubbly mix that I think really delivers the best of both worlds.
CV: Have you ever felt like hulking out in your legal profession?
CS: ALL THE TIME. It’s a stressful profession, particularly in my portion of it – I have a fair amount of interaction with a few different government bureaucracies, and can be somewhat rage-inducing from time to time. But it’s also a great profession in many ways – it serves my analytical, logical side, among other things.
CV: We've seen the occasional superhero in court before. Wouldn't it make sense that they'd be called in frequently?
CS: Yes and no. The problem with superheroes is that many of them have secret identities. In order for someone’s testimony to be valid, you have to know who they are, which can be tricky when you’re dealing with a dude in a mask. But as far as the heroes who are open about their identities – sure, we’ll see some of those folks showing up in this series. I love when “comic book logic” bumps up against “real world logic,” and writing a legal drama set in a superheroic world certainly gives ample opportunity for things like that to happen.
CV: Will there be any mention to her time with the Future Foundation?
CS: I’m sure we’ll get to that, although my goal here is to make sure Jen’s current status quo is firmly established before we starting getting too deep into her continuity. Frankly, there’s a lot of it, and I’d rather make sure any new Shulkie readers are properly taken care of first.
But we’ll get there! In particular, I can’t wait to tell a Titania story – she’s great.
CV: If Jen spends a lot of time in court, would she have a wardrobe of professional outfits made from Unstable Molecules? I'm assuming most of her wardrobe is custom made because of her size.
CS: Remember that Jen doesn’t change out of the She-Hulk form all that often. It’s one of the great things about the series – Jen Walters likes being a 7-foot tall glamazon. So, that means I can tell stories with sort of a lighter tone – Jen doesn’t feel like she’s cursed, you know? What that also means is that her wardrobe is largely tailored for her She-Hulk form, but it doesn’t have to be made of Unstable Molecules. She probably does spend too much money on clothes, though – and she’d be the first to admit it.
CV: If Daredevil could have his own law practice, how come Jen never opened her own practice?
CS: Hmmm… great question, and it’s one that Issue 1 will actually answer! So, not long to find out!
"Hmmm" indeed. Be sure to check out SHE-HULK #1 by Charles Soule with art by Javier Pulido and colors by Muntsa Vicente. You're gonna dig it.