Imperial War: Planet She-Hulk #1 – Swords & Stars

Marvel’s Imperial saga continues to grow with Imperial War: Planet She-Hulk #1, a one-shot that aims to expand upon the green queen’s role in this new initiative while also introducing readers to the creative team that will be relaunching her title later this year. To much surprise, this one-shot is not the rich science-fiction tale starring She-Hulk that the initial Imperial book may have led you to expect. This is, first and foremost, a She-Hulk story with a sci-fi layer painted over the top. That being said, its tonal difference from the other titles does not make it a failure. It’s simply going for something different—and does so with some really strong art in tow.

The plot and writing, however, leave a lot to be desired, its “shaggy dog” narrative deflating any sense of weight behind Jen’s current goal on Sakaar. On a planet without familiar laws—where most conflicts are resolved through barbarism—how does one keep the peace without trampling over a culture they don’t yet understand? Instead of exploring that question, we’re given a by-the-numbers murder mystery that requires no solving and offers no resolution.

Along the way, the book doesn’t flesh out the world around Jen; instead, it makes room for jokes that mostly fall flat. This may be because the team is saving the real establishment of the “Planet She-Hulk” status quo for the ongoing series. But if that’s the case, why even launch superfluous one-shots instead of giving the team more time to build momentum in the main title?

On the flip side, Emilio Laiso’s art is a real standout. It shines across all kinds of scenes, elevating otherwise tensionless action sequences into something exciting through visuals alone. Their approach to character illustration strikes a clean balance between realism and classic comic book stylings. Meanwhile, Matt Milla’s coloring makes the pages pop, using brightness in a way that feels both expertly applied and tonally appropriate.