She-Hulk #3: You Must Be Thinking of Another Seven-Foot Girl with Great Hair

She-Hulk is a character near and dear to my heart. I’ve read every solo She-Hulk title and several runs of Avengers and Fantastic Four that feature the jade giantess (although my heart truly belongs to her own series). I was thrilled when I saw Rainbow Rowell take inspiration from two of the best She-Hulk runs for her own: John Byrne’s Sensational She-Hulk and Dan Slott’s She-Hulk. Especially since in recent years, Marvel hasn’t exactly had a clear vision for the character, and Jason Aaron’s version from Avengers is not particularly beloved by her fans. But that has all changed, and the confident and fun She-Hulk that we all know and love is back!

The first issue was a fantastic re-introduction to the Sensational She-Hulk, but I was a little less impressed with the second issue which felt far too devoted to Jack of Hearts. I’m not super familiar with the character, but past runs of She-Hulk have loved taking C and D-list characters like Man-Thing, Howard the Duck, and the Two-Gun Kid and plopping them in Jen’s world (or vice versa). So my superfan arms were open to the Jack of Hearts storyline… and I’m glad they were, because he is utterly fantastic in this comic book.

The majority of this third issue is spent on Jen and Jack investigating his reappearance. These scenes could easily have been boring in a superhero comic, but Rowell’s dialogue kept me entranced. Jack of Hearts comes off as a great possible love interest for She-Hulk, and his admiration of her confidence is something we She-Hulk fans share with him. Patsy is certainly right about Jack’s hotness, too. I have a feeling the character will become a hit with readers who are into men. Unfortunately, we don’t get any hints of why Jack is back despite the cliffhanger ending last issue. But that’s okay, because not a single panel of this issue is wasted.

As a longtime She-Hulk fan, I also love various supporting characters like Awesome Andy and Hellcat continuing to exist in Jen’s life. Mallory Book can be overbearing at times, but I’m really looking forward to future exchanges between her and Jen. I hope other supporting characters like daddy Morris, Weezi, Pug, Zapper, and maybe even Jazinda make future appearances.

The art by Rôge Antônio and colors by Rico Renzi perfectly capture the essence of the character. Jennifer retains her Sensational fashion sense and I couldn’t be happier about it. And I can’t even begin to describe the joy I get when I see any She-Hulk pieces by Jen Bartel. I adore when cover artists use more than just the titular hero, so seeing Jack of Hearts on the cover with She-Hulk is delightful.