Lots of blogs and online journals have covered that Dan Slott will be leaving after issue #21. This Newsarama interview is probably the best of the bunch.
What's up next for She-Hulk? And had Slott overstayed his welcome?
Lots of blogs and online journals have covered that Dan Slott will be leaving after issue #21. This Newsarama interview is probably the best of the bunch.
What's up next for She-Hulk? And had Slott overstayed his welcome?
I'm of two minds regarding
I'm of two minds regarding the subject of Slott's upcoming departure (which is fitting considering who we're here to talk about). On the one hand I did like some aspects of his storytelling, such as placing her not so much in the superhero context but in more of an everyday setting. We got to see her go to her law firm (as Jen, even) and deal with cases using knowledge and skills obtained through education and experience that you or I can obtain, rather than through heroics that are impossible for normal people to perform. I like this real-world grounding, which took a decidedly odd turn when she began to practice "superhuman" law. In context even that made a lot of sense as regular law is limited in its resources and application when dealing with such persons. This was also an aspect that quite a few fans of the book (especially in its first volume) that I've seen who have posted messages around the 'Net enjoyed, and have since grown disillusioned with the second volume, particularly the "Planet Without a Hulk" arc.
On the other hand I haven't liked all of Dan Slott's ideas (like any other writer), and it may be time for a new approach or at least some major adjustments on the current one. I find myself looking forward to seeing what another creative team can bring to this book. Which brings me to a hot-button topic: the artwork. I was no fan of Juan Bobillo's work from the start, although I do admit that it did fit Slott's early stories. Paul Pelletier's art was the best fit as far as I'm concerned and I wished he would have remained with it longer. I did notice that he's no longer the ongoing penciller for "Exiles"...hopefully that could mean an opening to return to "She-Hulk", unless he has another project ready to go. Rich Burchett has been really hit or miss in my opinion. There are panels in which he captures the scene really well - - and then the next panels have become some strange variation on Picasso with malformed faces and other disconcerting problems. I truly hope the new team can keep some consistent artistic style going, as that has been one of the series' long-standing issues.
I agree about "grounding"
I like very much the day-to-day feel that Slott has brought to the book. It's similar to what Bendis has done in some of his books, including Ultimate Spider-Man which usually features more panels with Peter Parker than Spider-Man. I like that - it makes the book about the character rather than about serial triviality, and gives the book the opportunity, at least, to have a consistent narrative thread.
What I don't like about Slott is that he's not good at transitions. He kept making changes where none were needed - when the Baxter Building was destroyed in Fantastic Four, it was following 20-some years of the FF being based there. There's no need to keep forcing She-Hulk to change apartments, offices, jobs, etc, to keep the comic interesting, and I don't know why he kept doing it.
Good points
I had not given much thought to She-Hulk's various changes of scenery/locales, but looking back at from what I recall about the book I find myself agreeing with your viewpoint. I wish she was still living where she had been during the 'Sensational' run to give the book a little more feeling of continuity between series, as really nothing from the first two series has made it into either volume of the current book as far as ties to her past. Perhaps giving her a good reason to move to where she lives now would have at least given a nod to that past.
Slott obviously is a big continuity guy and can use it in a way that doesn't shove it in your face and allude to how stupid you were by not reading the original material, which I like. He could have used that to keep Jen rooted in her history a little better. At least he did acknowledge some of her other series in issue #3 of the current volume by having Morris tell a flashback tale during She-Hulk's savage days, as well as a couple of 'Sensational' stories.
Dan Slott
The first 12 issues were really well written, but I feel his work has declined in the latest issues. Maybe all these Civil War tie-ins are preventing him from telling the stories that he'd like to tell. I've become a Dan Slott fan, and just picked up the 8 issue Thing series he wrote.
My theory on having Jen move around so much is to give her a more Metro Girl feel.
Metro Girl
Maybe she could change her name to "Metro Girl" from "She-Hulk"? I mean, if Ms. Marvel gets to be "Binary" and "Warbird", why shouldn't She-Hulk get to swap names? (And no, "Glamazon" doesn't count because she was under hypnosis.)