Marvel Pick Of The Week – September 3, 2014

PICK OF THE WEEK!

She-Hulk 8, by Charles Soule and Javier Pulido

Charles Soule made news this week by signing an exclusive contract to Marvel, and though many of us will miss his vision of books like Red Lanterns and Swamp Thing, I take great solace in knowing that She-Hulk is safe for now. Though not every issue is a winner, this is one of the most creative books on the stands. The story thus far has followed Jennifer Walters as she balances her law career and her super heroics, an idea that Dan Slott showed could work well, but with a more deadpan tone under Soule’s direction. She-Hulk and Hellcat have been working together to help people like Hank Pym and Doctor Doom’s ward, but in this issue, it’s Steve Rogers who could use the kind of legal protection a vibranium shield just can’t provide.

Cap is being sued for a wrongful death in 1940 Los Angeles, and after Daredevil declines to help with the case, Jennifer hooks up with my new all-time favorite Jamie Madrox duplicate to save the day. Legally speaking, Soule addresses real-world issues like statutes of limitations and how a New York lawyer can try a case in a California court, but the explanations don’t slow down the narrative. Though Soule is currently writing at least seven books (and I mean currently, the man gave a workshop at my local comic store last month and wrote an issue of Swamp Thing in the downtime between parking the car and starting his talk, he is an efficient machine), he is obviously reading enough to get good continuity linkage in, such as Daredevil’s new status quo and the history of Multiple Man. For a book with minimal punching, this issue kept me fully engaged and smiling.

Welcome to exclusivity, Charles Soule. Hope you survive the experience.

Honorable Mentions:

Black Widow 10, for an intense issue of running across a desert town making a series of Annie-Oakley sharp-shots through no fewer than 4 strings. My barrel-racing mother would have cheered to read this woman’s adventure. This book is begging to be filmed, but no way would a camera capture the stunning depth of the artwork.

All-New X-Factor 13, for proving that Peter David reads enough Marvel books to weave plenty of continuity in to this story of Quicksilver and his daughter spending a day together and proving that he genuinely likes his characters by having Pietro demonstrate genuine concern for his ex-wife’s well-being. It takes a big man to say something nice about his ex’s new relationship, and David nails that interaction without forgetting that this guy is, at baseline, pretty much a jerk.

Avengers World 12, for establishing Euroforce as a credible source of funny new characters with legitimately interesting backstories. Really, I would have been fine with silly cannon fodder who hate themselves, but this way seems better to me.

Legendary Star-Lord 3, for showing that Peter “Chris Pratt” Quill wears a WWRRD? bracelet to remind him what Rocket Raccoon might do in any given situation. I know, everyone wants a dancing baby Groot for Christmas. I want a WWRRD? bracelet. If you liked the movie, this book faithfully carries the tone to the page, down to having a character sing one of the best parts of the soundtrack.

Death of Wolverine 1, for the mental scarring that resulted from my read of Nuke as a gone-to-seed wrestler with an American flag facial tattoo delivering the child-safe-but-nauseating line, “One big score and I’m knee-deep in candy and kitty ’til my dying day.” You scare me, Charles Soule. But I like it.

Hawkeye vs. Deadpool 0, for keeping the clever tone of the good Hawkeye issues and including the cast of Deadpool without dropping into the flat violent humor of the latter book. Deadpool gets to make metacommentary jokes about how much everyone loved the sign language issue but how hard and slow it was to read the Eisner-winning Pizza Dog issue – thank you, someone, for admitting that was overrated. I normally dislike Deadpool miniseries or just don’t buy them, but this book is off to a great start.