I’ve only a passing familiarity with the She-Hulk, but the
concept of a tie-in novel was simply too good to pass up. I’ve always found the idea of a Hulk/attorney
to be fairly hilarious, so why wouldn’t I want to read about her?
Just like what it says on the tin, The She-Hulk Diaries take the form of Jennifer Walters’ (Shulkie’s
alter-ego) diary. As the novel opens,
she has been kicked out of Avengers Mansion, lost her job, and is basically
broke. She creates a series of resolutions,
and her efforts to complete these become the driving forces of the story. This is really Jennifer’s story. She-Hulk is a peripheral character, not the
focus of the story.
That being said, Jennifer is a wonderful protagonist. She’s smart, funny, capable – yet just enough
down on her luck to avoid being a Mary Sue.
Acosta has set her up with personal issues that make her relatable, but
she never falls into the trap of being whiny or self-absorbed.
I was a bit surprised at how much Jennifer’s love life, or
lack of one, dominates portions of the book.
There’s a resurfaced old flame, as well as a mysterious new man who
pursues Jennifer. While this plotline
was well handled, I found that I really didn’t care. (And here I realize that I’m not the target
audience for this novel. So YMMV may
vary.)
All in all, The She-Hulk Diaries was a light, fun, hilarious
read. Absolutely great summer
reading. My enjoyment was diminished by
the romantic subplots, but they didn’t detract from Shulkie as a feminist
superhero. And for many readers, these
same plots may be a strong selling point.
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