Reviews

Essential Savage She-Hulk, Vol. 1 by Mike Vosberg, John Buscema, David Anthony Kraft, Stan Lee

birdmanseven's review against another edition

3.0

These early She-Hulks make for a fascinating read. Other than Hulk in the first issue plus an early appearance by Iron Man, these feel pretty separate from the mainstream continuity. Yes, we got some Morbius here and there, but it feels more like a drama about a lawyer who occasionally gets big and green.
The stories are fun and the books look great. I had a good time reading it, but it's a very different take than later iterations.

I spoke in depth to illustrator Mike Vosburg about his run on the character over on Howe's Things:
https://youtu.be/AQLkzzIxlnk

mr_phil's review against another edition

2.0

I've gone back to the beginnings of quite a few characters since subscribing to Marvel Unlimited. And this really is ... not good. It's a good job I read this out of interest in the origins rather than expecting it to be great, but really, I mean it's *really* not good.

It tries ever so hard to be comically feminist in tone, attempting to come from the angle of mocking men's attitude to women, but consistently misses the mark. It has her trying either to please male characters throughout, or being justifiably really angry with them but then falling into their arms again.

There's also a *very* strange issue where she stands up for poor misunderstood Big Oil, and another where she buys into a microwave communications tower conspiracy theory.

st_orpheus's review against another edition

3.0

Re-reading all the She-Hulk in anticipation for that train wreck of a show. I'M PUMPED

shegeekdawn's review against another edition

4.0

This really is an essential read for fans of She-Hulk. It covers the entire run of Savage She-Hulk, which is where it all began for the character. As with anything written in the 70s, a few things are a bit dated. And anyone who has read older comics knows that they can be pretty wordy (though that's often a good thing). But a lot of what's in these early issues still holds true for the current version of the character.

doronjosama's review against another edition

4.0

While some of the writing and attitudes are a bit old fashioned and dated (as it was barely the start of the 1980's, and Women's Libbers were still considered kind of "out there"), She-Hulk herself remains true to her core principles- she doesn't put up with any nonsense, and she makes incredibly bad choices in men she dates. (Her two suitors in this run are Zapper, a younger man she used to babysit (!!) ostensibly a med student who never goes to class, and Rory, a spendthrift with absolutely terrible luck in everything.) The writing is much more soap-opera than I remember from my original reading as a 10-year-old, but it gives the stories some over-the-top Telenovela flair. Artwork is solid, with a few rare early Michael Golden contributions. Anyone currently complaining about how the Disney+ TV show "ruined" She-Hulk really needs to go back and check these original stories out! Shulkie has always been sassy, larger than life, and again, absolutely awful at dating.

cgwinters1981's review against another edition

4.0

This was a great series for me. It made me understand the character a bit better and showed a more "savage" side to a character that I have largely seen from a comedic side. My intention is to go to her next series at some point and time.

I will also admit that at times this feels very corny and you can tell that the stories were from around the 70s to 80s era of comics because characters that are seen here do not seem like characters you would see in more modern superhero fare. It was cheesy, but also worth reading.

sillymilly's review

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed the second half more than the first half. It wasn't until characters started growing and changing that I actually started to enjoy it.