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theresidentbookworm's review
5.0
10 Reasons Everyone Should Be Reading Hulk
1. Mariko Tamaki is the writer on this book, and she is absolutely fabulous. She is the co-author of This One Summer (which I highly recommend), and she really has a beat on this character. Also, I met her at ComiqueCon in October, and she was so nice and funny.
2. The art has this great, relaxed style: simple with soft lines. It reminds me of anime a little bit, and it perfectly fits the tone of the book.
3. This is not an action-packed series. Instead, it is more interested in Jennifer Walter and her accumulated trauma. How is she supposed to move on? Can she reconcile the past with the present? The exploration of these questions are more interesting to me than just a book about the Hulk smashing things.
4. The side characters are actually interesting and worth exploring. Jen's new assistant Bradley is my low-key favorite character, and I'm not even sure why. He's just so sweet and considerate, and I want more of him in the next issue.
5. "Patsy. I. I didn't call you back because... Sometimes I feel so far from the person you knew it scares me. And so many things scare me right now." What's a better description of someone sorting through their mental health issues and being afraid to reach out to the people around them? I relate to this so hard.
6. The female friendship in this issue alone signals good things for the future. Patsy Walker is the friend we all deserve, and she's not about to go away. She'll give her friend the space she needs, but she will always be there if Jen needs her. Nothing can beat that.
7. People in this series react realistically towards superheroes and mutants. They fangirl over Patsy Walker (like the girl on the balcony). They express outrage over the freakishness in their neighbors (like the lady on the news). Having a world full of superheroes does not equal acceptance. It's hard to for some people to accept what's different, and that's shown here.
8. Even though this is a superhero story, it is so rooted in the real world. There is pain and trauma and evil, and those are things that even superheroes have to deal with. People try to kill their business partners. Jen has to try to live in the world again while managing her PTSD and trying to keep the Hulk side of her under control. It is not easy, but it is reality.
9. Maisie's plotline beautifully parallels Jen's, and it makes my heart hurt. Both these women are radically changed, maybe even broken, and they have to decide how they are going to respond to that.
10. "What's worse? Dying? Or getting that close to death... And getting turned around... And dragged back into this world?"
1. Mariko Tamaki is the writer on this book, and she is absolutely fabulous. She is the co-author of This One Summer (which I highly recommend), and she really has a beat on this character. Also, I met her at ComiqueCon in October, and she was so nice and funny.
2. The art has this great, relaxed style: simple with soft lines. It reminds me of anime a little bit, and it perfectly fits the tone of the book.
3. This is not an action-packed series. Instead, it is more interested in Jennifer Walter and her accumulated trauma. How is she supposed to move on? Can she reconcile the past with the present? The exploration of these questions are more interesting to me than just a book about the Hulk smashing things.
4. The side characters are actually interesting and worth exploring. Jen's new assistant Bradley is my low-key favorite character, and I'm not even sure why. He's just so sweet and considerate, and I want more of him in the next issue.
5. "Patsy. I. I didn't call you back because... Sometimes I feel so far from the person you knew it scares me. And so many things scare me right now." What's a better description of someone sorting through their mental health issues and being afraid to reach out to the people around them? I relate to this so hard.
6. The female friendship in this issue alone signals good things for the future. Patsy Walker is the friend we all deserve, and she's not about to go away. She'll give her friend the space she needs, but she will always be there if Jen needs her. Nothing can beat that.
7. People in this series react realistically towards superheroes and mutants. They fangirl over Patsy Walker (like the girl on the balcony). They express outrage over the freakishness in their neighbors (like the lady on the news). Having a world full of superheroes does not equal acceptance. It's hard to for some people to accept what's different, and that's shown here.
8. Even though this is a superhero story, it is so rooted in the real world. There is pain and trauma and evil, and those are things that even superheroes have to deal with. People try to kill their business partners. Jen has to try to live in the world again while managing her PTSD and trying to keep the Hulk side of her under control. It is not easy, but it is reality.
9. Maisie's plotline beautifully parallels Jen's, and it makes my heart hurt. Both these women are radically changed, maybe even broken, and they have to decide how they are going to respond to that.
10. "What's worse? Dying? Or getting that close to death... And getting turned around... And dragged back into this world?"
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