She-Hulk - Publication History

Publication History

She-Hulk was created by Stan Lee, who wrote only the first issue, and was the last character he created for Marvel before his return to comics with Ravage 2099 in 1992. The reason for the character's creation had to do with the success of the Incredible Hulk TV series (1977–82). Afraid that the show's executives would suddenly introduce a female Hulk, resembling the popular Bionic Woman, Marvel decided to publish their own version of such a character to make sure that if a similar one showed up in the TV series, they would own the rights.

At the first anniversary of the character, She-Hulk made a guest appearance in Spidey Super Stories # 50 (January 1981). Spidey Super Stories was a Spider-Man title based on the segments featuring the character from The Electric Company, marketed to children just learning to read and is not part of mainstream Marvel continuity. She-Hulk met Spider-Man for the first time in the regular Marvel Universe in a Marvel Team-Up #107 (July 1981) in a story that seems to fit between issues #16 and 17 of the Savage She-Hulk series (published in May and June 1981). That chronology is suggested by the behavior of Jennifer Walters' nemesis Assistant District Attorney Buck Bukowski, in spite of the fact the Savage She-Hulk issues in question were published right before the Marvel Team-Up issue.

The Savage She-Hulk series lasted until 1982 where it ended with #25 (March 1982). She-Hulk then made guest appearances in other character's books. Her earliest guest-starring adventures followed no specific story line, besides her recurring bad luck with automobiles. For instance, She-Hulk was involved in an amnesia-inducing car accident in Dazzler #14 (April 1982). She-Hulk then appeared in Marvel Two-in-One #88 (June 1982), in which she gets temporarily duped by a used-car salesman, tries to seduce the Thing, and helps the Thing stop a supervillain who attacked a power plant.

She-Hulk also appeared in a three-issue limited series, Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions (June to August 1982), in which numerous superheroes were kidnapped from Earth to fight in space. That miniseries was a predecessor of the more expansive, twelve-issue Secret Wars miniseries that appeared a few years later. She-Hulk's participation in Contest of Champions involved a fight depicted in issue #2.

Shortly after her post-Savage She-Hulk guest appearances, She-Hulk became a member of the Avengers, in Avengers #221 (July 1982). Although Contest of Champions continued until August, She-Hulk was not yet an Avenger during that miniseries' storyline.

She-Hulk joined the Avengers at the same time that Hawkeye rejoined (her early Avengers appearances continued the running gag about She-Hulk's car troubles). She-Hulk also made occasional guest appearances in The Incredible Hulk: for instance, she makes small and large appearances in the story arc running from Incredible Hulk #278 to #284 (December 1982 to June 1983). That story involves the Hulk receiving amnesty from the U.S. government and then going on a space-traveling/time-traveling adventure with She-Hulk and the Avengers.

She-Hulk's 1982-83 appearances in "The Incredible Hulk" and her appearance in Avengers #227 (January 1983) were penciled by artist Sal Buscema, younger brother of She-Hulk co-creator John Buscema. Other great artists also drew the character during this period, including John Byrne in Avengers #233 (July 1983), who would later become strongly associated with She-Hulk.

She-Hulk's background was then compiled in the 1983 edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, volume Q-S, published in September 1983. She-Hulk appeared in Thing #5 (November 1983) in the first part of a two-issue story. This issue also guest-starred Spider-Man and Wonder Man. She also guest-starred in Thing #8 (February 1984). At the conclusion of the first Secret Wars miniseries, She-Hulk joined the Fantastic Four (Fantastic Four #265, April 1984). In Avengers #243 (May 1984), She-Hulk returns to Earth as a member of the Fantastic Four when the Secret Wars come to a conclusion.

During She-Hulk's tenure with the Fantastic Four, she appeared on the covers of Avengers #246 (August, 1984) and #249 (November, 1984) as a member of the Fantastic Four. Also, during her FF tenure, She-Hulk appeared in Marvel Graphic Novel #16: The Aladdin Effect, Marvel Graphic Novel #17: Revenge of the Living Monolith, and Marvel Graphic Novel #18: The Sensational She-Hulk, teaming up with fellow superheroines Storm, Tigra, and Wasp in #16. All three graphic novels appeared in 1985. The last, #18, appearing in November 1985, was written and illustrated by then-Fantastic Four writer/artist John Byrne.

She-Hulk also made appearances in New Mutants #37 (March 1986) and Incredible Hulk # 316 (February 1986, a John Byrne story)—but she somehow missed her cousin's wedding in Incredible Hulk # 319 (May 1986). Also in that year, She-Hulk appeared in Thing #36, (June 1986) the last issue in the 1983-1986 1st Series of the Thing.

She-Hulk regained a solo series in 1989, The Sensational She-Hulk (maintaining the 1985 graphic novel's title). The Sensational She-Hulk ran for sixty issues. Issues #1 to #8 and #31 to #50 were written and drawn by John Byrne. As noted above, Byrne had previously written and drawn She-Hulk while she was featured in the Avengers and Fantastic Four. Byrne's She-Hulk stories satirized comic book clichés and introduced She-Hulk's awareness that she was a comic book character. Two issues tested the limits of the comics code: #34 makes reference to the 1991 Vanity Fair cover in which actress Demi Moore appeared nude (and pregnant); in issue #40 She-Hulk's breasts and genital area are covered by blur lines as she is depicted jumping rope, implying that the character is nude. However, once she finishes jumping, she is shown to have been wearing a bikini. Other notable writers to contribute to this series include Steve Gerber (#10, 11, 13-23), Simon Furman, and Peter David.

During Sensational She-Hulk, the character continued making guest appearances, for instance, in X-Men v. The Avengers No. 2 (May 1987) and Marvel Fanfare #48 (December 1989).

In 1990, She-Hulk appeared in the two-issue limited series She-Hulk: Ceremony. She-Hulk played a major role in Spectacular Spider-Man #168-170 (September–November 1990), a three-part series guest-starring the Avengers. In Spectacular Spider-Man #168, a Space Phantom disguised as She-Hulk asks the web-slinger to help her explore an old abandoned building on the lower east side, but once inside she traps the wall-crawler in a pit deep in the basement. After freeing himself from the pit, a furious Spider-Man breaks into Avengers Mansion to pay back She-Hulk. She also appeared in Marvel Comics Presents #124 to 126 (1993) and in The Incredible Hulk #412 (December 1993).

The Sensational She-Hulk ran until issue #60 (February 1994), making it the longest-running She-Hulk series so far, and the longest-running solo title of any Marvel superheroine up to that point. Non-superhero female characters, like Millie the Model, have had longer runs in the past while newer characters, like Spider-Girl, have had longer runs after She-Hulk.

After the cancellation of She-Hulk's second solo series, she continued making backup, one-shot, and team appearances—in Fantastic Force (starting with issue #13 in November 1995), in Avengers Unplugged #4 (April 1996), in the 1996 miniseries Doc Samson #1 - 4, (January - April 1996) in Heroes for Hire #8 to #19 (February 1998 through the series finale in January 1999), and in The Avengers. Her next major appearance was in the May 2002 one-shot titled Thing and She-Hulk: The Long Night.

It appeared that She-Hulk also had a one-night stand with the Juggernaut, Cain Marko, in "The Trial of Juggernaut" (Uncanny X-Men #435 (February 2004) and #436 (March 2004)). These appearances were later retconned to be a Jennifer Walters from an alternate reality.

In May 2004, She-Hulk was given a new title and launched in a wave of six new Marvel books. Despite favorable critical notices, the new series could not escape the low sales numbers that both it and other titles received from their initial cluster-style launch. Marvel decided to give the book a second chance to find an audience. With a re-launch planned 8 months later, Marvel brought the series to a close with #12 and promised a re-launch of the title (as a "second season") eight months later. The eight month gap was alluded to in the body of the story itself.

With the original creative team (Dan Slott and Juan Bobillo) from the previous series, the book returned eight months later as promised in October 2005. The third issue was billed as the 100th issue of a She-Hulk comic book, and it had story art by numerous artists who sported their own interpretations of the character's looks. Among them was seminal She-Hulk artist Mike Vosburg (who drew Savage She-Hulk #2 through #25). There was no new artwork by '80s and '90s artist John Byrne, but he was represented by a complete reprint of his first solo issue of Sensational She-Hulk. Savage She-Hulk #1 was also reprinted, featuring the story by Stan Lee and art of John Buscema.

Dan Slott's last issue is #21; with 33 issues, Slott has written the most solo issues of She-Hulk. David Anthony Kraft has written the most consecutive issues: Savage She-Hulk #2 through #25.

John Byrne has penned the most appearances by She-Hulk in his runs on the Fantastic Four, Avengers, and the Sensational She-Hulk. Peter David began his run with She-Hulk #22; he has written her in Sensational She-Hulk #12, and numerous times in The Incredible Hulk and other titles.

Marvel Comics announced that She-Hulk #38 (February 2009) would be the final issue of the current series. The current writer, Peter David, commented on his blog that sales of the book were hurt due to discrepancies between his book and Jeph Loeb's Hulk series, caused by editorial error:

The mantle of She-Hulk is challenged by Lyra, the daughter of Hulk and Thundra, who will be the lead character in All-New Savage She-Hulk, a miniseries written by Fred Van Lente.

She-Hulk will appear in the new series FF by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred, set to debut in November 2012.