Written by: Rainbow Rowell
Art by: Andrés Genolet
Colors by: Dee Cunniffe
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Jen Bartel
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: March 22, 2023

She-Hulk #11 struggles with carrying on a romantic relationship after Jack O’ Hearts regains his powers. Meanwhile, Jen helps out the Fantastic Four with an intruder problem.

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Is It Good?

It seems this title has stumbled into an identity crisis. With a few exceptions, I’ve resigned myself to accepting that Rainbow Rowell’s run on She-Hulk is a slice-of-life comic with a little superhero action popping up on occasion to break up the monotony. In She-Hulk #11, that slice-of-life theme continues until the halfway point, and then… it suddenly turns into a superhero comic.

When last we left Jen Walters, she executed a patented but poorly executed 4th Wall Break to end her fight against the scientist couple determined to steal her gamma power to correct the side effects of their failed experiment. The theft failed, but Jack got his powers back in exchange.

Now, Jack tries to figure out how to be successful as a househusband and kept man when his restored powers make physical contact with Jen too dangerous. Can two crazy, superpowered lovers make it in the big city with a sexless civil union?

Then out of the blue, Jen gets a call from the Fantastic Four to help investigate a possible break-in at the Baxter Building. During a stakeout, the break-in proves legit, and Jen comes face-to-face with a masked thief who can go toe-to-toe with Jen with quick moves and expert throwing techniques (Judo?). The thief gets away, and the mystery of “who was that masked man” begins.

Rainbow Rowell’s first half, centering on Jack and Jen’s strained relationship, pars for the course when compared to the previous issues. If you like slice-of-life storytelling that doesn’t have a plot or an ounce of urgency to go anywhere, you’ll like the first half of the issue.

The second half issue leans directly into a superhero-centric mystery, and it’s… not terrible. The fight between Jen and the masked thief begs a number of questions, such as: How did the thief get in unnoticed by the small army the FF posted around the building? How is the thief more agile and possibly just as strong as Jen? If the thief broke into the Baxter Building more than once, how is he not captured on camera, and how did Reed not notice something was missing? Why is the thief wearing a goofy domino mask that wouldn’t fool anybody?

Lots of questions. None of them answered (yet), so we’ll see where this mystery goes. Rowell generates a mild amount of intrigue in the second half. It’s not the best way to kick off an arc, but again, it’s… not terrible.

Genolet’s art is fine. Cunniffe’s coloring is a notable improvement over Rico Renzi, and the overall look of the book is adequate, which is a compliment for a (half) slice-of-life comic.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts:

She-Hulk #11 is an odd issue in an already-odd series. One half slice-of-life story heading nowhere, and one half superhero thief mystery that’s a serviceably standard superhero comic, this issue doesn’t know what it wants to be. If you’ve loved the slice-of-life storytelling up to this point, you’ll love the first half. If you want more superhero action with your She-Hulk, this issue throws you a tiny bone.

6/10