Superhero Media: She-Hulk by Dan Slott

When I think of the best runs of Marvel comics in history, the Dan Slott She-Hulk is right up the top of my list, usually only a little behind Brubaker Captain America and Lee/Kirby Avengers. Losing her job with the New York DA thanks to too much partying, Jennifer "She-Hulk" Walters is recruited by the firm of Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway to practice 'Superhuman Law'. What follows is an enjoyable mix of superhero action and legal drama, showing a side of the Marvel Universe that isn't often seen, but serves to ground all of the cosmic gods, animal-themed villains and assorted costumed nonsense. Just to give you a taste, there is a scene where Shulkie sites precedents including "Plunder v Plunder" and "The People v Thanos", among others. Add to that speedster-couriers, shape-shifting process-servers and Awesome Andy, the intern, and the fantastic blends perfectly with the more mundane legal setting. Of course, there's still plenty of Shulkie smash in the series and lots of guest stars, particularly from the Avengers and the broader Hulk series.

Much like previous comic series I've covered, like X-Factor and Captain America, the poorer bits of She-Hulk are those that are required to interact with the crossover storylines, like Civil War and World War Hulk. This being a She-Hulk story, however, that's just more fodder for the jokes and stories involving lawyers, especially with Jennifer promoting the Superhero Registration Act and doing a lot of the paperwork to get other heroes signed up; in fact, her tie-in issue has almost no punching, which is kind of refreshing for that particular event. There's quite a lot of justifying various "plot holes" in She-Hulk's history in this run, but the sense of fun and playfulness in which it is done just adds to the enjoyment. The concept that a superhero would be sick of their fans pointing out the gaps in their "continuity" is utterly hilarious to me, especially as Marvel Comics are published and widely read in the Marvel universe. No, really.

Stu Westin's (a supporting character in this series) view on comics, continuity and fandom, shown above, is one of the best moments in She-Hulk, and something I pull out pretty often when my more rabid friends get into a nerdy argument. There is a sheer joy to She-Hulk that I just love in comics and is rare in the better-selling Marvel and DC books, this series is unafraid to be fun and silly when it needs to be, embracing the nonsense of earlier Shulkie stories and the twisted continuity and giving the reader a damn good story on top of that. With all of two omnibus volumes (or four trades), She-Hulk is something you should probably own, as it's great and not all that long or tied in to too many other stories. Plus, more people really need to know about Awesome Andy and the Silver Sufer's love of '80s power rock ballads. Grab these books and read about Spider-Man suing Jonah Jameson for defamation, Two-Gun Kid enforcing Bail Bonds and a legal library filled with longboxes, it's a great corner of the Marvel Universe that not enough have seen.