The She-Hulk Diaries

June 17, 2013
Jennifer Walters is a lawyer and the giant green Marvel superhero known as She-Hulk, now transferred from comics to prose in this super-chick-lit novel. Jen finds herself between jobs and between apartments at New Years, not to mention between relationships. She also has a PR problem due to She-Hulk's hard-partying habits. Jen signs on with the law firm QUIRC, resolving actively start looking for love and to have fun in ways that won't get her fired. Of course, because this is a She-Hulk book, this ends up involving clones, supervillains and LARPing. Acosta's research shows as she captures the personality and humor of her main character and the Marvel universe for veteran readers and the uninitiated alike. The book's only problems are romance novel and chick-lit tropes that don't fit She-Hulk nearly as well, such as her self-deprecating envy of other women's beauty. Also, despite dating many of Marvel's superheroes, Jen has been secretly pining for the book's newly introduced love interest since college, because apparently True Love doesn't happen after thirty. Still, with trademark She-Hulk moments of comedy such as a sinisterly addicting smoothie chain and a particularly random appearance of Doctor Doom, this is a fun and lighthearted read.

June 1, 2013
Unassuming yet powerhouse attorney Jennifer Walters and her secret alter ego, the publicity-loving She-Hulk, must learn to coexist and balance their physical and intellectual skills while fighting crime and injustice in the courtroom and on the streets, and possibly reclaiming the love of Jennifer's life. On the first day of the year, Jennifer prepares a list of Valentine's Day Resolutions (New Year's Resolutions being too cliche and statistically difficult) in order to conquer the fact that she has no job, no home and is persona non grata within her Avengers community, thanks to raucous She-Hulk. As a world-class attorney, she finds a job pretty quickly, taking on an inventor who's allegedly created a faulty product that is killing people. Unfortunately, the senior partner of her new firm is the father of Ellis, the man Jennifer hooked up with years ago and has never forgotten; and the man accused of unleashing the faulty product is Ellis' best friend. If that isn't enough, Jennifer is supposed to submit to counseling when it's She-Hulk who has the problem, and who has time for that when she's litigating a high-profile case with her brand new job? Oh, and one of the attorneys she's supposed to be working with is Ellis' cold witch of a fiancee. Publisher Hyperion is staking a claim on a comic book-romance crossover market with popular Marvel characters, and She-Hulk (along with X-Men's Rogue) is their first attempt to capture a comic-book sensibility in fiction form with a major romantic arc. Acosta has created an interesting and intriguing character study of the seemingly mismatched Jennifer and She-Hulk and has introduced a powerful past-love romantic storyline that somehow makes sense for both sides of the personality equation. It's not clear how close to traditional canon the characters are and, therefore, how the purists of the comic-book universe will feel, but despite a few annoyances in the storyline (e.g. why would you not make a second call to the man you're madly in love with?), it's an engaging success. A fun, escapist romantic romp with superheroes--who can resist?

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June 1, 2013
Attorney Jennifer Walters is shy in personal relationships despite her leggy beauty and the fact that she's powerful and self-assured in the courtroom. Add to that her alter ego: She-Hulk, a sexy, green oversize superhero who loves to party. Her destructive tendencies have resulted in her being kicked out of the Avengers' mansion and fired from more than one job. Jennifer now resolves to meet an actual human man and establish an actual relationship. When she is then hired to be lead attorney in a case involving the totally gorgeous Dr. Sven Morigi, she ends up starting a story hour in a children's hospital where she encounters Ellis Tesla, a member of the rock band Fringe Theory. Have they found true love? Or is she just a ticket to his fame as he writes songs about her, including Flesh-Eating Bacteria Girl ? Ellis' take on the Marvel Comics superhero She-Hulk is sweet and funny and will delight readers whether they're into superhero comics or not. For another sprightly superhero tale, see Rogue Touch (2013), by Christine Woodward.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)