Get to know She-Hulk from novelist Rainbow Rowell
Celebrating novelist Rainbow Rowell’s recent Marvel Comics series starring She-Hulk (2025)
How the most recent She-Hulk comics books gave these stories an engaging “slice of life” vibe with comedy, drama, romance, and team spirit.
In this article:
Get to know about She-Hulk from Rainbow Rowell
A bunch of critics loved Rowell’s She-Hulk stories
The surprising origins of She-Hulk
She-Hulk’s role in the Marvel Comics universe
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Get to know She-Hulk from Rainbow Rowell
“Trust me when I say this,” says novelist Rainbow Rowell. “You do not need to know everything about She-Hulk to enjoy a She-Hulk comic.”
With the conclusion of novelist Rowell’s era writing the spectacle that is Marvel Comics hero She-Hulk—which was bursting with comedy, drama, and romance—I thought this would be a great time to look back over the novelist’s award-nominated run.
An award-winning author, Rainbow Rowell has written a number of novels, short stories, and comic books. This includes the Simon Snow Trilogy, about lovesick vampires and guys with dragon wings. An epic young adult fantasy series, the Simon Snow novels blend paranormal romance with action-packed adventure.
Showing her range as a storyteller, her latest novel is the romance Slow Dance. As she shares about Slow Dance with BookPage: A flashback to prom sets the stage for the grown-up love story at the heart of the book.
“Shakespeare ended so many of his lighter plays with weddings,” she says, “only because he didn’t have prom at his disposal.” (BookPage: How Rainbow Rowell learned to stop worrying and love prom)
Officially, Rowell’s time writing She-Hulk are numbered as two different comic book series: 2022’s SHE-HULK (issues #1-10) and 2023’s SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK (issues #1-10). She worked with a number of collaborators, including Roge Antonio, Luca Maresca, Andres Genolet, Joe Quinones, Ig Guara, and more.
She-Hulk started out as lawyer Jennifer Walters, who was saved by a blood transfusion from her cousin—who happened to be Bruce Banner AKA the Hulk. Now having adventures that generally revolve around her green, large, powerful self, She-Hulk has since become a friend with pretty much everyone in the Marvel universe.
In fact, she has carried membership cards for the Fantastic Four, The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., The Defenders, Heroes for Hire, and Fantastic Force. She’s also done lawyer stuff for many of the super people who show up in Marvel comics.
During her time writing the She-Hulk comic books, Rowell said she loved how the character likes being a superhero. “She’s not reluctant. She generally doesn’t have to be talked into it. She’s an attorney with a real love for the law and justice. Becoming a hero was a natural extension of herself.”
The author also mentioned how she appreciates She-Hulk / Jennifer Walter’s sense of humor. “Funny is rare for comic book heroes, especially for the women. But She-Hulk has been funny almost from the beginning. She was one of the first Marvel characters to break the fourth wall (though she hasn’t done that in her more recent appearances). And she’s one of the few characters who dependably crack jokes. I think that’s one reason she’s appeared in so many different books—writers love her.”
One problem for She-Hulk, Rowell points out, is how she’s often considered a B-list character. As such, her life gets rebooted and uprooted a lot.
“Some characters, like Spider-Man and Hulk, drive big Marvel stories,” Rowell says. “Some, like She-Hulk, are usually supporting players. That actually makes for an interesting character dynamic. She-Hulk continually struggles to reconcile her own identity and needs with the greater good. She’s a great team player, but when she steps into the spotlight, she’s complicated and fascinating.”
A bunch of critics loved Rowell’s She-Hulk stories
“Rainbow Rowell’s take on the character has been an incredible ride. No longer ‘savage’ (that’s a whole other story), Jen Walters is trying to be a superhero and rebuild her life as a lawyer and friend. We all know how well that tends to go for most superheroes, and Jen is no exception.” (Book Riot: The 12 Best Graphic Novels and Comics of 2022)
“The best parts of Jennifer Walters are not when she’s being a superhero, but when she’s navigating that line between superhero and real-world life: practicing law, dating, friendships. And Rowell and Antonio capture this perfectly in lighthearted, fun stories, full of color and life, with just the right amount of angst.” (Multiversity Comics: 2022 Year in Review: Best Ongoing Series)
“It’s fun to see Jen having fun again, as the comic proved to be a much-needed creative reset for the hero.” (Screen Rant: Screen Rant’s Best Comics Of 2022)
“Comic books are at their best when they aren’t simply focused on one style of storytelling. Rainbow Rowell’s She-Hulk is a great example of that as the series mixes superhero, professional, and personal life in one cohesive narrative… What enhances it all is how Rowell embraces how She-Hulk does exist as part of the Marvel Universe.” (Comic Book Revolution: The 10 Best Comic Book Series Of 2022)
“Jennifer Walters can’t help living a life unlike those of her Marvel peers. At its best, Rowell, Antonio, and Renzi’s She-Hulk lives just over the line into the uncanny from real life. It shines in those moments when the life of Jennifer Walters and the life of She-Hulk bleed together just enough to make the impossible mundane and the mundane impossible.” (AIPT: ‘She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 1: Jen, Again’ commits to interpersonal intimacy rather than conflict)
She-Hulk comics collections from Rowell and Company
1) She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 1: Jen, Again (Collects She-Hulk #1-5)
2) She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 2: Jen of Hearts (Collects She-Hulk #6-10)
3) She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 3: Girl Can’t Help It (Collects She-Hulk #11-15)
4) She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 4: Jen-Sational (Collecting Sensational She-Hulk #1-5)
5) She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 5: All In (Collecting Sensational She-Hulk 6-10)
Find more Rainbow Rowell online
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The Surprising Origins For She-Hulk
Of course, Jennifer Walters and the She-Hulk has been around more than 40 years. Her first appearance was published in late 1979—as a way for Marvel Comics to grab the rights to the character. This was while 1960s character The Hulk had his own TV show (starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno).
Here’s the thing: She-Hulk was created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema. One of the inventors of the Marvel Comics universe, Lee was also the co-creator of The Hulk, as well as such Marvel characters as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men, and a bunch more.
But the surprising reason they created She-Hulk was essentially because of the television show The Bionic Woman. See, years earlier, the TV show The Six Million Dollar Man was so popular that it inspired the spin-off series The Bionic Woman.
And while that original TV series was based on Martin Caidin’s novel Cyborg, the spin-off was based on the TV show—which also meant that the rights to The Bionic Woman went to more people than the rights of the original show. As such, Universal Studios shares the rights with the original creator.
So, a few years later, Universal Studios was making a TV show based on the Marvel Comics character The Incredible Hulk. And Universal was considering making another spin-off—you know, a “Hulk” version of The Bionic Woman. But if Universal invented that Hulk spin-off, there was a danger they would share the ownership rights—if not own the character altogether.
As such, Marvel wanted to stake their claim first. So, Marvel jumped in to create their own spin-off first. Just to make sure they didn’t have to share those rights with anyone else.
Consequently, Marvel Comics created their own female counterpart to the Hulk in the comic book The Savage She-Hulk #1, which had a cover date of February 1980. In that issue, we meet lawyer Jennifer Walters—the cousin of Bruce Banner. When she needs a quick blood transfusion—from cousin Bruce—the effect turns her into yet another gamma-powered super hero.
Choose from the Savage She-Hulk collections:
Savage She-Hulk Omnibus edition (Collects Savage She-Hulk #1-25, Marvel Two-in-One #88)
Savage She-Hulk Masterworks Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (two-volume set collects Savage She-Hulk #1-14 and Savage She-Hulk #15-25 and Marvel Two-In-One #88)
Related: Marvel’s She-Hulk: Powers, History and Origin Explained (IGN)
Here we see She-Hulk actually tearing her way through to the next page of the comic book... (Wait—what?)
She-Hulk’s role in the Marvel Comics universe
One of the charming characteristics of She-Hulk has been her engaging personality—and how she knows pretty much everyone in the Marvel universe. Oh, and how she can sometimes talk to readers.
The earliest appearances of She-Hulk showed her being kind of violent and kind of slow-witted—as, you know, the cousin of The Hulk. But it wasn’t that long before she became more intelligent and fun-loving.
She also has grown to be a fairly regular member of more than one superhero group at Marvel. This includes the Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and The A-Force. She is friends with pretty much everyone at Marvel.
And she was talking to the audience long before Deadpool did that. Although she doesn’t always break the the fourth wall, there has been more than one example—depending on which series you’re reading—where She-Hulk knows she’s in a comic book.
In fact, there was a particularly hilarious scene in Sensational She-Hulk, written and drawn for many issues by John Byrne. When Jessica is trapped in a room and rips through the wall, when you turn the page she is actually running across the advertisements to get back to the next comics page…
Related link: Top 10 Fourth Wall Breaks In John Byrne's She-Hulk Comics (CBR)
More She-Hulk collections to read the comics
Savage She-Hulk Omnibus (1980-1982)
Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne Omnibus (1989-1994))
She-Hulk by Dan Slott Omnibus (2004-2005)
She-Hulk by Peter David Omnibus (2005-2009)
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Rainbow Rowell’s She-Hulk stories were bursting with comedy, drama, and romance. Get to know about She-Hulk from Rainbow Rowell—plus the surprising origins of She-Hulk, and her e ngaging role in the larger Marvel Comics universe.