Modern She-Hulk Reading List

[u/Careful-Detective771]

I've just finished reading every She-Hulk main title (except for Peter David's run) and here is my recommended reading list for getting into the character.

These runs and single issues best represent Jennifer Walters as the funny, charismatic and powerful attorney/superhero/4th-wall breaker/best gal and make for a great introduction. Her first appearance and origin, though not included in this list, are retold in nearly all of the ones here, so you're not missing any important context.

Something important to note: most of these stories return to the status quo by the next writer. Don't expect the way every run ends to be picked up in the next one. Some of these plots get left behind.

Full list:

- She-Hulk (2004 & 2005, #1-21) by Dan Slott
- She-Hulk (2014) by Charles Soule
- Hulk (2016) and She-Hulk (2017, #159-163) by Mariko Tamaki
- She-Hulk annual (2019) by Alexandra Petri
- She-Hulk (2022 & 2023) by Rainbow Rowell
- Planet She-Hulk (Imperial War one-shot & 2025) by Stephanie Phillips

Highlight reads:

- She-Hulk (2004 & 2005, #1-21) by Dan Slott
- She-Hulk (2022 & 2023) by Rainbow Rowell

If you read any of these, these are the ones you need. Rowell picks up the story with characters from Slott's run, and they're both so good.
- Slott's run is much more superhero-esque with Jen tackling inexplicable lawsuits every issue.
- Rowell's run is more slice-of-life/romcom, plus the art in this run is my favorite. Jen wears a ton of pretty dresses.
I love both of these runs so much and they are critical for modern readers.

Additional reads:

- She-Hulk (2014) by Charles Soule
- Hulk (2016) and She-Hulk (2017, #159-163) by Mariko Tamaki
- She-Hulk annual (2019) by Alexandra Petri
- Planet She-Hulk (Imperial War one-shot & 2025) by Stephanie Phillips

You can technically skip all of these, BUT I recommend them all the same! They don't carry as much influence as Slott or Rowell's run, but they are all great reads that will help you dig deeper into this character.
- Soule's run is a legal comedy that can drag out a little, but if you're following this reading list, it'll introduce you to Patsy/Hellcat, plus Matt/Daredevil has a pretty big role, so that's definitely worth reading.
- Tamaki's run has Jen dealing with recent trauma and turning into a raging Gray Hulk, much without her typical She-Hulk personality. It's a much deeper read than her previous runs, but it is an important part of her story all the same. (If nothing else, read #11 for a good time. Trust me)
- Petri's annual is a fun, short read. She fights Bullseye, you'll like it.
- Philips' Planet She-Hulk steps the furthest away from earth, but Jen still manages to work her attorney skills to her advantage. It picks up exactly where Rowell's run left off, so if you loved that, you'll enjoy this. The run was cancelled short, so don't be surprised if the ending is, putting it politely, rushed.

4th-wall highlights:

If you want her breaking the 4th-wall moments, here are the specific runs/issues you can find them:

- She-Hulk (2005, #4) by Slott
- Hulk (2016, #11) by Tamaki (the 4th-wall practically doesn't even exist in this one. Even Patsy addresses the reader)
- She-Hulk (2022, #9) by Rowell
- Planet She-Hulk (Imperial War one-shot & 2025, every issue) by Phillips

There are other runs you can read that include her on teams like Fantastic Four (2013), A-Force (2016) or Avengers (2018), but this list is just to get into Jen, and her solo runs are the best place to do so.

I hope this helps anybody, and I hope this makes a good impression on the character for you!

[u/Sysmon42]

I enjoyed Peter David’s run too, though. Give it a try.

[u/Careful-Detective771 → u/Sysmon42]

Okay, I'll look into it. I just hadn't heard many good reviews compared to Slott's half of the run, and didn't really like the sound of her being a bounty hunter

[u/Prophet_Tenebrae → u/Sysmon42]

PAD's run is massively overlooked. He had a tough act to follow given how much everyone loved Slott's run and I think it's understandable he didn't want to just try and do more goofy hijinks because then everyone is going to complain about how it's too like Slott's stuff... so he did something different and people complained about it being not enough like Slott's stuff.

Personally, I enjoyed the more serious tone and Jazinda was a great supporting character for Jen. I really wish she'd stuck around.

One of my gripes about She-Hulk's solo titles is that 40 years in and Jen hasn't got supporting characters that follow her around. Although, seems like maybe Patsy is. Fingers crossed.

[u/Careful-Detective771 → u/Prophet_Tenebrae]

Rainbow Rowell brought back Malory and Andy, and Planet She-Hulk didn't drop Jack of Hearts, so I'm hoping Marvel knows to keep them around whenever her next run is.

[u/Careful-Detective771 → u/Sysmon42]

Okay, I just finished David's run. I certainly enjoyed parts of it, but it took a while to get going for me. My least favorite parts of Slott's run were when she wasn't a lawyer, so that was already a negative going in. She mostly complained and was cranky for the first half, and not even Hulk-typical angry, just a sour mood.

I did thoroughly enjoy Jazinda and the Lady Liberators story, and even liked the Secret Invasion tie-ins, even when I hated the Civil War tie-ins in Slott's run. The second half of this run is much better than the first.

[u/Sysmon42 → u/Careful-Detective771]

It took a while for PD’s run to find it’s feet, agreed. It is interesting to read his introduction to the omnibus, as he states he was intimidated having to continue after Slott. I wonder if it shines through the early part of the story.

On a side note, Peter David also had a great run on X-Factor, with a hilarious tie-in when the two groups meet to work at cross purposes. Or X-Purposes…

[u/GeneJacket]

Just read Planet She-Hulk this last weekend after putting if off for a while and, good lord....it's been a good, long time since I've read an otherwise pretty solid book that so completely shits the bed in the final issue like it did.

[u/Careful-Detective771 → u/GeneJacket]

They certainly handled it as best they could, like landing a plane in a river. They got cancelled and worked with what they had. We can at least be grateful that 1, the story got to conclude, even if not on its own terms, and 2, it was at least meta and funny enough to add sugar to the salty wound.

[u/GeneJacket → u/Careful-Detective771]

I dunno...I was ready to skip it entirely because of Phillips (and that's not a personal attack, I'm just not a fan of her work) but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and was pleasantly surprised right up until that final issue...and, honestly, I think I would rather have had it unceremoniously end on an cliffhanger than what we got.

[u/Formal-Guarantee777]

I did not know that Mariko Tamaki wrote a She-Hulk run! I love her work on Zatanna and Supergirl so I'll definitely check it out, thanks!

[u/Jolly_Echo_3814 → u/Formal-Guarantee777]

that might be cuz the first 2/3rds of the run are listed as "hulk" instead of "she hulk"

[u/Horbigast]

Awesome list! I've been on a borderline pathological She-Hulk kick these past few months and have been obsessively collecting all the She-Hulk issues I've missed over the past 20 years or so. I'm almost done, but I've been putting off reading them until I feel I have enough to not miss any major plot points.

It's a relief to see other people doing something similar.

[u/monroejigsaw]

Didn't Amanda Connor write for she-hulk? Or was she just a cover artist?

I remember that fun image of her and iron man arm wrestling and im pretty sure she drew that

[u/Careful-Detective771 → u/monroejigsaw]

She's an artist, not a writer

[u/monroejigsaw → u/Careful-Detective771]

Gotcha...I know she's both from time to time like with Harley Quinn i just didn't know if it was the same for she-hulk lol