John Byrne’s run on She-Hulk continues to polarize readers for its foregrounding of the male gaze, but the series pushed 4th wall breaks in comics to new heights with a clear trajectory toward wildly popular modern characters such as Harley Quinn and Deadpool. #SheHulk 1/5
In an interview with Syfy, Byrne provides a full account of where this aspect of the character came from: 2/5
"When [Marvel editor] Mark Gruenwald was talking to me about doing a new She-Hulk book, he said, 'Find a way to make it different,'" recalled Byrne. "I took the subway home, and on the way I thought, 'She knows she's in a comic book.'" 3/5
Byrne was by no means the inventor of the 4th wall break in comics, a tradition whose history includes early comic strips by Winsor McCay, as well as breakout superhero characters like Mr. Mxyzptlk, Howard the Duck, and even Superman himself. 4/5
Never before, however, had a mainstream Marvel character had so much of their existence embroiled in self-awareness and in a direct address to both readers and creators. 5/5
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John Byrne’s rejuvenation of #SheHulk in “Sensational She-Hulk” (1989-1994) indelibly changed the character and was, for many years, Marvel’s longest-running title starring a female hero. Yet the series’ sexualization of its title character is controversial—and complicated. 1/14
Sensational She-Hulk is a confident, sexually liberated career woman not in spite of being big & green but because of it. Transforming into She-Hulk helps Jennifer Walters reject patriarchal expectations designed to control women. She also self-reflexively critiques them. 2/14
But She-Hulk is not a real person. As such, her access to “agency” depends on the desires of the people creating and consuming her stories. From 1989-1994, she was written & drawn by men and her stories were largely read by, and marketed to, men and boys. 3/14