She-Hulk, Vol. 3: Girl Can't Help It

She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell

by Rainbow Rowell

Collects She-Hulk (2022) #11-15.

Rainbow Rowell takes the jade giantess from strength to strength! When a new villain named Scoundrel - as strong as She-Hulk and seemingly unstoppable - starts a thieving spree through New York City, he sends Jen's entire life tumbling into turmoil. So why does she feel so drawn to him?! The answer may put her whole law practice in danger! As Jen is thrown for the loop of her life, Patsy Walker - the irrepressible Hellcat - returns to help her emerald-skinned pal set everything straight! It's time for She-Hulk to put on her detective hat and uncover Scoundrel's secret history! But while Jen has her hands full with him, the Fight Club must battle an alien horde!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

127 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 24, 2023

About the author

Rainbow Rowell writes all kinds of stuff.

Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS, LANDLINE, SLOW DANCE).

Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK, FANGIRL) .

Sometimes — actually, a lot of the time — she writes about lovesick vampires and guys with dragon wings. (THE SIMON SNOW TRILOGY).

Recently, she’s been writing comics, including her first graphic novel, PUMPKINHEADS, and the monthly SHE-HULK comic for Marvel.

She lives in Omaha, Nebraska.

More at rainbowrowell.com.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea why I like this book, but I do. It is a fast-paced, quick read, out of continuity but enjoyable. I started and did not put it down until it was finished.

Jen/She-Hulk is overworked, in demand with everyone, including her own fight club, in a relationship, and seeing someone else? That about sums up the book.

I don't know what it is about this book, but it just works. A great, quick escapism book. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part about this whole run has been how much it has leant into fun. It moves at an absolutely rapid pace, making it incredibly easy to pick up and read. When paired with stories that don't take themselves too seriously, it's an absolute treat of an experience. Closing out with a focus on character over plot (as much of this run has done), She-Hulk shines when it's kept lighthearted, and Rowell definitely understood the assingment.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lightweight and charming, which is always the best combination in a She-Hulk comic.


Beware of the Sketchy Scoundrel.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uh-oh! With her romantic relationship going through some physical contact issues, Jen finds herself tempted by a handsome and flirtatious thief who is treating their very physical hero/villain fights like foreplay.

This fizzy series comes to an end with this volume, but -- Hooray! -- it is immediately launching with Rainbow Rowell staying on to write the adventures of Jen Walters under the new title of The Sensational She-Hulk. It's a silly move to get a new #1, but I'm glad they're trying something to keep the fun going.



FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: She-Hulk in "Girl Can't Help It," Parts 1-5 / Rainbow Rowell, writer; Andrés Genolet, illustrator -- She-Hulk and Friends in: "The First Rule of Book Club Is . . . " / Rainbow Rowell, writer; Joe Quinones, illustrator -- Cover Gallery / Jen Bartel, Rickie Yagawa, Patrick Gleason, Elena Casagrande, Jeehyung Lee, Greg Land, Derrick Chew, Jeff Dekal, and George Pérez, illustrators

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rainbow Rowell outdoes herself in this fast paced third volume. There is a good deal of romance in this book and it works well. Even readers who are more into the smashing than the loving should find something here. Jack of Hearts, Jen's primary love interest, proves to be a more interesting and thoughtful character than usual. Additionally, there is a tempting villain who provides some fun romantic distractions.

As for the smashing, the super powered fight club is back and there are some fun scenes with Titania, Volcana, Luke Cage and The Thing. Additionally, there is enough damage to Manhattan and other property and structural damage for this book to read as a proper "She-Hulk" title.

Finally, Jen's gal-pack really pops in this book. Patsy is back to keep "Eat Cake in Fancy Dresses Wednesday" going strong. There's also a wine club book club sequence with a bunch of Jen's besties and Volcana that is worth the price of admission alone.



4.5 stars rounded to 4

[Tor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never thought I'd be out here shipping She-Hulk and Jack of Hearts but here we are!!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series concludes on a higher note, returning the focus to Jen and Jack's relationship - and a newcomer who is trying to steal Jen's heart. That newcomer is mysteriously superpowered thief, The Scoundrel. There's a good bit of fun to be had with their quippy interactions, but the storyline is ultimately too silly. Like, the whole thing ends with the 10 billionth "aliens are invading New York!" battle, which is just poor storytelling.

The art in this volume is at least better than previously. The big-headed scientist is long gone. Girl Can't Help It is decently fun, but this whole series feels like a bunch of minor hits with just as many missed opportunities. For example, wouldn't it have been cool to see Jen represent Krakoa in court?? Alas.

[Paz · Rating 3 out of 5]

See? Look at him, I'm never gonna stop reading this title.

3.5 stars

There's just so much to enjoy from Rainbow Rowell's She-Hulk.
This volume is fast-pace, funny and sad, and just so sweet to read. This time around Marvel's first family needs She-Hulk to join a secret mission. Her job? Super important: be on the lookout for something strange. And that's how Jen meets The Scoundrel. A mysterious thief that pretty much falls for Jen immediately. And Jen? Well, she has a boyfriend. (The sweetest one.) But, as Patsy puts it, Jack is a bit depressed and he's scared of his powers so he's giving Jen the Gambit and Rogue treatment. No touching. He's also depressed, did I say that already?
So yes, things are not going so well for Jen, plus work is insane and this guy, Scoundrel, is just toying with her, robbing stuff and constantly running away. But he's handsome, and mysterious, and a distraction from Jen's frustrations.

Listen, I love Jack. I love his and Jen's relationship so this flirty thing with the Scoundrel was a bit too much for me. But, the thing is, Jen's hurting. And she's trying her best, even if I think she took it a bit too far for my taste.

As it's been the case for the whole run, there are lots of cameos this volume. A highlight are the Fight Club scenes where Titania, Volcana and The Thing are Jen's sparring partners. Luke Cage and Danny Rand join as audience and the vibe is just *chef's kiss*.
Like I said, there's a lot of the Fantastic Four, Patsy comes back as the bestest friend, and this volume also collects a little story of Jen hosting a book club reunion with a lot of women of Marvel. It's really fun.

I don't know how Rowell manage to portrait so much of Jen's life in these short volumes. But the world is so well established. We get so much of Jen, her love life, her adventures as She-Hulk, her life as a lawyer, and so many friendships. I think Rowell's writing thrives in this title. The tone is so lighthearted, it's just so charming to read. The villain sideplots are always the weakest, and in this volume the Scoundrel features in every issue with a lot of screen time. And yet, I still really enjoyed it. It's just fun. And such a change of pace from other titles. It's just character centric, sentimental and silly, and so pretty to look at.

Re-read (2025): It's still a 3.5 but I gotta round down the rating to a three. I liked the volume, I especially LOVED the Fight Club scenes, F4 meetings, Patsy friend time, and her scenes with Jack, but I just couldn't really understand The Scoundrel appeal. Too much 'page screen', too much interest by Jen on this random guy, so yeah, changing the four stars to a three on goodreads.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A welcome change of pace for a superhero book. This one was mostly just fun and focused on relationships between She-Hulk and others, but I didn’t mind it. I think I enjoy reading She-Hulk every now and then. And I also think I’m a little bit of a sucker for a good love triangle/relationship book in general.

[London Heady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another classic. These fifteen issues have been such a joy to read. I really hope when it switches to Sensational they can keep the spirit, because when looking at current comics, this is one of my favorites.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just don't see the appeal in this author....keep romance shit outta superhero comics please.

[Julia Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I came back to this story 🥰

[Benjamin Kimble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rainbow Rowell’s slice of life superhero romance continues with a common trope: trouble in paradise. Jack of Hearts has had his powers restored and is struggle to relearn how to life with them. With his powers he can no longer touch She-Hulk, meaning their relationship starts to dwindle. In comes someone new: the Scoundrel. A gentleman thief who aims to steal Jen’s heart. Rowell’s level of character drama is heightened here and I love it. It’s so hard to see these characters I’ve come to love deal with this. She’s got such a good grasp on romantic drama and she mixes it perfectly with Superhero action. Andrés Genolet has a quaint little art style that fits romance perfectly. His skill with faces helps to communicate so much of what’s happening on the pages. She-Hulk continues to be a really fun read.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since Rainbow Rowell took over writing this comic, it is able to balance humor and action so well. This Volume basically covers two points: 1) Fight Club, which is She-Hulk, Titania, The Thing, Volcana, Luke Cage, and Danny Rand. They get together to just be able to beat on each other therapeutically, and band together at the end of the Volume to stop an alien invasion. 2) Jen's love life. While she is very much in love with Jack of Hearts, she finds herself drawn into something with a seemingly indestructible rogue named Scoundrel, who has it bad for Jen. He is very smooth and it seems like she is going to cheat, but doesn't.
Overall, another excellent Volume for She-Hulk and a great representation of both author and character.
Recommend.

[Fraser Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still very much enjoying this series. It feels like a comic, in the best way possible. It’s quirky, almost solely focused on character and verisimilitude, and is very self aware. Rather than the brain dead formula where it’s the same bad guys and same arc, the grounded nature of the storytelling makes it very easy to empathize and root for her, and the challenges more interesting because they are atypical of comics, but very typical of everyday life. It’s also quite funny. Thrist trap she hulk continues to succeed with flying colours.

[Mattthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series. Rainbow Rowell is doing a great job writing this series. It has a nice balance of romance, comedy, and action. And the artwork is great. I may pick up the omnibus of this if they make one.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una muy agil lectura, de lo mejor de Marvel estos dias. Me recuerda el ambiente que generaba el Daredevil de Waid.

[Liv (LivTheBookNerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another awesome addition to the She-Hulk series!

[Aden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this minutes ago and I’m just thinking…awww this was so good.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid collection from the current creative time on She-Hulk. More balance of all aspects of Jen’s life make for a fun and slightly sentimental read. Scoundrel is a fun character that I hope we see again.
Again though this volume is bogged down a little by inconsistent art. Typical Marvel.

3/5.

[Juan Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

No os podéis imaginar lo mucho que he disfrutado de esta saga. ¡Qué gustazo!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still fun, still has a lot of highs that make getting through the days easier. Thanks gang!

[Julia Cannistra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good She-hulk book

Vol 3 is another good and easy read. More of the same, so if you've been reading the prior volumes of this run, you will know if this book is for you.

The artwork is good -not great- but it totally works for this book. A highlight is how well the faces and facial expressions are done.

If you liked the other volumes, this is an easy recommend.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting volume but not the end since the creative team is continuing their story in Sensational She Hulk. In this one Jack is being distant with Jen and some new invulnerable thief shows up and has a crush on She Hulk. Its the usual wacky style that Rainbow Rowell has and I love the way she writes She Hulk. Overall a decent volume.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor She Hulk.

She has to deal with Jack not wanting to get near her due to his powers. But they're still trying to make their relationship somehow work. However, the longer it goes on, the longer Jack becomes less "human" while at the same time the thief/villain here is flirty flirty with Jen and Jen does not appreciate that. Overall fun volume with a sad undertone.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series just clicked for me in tone and execution. It was full of good ideas and even as characters move in new directions those moves seem in line with the character's history. This was a nice run from start to finish.

[Alex Sarll]

All love triangles, unappreciative bosses, and punching: this is absolute froth, and I love it, even aside from Jen and Jack doing the Rogue/Gambit thing far better than in the last Rogue/Gambit comic I read.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75
Shockingly and consistently excellent! Rowell's best comic book work, IMO.

[Penny Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun! I especially enjoyed the bonus "Book Club" story at the end....

[Jaye Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fun but idk, I don't hate it but it felt so meh.

In this a thief named Scoundrel keeps showing up and going toe-to-toe with Jen. Meanwhile Jack is dealing with his powers coming back and Jen is trying to keep up with her workload.

It was really disappointing how Jen & Jack's relationship was built up soo much to turn so lukewarm so fast. The only good part was the final issue between them but otherwise their conversations were so lame and short, like neither actually wanted to be talking to each other and then they didn't talk about much anyway. I get Jack was dealing with his powers and Jen was working but the connection they had was really not here.

Then this new guy has a thing for Jen and I feel like I would have loved this plotline if not Jack existing and still being with Jen. Like the dude was so wacky and stealing for seemingly no reason and he wanted to dance with her and she was kinda getting down with it?? It felt so weird to have this going on while Jack is at home (or in space or something idk what he was doing this entire time, his character felt so flat).

I liked the art but it was a little inconsistent with the switching artists. At least the colors were always nice which has been my favorite part of this run in the first place.

Kind of wild the story never did the fourth wall break ever again?? I wasn't really expecting it to but I was kind of expecting it to because why would you waste something so interesting?

But okay apparently this is getting rebooted into another series so let's pray that one is better.