She-Hulk, Volume 8: Secret Invasion

She-Hulk by Dan Slott & Peter David

by Peter David (Writer)

It's double the trouble as our gamma-ray glamazon finds herself on a collision course with the mystery-solving X-Factor and hip-deep in the Skrull infestation!

What does She-Hulk's partner Jazinda - who just happens to be a Skrull - know about the invasion... and is she part of it? And why has writer Peter David pitted the heroes of his two books against one another? All the answers are waiting for you here!

Collecting: She-Hulk 31-33, X-Factor 34-35

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

120 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2009

About the author

aka David Peters

Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a crossover within a crossover as Peter David converges two of his more famous books, X-Factor and She-Hulk, into one somewhat convoluted story dealing with Jazinda's past with the Skrull Empire and her notorious Super-Skrull Daddy.



The art for the actual She-Hulk issues collected here was gorgeous though the less said about the X-Factor ones the better.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I think they missed a trick not calling the She-Hulk Secret Invasion tie-in 'Shhhh-Hulk'...

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
Lame. I don't know why I keep torturing myself with She-Hulk. There is no real consistency in the quality of these books. Either they are kinda good (and I get hopeful), or they suck. This one landed on suck.

Honestly, I liked Secret Invasion. I thought it was a lot of fun. However, this has to be the worst of it's spin-off story lines. And the worst part about it is that it could have been one of the coolest. I mean, She-Hulk's partner, Jazinda, is a Skrull who has turned against her people and wants to stop the invasion! Not only that, but she is the daughter of the Super-Skrull. Did I mention that she can't be killed (for reasons that are finally revealed in this volume)!

So how can this be a sucky/lame volume, you ask?
First, the art in X-Factor was so weird that I couldn't focus on the story. Did I say weird? Sorry, I meant awful. I had a hard time telling the characters apart, because it looked like the artist was trying to make everyone look like they were mutant rock monsters or something. On top of that, the story itself was stupid. Some of the guys from X-Factor get into a fight with She-Hulk and Jazinda. Blah blah blah.

Second, while the art was better in the She-Hulk comics, the story didn't improve much at all. In between punching each other with trees, She-Hulk spouts off some psycho-babble crap to the Super-Skrull about how he has transferred his guilt over the loss of his son onto Jazinda. At the end, he saves Jazinda, but not before we see him reliving a fond memory of himself with both of his children when they were young. Awwwwww. Thanks, Dr. Phil!
Seriously?! Seriously?! What a flaming bag of crap!
It. Could. Have. Been. So. Cool.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crossover you won't want to miss!

Actually you can but it still enjoyable.

I remember reading some of this in X-Factor but getting the whole story here is nice. Basically Jen and J are trying to stop the secret invasion from happening. If she can find the key to the skrulls. But of course that's tied up with Longshot who's part of the X-Factor. Lots of fighting, heartfelt moments between She-Hulk and a certain super skrull, and a really solid ending.

The art for X-Factor is really bad at times, which is odd, since I don't remember it being. But everything else flows well and the ending was good once more. Again, nothing mindblowing, but solid. A 3.5 out of 5.

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given how little I care about X-Factor, I was hoping the She-Hulk issues would be enough to keep me interested. Jazinda was great in the previous issues but the whole thing with her dad seemed a little forced. This volume wasn't bad, but it felt like a missed opportunity to do something cool with Jazinda and She-Hulk's tentative friendship.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A blood transfusion from her cousin, The Incredible Hulk, transformed petite Jennifer Walters, attorney-at-law, into an emerald Amazon! Now she battles for truth, justice , and her clients' personal injury claims."
The are for this was fantastic, similar to the Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers arc but, well better! Again it looked like it was from a cartoon TV show but was sharp and details, loved it, 4 🌟
This was good, it focus on the family side of the Skrulls, left the big battles and busyness of NYC and focused on the conflict between a father and daughter Skrull, on different sides of the invasion, really good...3 🌟
Relevance to SI, 3 🌟 So overall for this TPB 3 🌟

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Peter David’s back half of this She-Hulk run - at least as much, maybe even more than Dan Slott’s front half.

David has more respect for Jen, and more of a writer’s flair for patience, subtlety, and just human interactions that read believably.

I’ve never really taken to Mr. David’s writing, for no good reason. Maybe he hasn’t been flashy enough for me? Doesn’t go straight to punching and Big Power Displays, so the visuals aren’t as attention-grabbing?

But I do like reading his stuff, and it’s a refreshingly not-exploitative look at She-Hulk without having her states of undress shoved in our faces *every* issue (though somehow she still ended up buck naked here at least once). (Aside: When was the last time you saw a male Marvel hero flopping around? It’s really frogging disappointing how unevolved the creators and editors are, just barely underneath the performative progressivism. I’d like to just read about characters, without having to reminded just how easily they get stuck in the fridge when they think they can get away with it.)

(So by the way: I know that Deodato’s covers sell comics like nobody’s business - but does he have to make every top out of cling film? When was the last time a fabric defied the laws of gravity and hung on to the underside of a woman’s boob?)

[Logan Harrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10:
A rather middling collection bringing together both titles written by Peter David at the time: She-Hulk and X-Factor. While I enjoyed seeing these characters interact with one another, the connections to Secret Invasion were rather weak and felt too forced. I did genuinely like that we learned more about Jazinda here as she really felt like She-Hulk’s Skrull sidekick until this point.

Only one more collection to finish this run and I’m excited to do that soon!

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off this is NOT a straight She-Hulk collection of issues; it contains She-Hulk #31-33 AND X-FACTOR #33-34 forming a somewhat alternating pattern. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and artwork of the She-Hulk issues however; the same cannot be said of X-Factor. The X-Factor issues lacked personality especially when paired with a character bursting with it. The X-Factor issues were just kind of boring really.

The other big issue for me was the artwork; the differences between the two were jarring. She-Hulk artwork was fluid and soft and elegant and detailed while the X-Factor art was hard, jagged, inconsistent, and frankly ugly.

From a story standpoint I loved all the Skrull action, don’t get me wrong, and a battle with Super Skrull is always fun but I’m missing the mean green jurisdiction machine. The lawyer aspect of the comics made it something really special, without it the comic is good but not great.

[Timo · Rating 1 out of 5]

One might say: "I'm ashamed to have bought this one, it was so bad".
Part of the Secret Invasion cross over and probably the worst one I have read.
Even the art was very bad.

Timo

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okayish tie-in to the event and maybe one of the better ones as it deals with a big skrull element that has been present in the book for a while and also has X-factor in it for its first half.

So the story is with X-Factor looking for Darwin, then being attacked by Jazcinda aka the skrull and how they fight her and the She-hulk in the process and only to find that someone among the XF is a skrull and are impersonating them and they are important as stopping them could prevent about the coming of the Skrull invasion and thus begins the conquest to find them and divided loyalties. Its a typical story with heroes fighting, then teaming-up to fight against a common threat.

Its a story that has some interesting ideas and doesn't tie directly to the event but has some intriguing story-lines with Jaz and finally revealing her secret, the coming of Super-skrull and the face-off there with Shulkie, where Jaz stands with the skrull empire and what her fate is ultimately gonna be, and how the secret skrull above has a role to play in it.

Its a story with loads of elements that people may not, and some might not which is understandable because the story is presented as a thing about Darwin but not really that much, but crucial but like I said its Peter david and he just likes to have fun while writing these stories and he takes the opportunity of this big skrull invasion thing to tell one hell of a story for Jen's best friend, Jaz and shows how Jen is such a great friend which was good to see!

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the best Secret Invasion tie-ins have involved a Skrull who is fighting against the invasion. John the Skrull from MI-3, the skrulls in Avengers The Initiative, Lyja in the Fantastic Four, and She-Hulk's Jazinda.

I wish the story had focuse more on her. Instead, after she gives She-Hulk a briefing on the impending invasion, they get pulled into a crossover with X-Factor, which contains some of the worst art Marvel has put out in the 21st century. Artist Larry Stroman makes Rob Liefeld look like Alex Fucken Ross. I can't imagine the embarrasment of having him assigned to a book you're writing.

Once the X-Factor crossover cools off, we're thrown into Jazinda The Skrull vs her father the Super Skrull, with She-Hulk as a psychotherapist. It's a little overwrought, and could definitely have used a few issues to build to it instead of throwing in all in one issue, but it's certainly not the worst issue in the Secret Invasion tie-ins. It's not even the worst issue in the book.

Overall, this is a mediocre tie-in story with more potential than actuality. If you like She-Hulk, or you're loving the Secret Invasion storyline, it's worth checking out. It's not good enough to stand on its own, however. And much of that is the fault of Larry Stroman, not Peter David.

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reading New Avengers for some reason and got up to the Secret Invasion storyline and said, “Hey, I have the Mavel Unlimited app, why don’t I just read the entire Secret Invasion storyline? I’d be really interested because I know that the MCU is going to come out with a movie pretty soon.” Great idea, right?

Ugh, that thing is 99 issues long and just starts to d r a g in the middle as Marvel tried to cash in by incorporating as many titles as possible. But I was committed, and I read every single issue. Was it worth it? Absolutely not. Am I glad I read it? I’m not sad, but I wish that Marvel had done a better job writing with concise storytelling. Or that I had not made the decision to read the whole blamed thing.

But, you know, in for a penny, and for a pound. And it’s red and I will never have to read it again and I can enjoy the movie when it comes out. So I’m just going to copy and paste this review in every single trade paperback that contains the secret invasion, storyline and call it a day.

if anyone reads this review, I recommend you just read the essential story itself without all of the side issues.

[Ian Raffaele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This trade paperback takes place during the Secret Invasion crossover event. This means I'm left to fill in the gaps of the overall story as I have not read any of the other comic storylines from this time. This trade was also padded with 2 X-Factor comics. I'm not that familiar with the group and I felt like it was a distraction from She-Hulk story that I came here to see. Since Peter David took over She-Hulk the series looks nothing like it did when Dan Slott started back in 2004. The only improvement is Jennifer's character seems to have a bit more depth in these comics than she did when she was acting like she was during the Slott era. The art could have been a bit better but it wasn't totally offensive. I'm just hoping that this series sticks the landing.

[Andrew Garvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of an uneven story, this one runs in the following order:
X-Factor #34
She-Hulk #31
X-Factor #35
She-Hulk #32
She-Hulk #33

The X-Factor issues are something of a chore and are overly stuffed with (literally) poorly drawn characters I was given no real reason to care about but the three She-Hulk issues are much better. There's plenty of action, some decent humour and everything revolves around She-Hulk's friend Jazinda - renegade Skrull and daughter of the original Super Skrull (whose arse She-Hulk satisfyingly kicks). In the wider context of the Secret Invasion event, this feels both significant and personal, a neat balancing act and a fun read.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 2 out of 5]

"She-Hulk: Secret Invasions" is the weak link in what has proven to be a fairly strong series. The plot of this book is fairly simple and revolves around the "Secret Invasion" crossover event without actually impacting the greater She-Hulk story arc. The book also relies on a sub plot involving the X-Factor team which will prove irritating and confusing to most readers who are not following this title. Fortunately, this book does not have a significant connection with the next volume so it can simply be disregarded by anyone who does not want to bother with it.

[Josh Burkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like in the grand scheme of this larger than life event that is Secret Invasion - it's sometimes rare to see a story this grounded and intimate. However, Peter David marvelously pulls that off here. Also given that this is a volume that does crossover issues with the X-Force title is surprisingly well done. It also keeps some of that intimacy in tact as well. I really dug this issues. The She-Hulk portions of this volume had probably my favorite art of the Slott-David era. It has this animation quality to it that is rare to find in comics sometimes.

[Bekka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't as fond of the stuff with X Factor, but the rest was pretty good fun, and it was nice to see more of Jen and J interacting more and talking about Skrulls, etc.
TW for mentions of death of a son, violence, war, war mentions, mentions of invasion, impersonation, kidnapping.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was really terrible! David manages to undo all slott build in his 6 vol story arc. It has v little structure and no merit

[Rohail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic art in the She-Hulk issues! But just that...

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

i should go and read the entire main secret invasion plotline shouldn't i

[Brandee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daddy issues go brrr

[Terry Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best that I can say: I read this some weeks ago, and forgot to review it.

Thinking back on it now, it was inoffensive and, I guess, somewhat forgettable. I do remember enjoying the pencils, and David's snarky banter.

Very middle-of-the-road, but not the worse thing you could read.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main premise of the story is that the Skrulls are preparing for an invasion of Earth. As a first step, the Skrulls have sent their physical incarnation of their god to Earth, a Skrull called the “Talisman.” Many other characters appear in the story, including the Super Skrull, a renegade Skrull called Jazinda and several mutant humans. This complicates the story considerably, especially if you are unfamiliar with the background of Jazinda and the powers of the mutants. Furthermore, the story is also presented in the context of the normal humans being distrustful of mutants, so there is a great deal of unexplained background.
With all of this reliance on previous events in the Marvel storyline, it is at times very difficult to understand the plot as the She-Hulk battles the mutants and then the Skrulls in an attempt to thwart the invasion and save Earth. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable of the Marvel universe yet there were many times when I had to stop and ask myself, “Who’s that?” She-Hulk is once again her charming and verbally obnoxious self, as is usually the case with stories about the “Green Goddess” that is the best aspect of the story.

This review appears on Amazon

[Mender · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate comics. It takes me twice as long to read a story with pictures as it does to read a normal book. So I was always predisposed to need a comic to be above average to enjoy it - I liked Persepolis, for instance.

This book is fine. Literally, it is ok. It's hard to tell the characters apart sometimes, and at the end of it I still only have the vaguest idea what the storyline is. I still don't know why She-Hulk was fighting the x-men. Except that she doesn't like Monet, or something. Or she's losing control of her self control.

I don't know. It was fine. I just don't like comics.

[Labyrinth Rossiter · Rating 2 out of 5]

She-Hulk & Jazinda, the Super Skrull's daughter, go after the Talisman, who is the living embodiment of the "Voice of the Skrull Gods" or something like that, in some vague attempt to use him against the invasion. During Annihilation, I'd come to really like Kl'rt, the old Super Skrull, and in Nova, he's established himself as a Ronin, Masterless Warrior who puts Honor above all else, so I was confused about why he attacked his own daughter & protected the Talisman. It just made no sense to me.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you luck out and read a book in enough of the right order to appreciate it. Like this one. I've read the preceding X-Factor books. And I know enough about Secret Invasion. And I've read the last few She-Hulk books. And this one was a hoot. Mostly because of the Jennifer/Jazinda relationship AND how interesting the X-factor characters are. So instead of a random chance encounter in Detroit, this book came off well thought out and interesting. Almost by accident. With good enough art.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

She-Hulk is one of my favorite superheroes, so as long as stories featuring her aren't terrible, I usually enjoy them.

This wasn't terrible. But it wasn't great, either. The crossover with X-Factor did nothing for me, and the whole Skrull invasion "event" was pretty unexciting.

On the plus side, the art in this volume is slick, cartoony, and looks really good.

[Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

She-Hulk got herself involved with the Mutant Town then she had some of her own battles to deal with regarding her friend. It was pretty average, the familial feely weely storyline was all too cliche. The X-Factor drawings were ugly as usual. It was not a remarkable volume.

[Karl Kindt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter David's dialogue is still sharp and fun to read and Larry Stroman's work is great as ever.