Andy Burns: Congrats on getting the chance to write She-Hulk, Charles. What appeals to you most about writing this particular character?
Charles Soule: Well, she’s an optimistic character who loves the fact that she has superpowers. There’s no angst in Jennifer Walters, and that makes for a fun gig on my end. Plus, the fact that she’s an attorney doesn’t hurt (more on that in a bit), and I’m also very excited about the chance to define a new take on She-Hulk for a potentially new set of readers.
Andy Burns: Many legendary characters have had the chance to write She-Hulk? Do you have any particular stories, creators or arcs from the past that you may draw upon?
Charles Soule: Slott and Byrne are the arcs that I have in the back of my mind when I think about She-Hulk, but as you point out, many great writers have worked with her. More recently, Matt Fraction’s work on FF has been a true pleasure to read. Still, though, I’m going to try to do my own thing here – after all, as great as those runs were, I always think it’s fun to see new takes on characters (whether I’m writing them or not!)
Charles Soule: I have definite plans for Jen to meet up with a number of friends and foes from her past. I consider that to be one of the things that’s the most fun about working in a shared superhero universe – the fact that it’s shared. A trip to the grocery store could end up with She-Hulk helping Spider-Man fight Stilt-Man. She-Hulk has been closely tied to the Fantastic Four for years and years, and so I think it’s safe to say that we’ll see some of those folks showing up – although possibly not right away. We do get a pretty big MU appearance in the first issue, with more to come.
Andy Burns: How has it been working with artist Javier Pulido on the upcoming series?
Charles Soule: Javier is brilliant! His design sense is second to none – his pages always look incredibly unique. It’s such a treat to be able to think up slightly non-conventional storytelling techniques, knowing that he’ll end up exceeding whatever ideas I had in my head. Working with Javier was one of the big reasons I was excited about doing this book, and from what I’ve seen so far, I was right to be excited.
Andy Burns: She-Hulk is a lawyer and a super hero; you’re lawyer and writer – how are the character and her writer able to manage their time?
Charles Soule: With diligence and focus! It’s not always easy – lots of to-do lists, lots of just sitting down and getting the work done. I’m fortunate to be (I think) a fairly fast scripter, which helps a lot – but the real secret is that I LOVE writing these characters. It’s not work – it’s fun. That, actually, is a great word to describe She-Hulk in general, and my upcoming stories in particular. Can’t wait for people to see what it’s all about!
She-Hulk, written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Javier Pulido is out this February. Thanks to Charles for his time and to Chris D’Lando at Marvel for helping set this up