And,no - it's not just a cover bit.
Let's look at She-Hulk's comments as she's wrapping up her first adventure (vs. the Circus Of Crime, following in her cousin's massive footsteps)...
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| (Yeah, we did) |
The cover of the second issue continued to reference Bruce's old adventures, not only comics-aware but also comics-in-hand...
...unfortunately for Jennifer, it wasn't just the cover...
She not only knew she was in a comic book, but also was quite aware of the conventions of the form and of Marvel publishing history...
Knowing that she's in a comic also means knowing that entertaining the audience is primary. She'll even pause the story during a slow point to help keep the readers amused...
Okay. That might leave you a bit confused to the extreme definition of 'talking head panels' but there's a good reason. They've gone all Spock's Brain on her...
DeFalco was Head Honcho at the time, so you'd think his word would carry more weight, huh? Don't worry - they did make good sense of it all by the end.
Oh - "LOOK! The Blonde Phantom is here tonight!"
As you may remember from yesterday's post, Louise Grant's primary concern, even in her heroic identity of Blonde Phantom, was usually getting together with her boss, Mark Mason. Did she succeed and finally become Mrs. Mason?
Oh, yes...
Note that Louise mentions that she was the one who contacted Jennifer. That's because she was tired of existing in comics limbo. She managed to escape by becoming a supporting character in another book.
Yes, Louise is aware, too. And more experienced than Jennifer. After Jen starts to become infatuated with the D.A., Louise lets her in on some important information. Then she shows her how to use her awareness of their reality...
It being a comic, of course their lunch gets interrupted - by Stilt Man (a part of the book's declared policy of using only lame villains, y'know). She-Hulk ditches most of her expensive outfit to keep it from being ruined, and after the fight...
No, of course it wasn't Victor Von Doom when The Doctor arrived(nor was it The Doctor, for that matter) ...
Instead of Doctor Doom, Jen got Doctor Bong - an old Howard The Duck villain. She-Hulk is drawn (really, i didn't do that) into a television reality where she and the others are trapped at the channel changing control of Bong...
The bad Doctor has always been deranged, and Saturday morning cartoons have really set him off this time. Fortunately, Jen eventually realizes that they aren't really on tv...
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| (I did mention that he was a Howard The Duck villain, right?) |
The appearance of an old Howard The Duck villain also teases the future here. Before too long, Steve Gerber would wind up writing the book - including the next (un)appearance of Dr. Doom ... Victor's 5th cousin, Dr. Bob Doom, D.D.S. And he's got an evil implant plot to rival his cousin. Yeah, it's the next worse thing to sibling rivalry. Vic gets all the acclaim.
So, by her 5th issue she was mastering the manipulation of her reality as a comic character.
55 issues later...
And so it went...
Before we go -
Some may be wondering yet about the title from a couple days ago teasing today's post. It comes from a bit later in the run...
...there. All makes sense now, right?
page art by John Byrne & Bob Wiacek, Brian Hitch & Jim Sanders III from Sensational She-Hulk #s 1-5 & 19 (1989, 1990)
