It's Been a Long Day Without You, My FriendWritten By: Kate Leth
Art By: Brittney Williams
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 20, 2016
Publisher: Marvel
*NON-SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM*
You know I've been excited and dreading reviewing this issue. On the one hand, I love this series, so any time I can write about it is a positive for me. On the other hand… Civil War II happened. What does that mean you ask? Well at the beginning of Civil War II, The Ultimates led an attack on Thanos. As expected, going up against the Mad Titan led to at least one casualty, War Machine, and one severe injury. That severely injured hero? She-Hulk. Why is that such a big deal? Well if you haven't read this series, she holds a very big part in Patsy Walker's life as her best friend... Yep, I expect a hard hit in the feels by the end of this. Let's dive in and see how Patsy will cope...
We open with Patsy waking up in the middle of the night, sensing that Jen (She-Hulk) is in trouble. She quickly texts Ms. America of the Ultimates to come by, and she explains that Jen is now in a coma and is being treated at the Triskelion after the attack on Thanos. America takes Patsy to see Jen and oh boy does it hit you hard seeing Patsy's reaction. In the span of 2 pages, she goes from determined to see her friend to fear of losing her and ending up at just depression as she is left alone at Jen's bedside. I nearly cried myself when I got to that scene, and it looks fantastic with Brittany Williams' art. A doctor comes in shortly after and tells her that while there can't be any more visitations, the Triskelion will gladly contact her with updates.
The next morning Patsy calls in her friends, including Angie and Hei Hei from the 2014 She-Hulk series and Howard the Duck, to give them the update on what has happened. Some are angry, some are sad, some have hope she'll pull through, but that's when Patsy has them agree to help out Jen's Law Firm until she returns by helping with cases. They go out and drink to their friend, remembering the good times... Though for Patsy , it goes a lot deeper than that. She flashes back to the times when they met up after a while, how Jen got her a job, and basically pulled her out of the slump that she was in. The flashback itself is a great way to solidify the kind of relationship they had. They were silly, they had each other's backs, they fought over ridiculous things, they got 'married' to the unconquerable pizza etc. It just shows that this is the relationship they had, but we didn't get to see as much due to the first story arc.
Soon after snapping out of the flashback Patsy and Jen's landlord, Sharon, explains to Patsy that with Jem now in a coma, that'll be one less person paying rent and she needs room to rent out or else the building will get shut down. She decides that until Jen wakes up and comes home, Patsy will take her office.
We end the issue with Patsy moving into her new office with the help of the ex-henchmen of Cassiolena and Jubilee of the X-Men, who might take Jen's place as Patsy's Super-friend, while explaining to Sharon that she does not want to be a part of this second Civil War, especially without her best friend. Patsy also explains that she feels a little bit uncomfortable staying in the office, but Sharon reassures her that all of her friends will be there to help her through this.
Bits and Pieces:
If you thought Patsy Walker a.k.a. Hellcat was just a goofy fun ride, this issue shows that it can go to some pretty sad places… And I love the book for it. While there are a few laughs to be had, this story revolves around the shock waves of Civil War's affect those not involved, and how one copes with the loss of their best friend. The art is as great as usual, but the page where Patsy is at She-Hulk's bedside is very quiet and very powerful. I highly recommend this issue.
9.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment