Posted by Dan Slott on 4/6/2008, 1:31 pm, in reply to "Re: Just more proof why She-Hulk will NEVER sell..."
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: It's more than many people want a version of
: She-Hulk who has never existed outside of
: their head... but yes, there never has been
: a definitive version of the character and
: it's too late for there to be one...
I don't think that was the point vanhelsin was making. He wasn't talking about a singular or definitive vision of the character. He was talking about how the character's fan-base has proven itself to be disjointed in what they want-- and can't seem to move beyond that to support the character with a unified front.
SPIDER-GIRL has a serious fan-base behind the character that will support the book with a unified front through thick and thin. So even though the book is never going to set the charts on fire, it has weathered tough times while other books have come and gone.
On the flipside, you can have an über-popular character like BATMAN-- who has gone through MANY iterations and takes (ranging from campy to pulp-like, from kid-friendly to mature-readers-only, from commercial to artsy, from fighting giant aliens & giant robots in the 50's to being the dark urban myth of the 90's.) But the ONE thing that has remained constant: the fans love of the concept of BATMAN.
There are certain elements about SHE-HULK that have remained true in each incarnation/take on the character: her obvious physical attributes, powers, sense of empowerment, etc. And yet fans love for those CORE ideas have not proven to be strong enough to overcome those same fans' VERY personal takes on the character.
The schisms between DIE-HARD-SHE-HULK fans-- what some fans DEMAND the character be like, and other attributes that they CONDEMN if they're present-- is too large a gap to cross.
Some of these fans rail on the internet how THAT 7ft. TALL GREEN WOMAN isn't "THEIR" SHE-HULK! NEVER! And when another writer makes another pass at the character a DIFFERENT set of fans make the SAME charges, that now THIS 7ft. TALL GREEN WOMAN isn't "THEIR" SHE-HULK!
Look, if BAT-FANS can get behind a Batman who fights aliens & giant robots-- and then, later, is getting his spine snapped by a steroid freak in a luchadora mask... If those fans can realize that it's still Bruce Wayne, still a guy in a Bat-Cape & Cowl, still a guy with a Bat-Cave, a Bat-Mobile, and a butler... Why can't SHE-HULK fans get behind the character whether she's a savage in a torn white dress, a member of the FF who likes sunbathing on the roof, a comedic fourth-wall-breaking fighter of lame super-villains, a lawyer for a super-law-firm, or a bounty hunter hangin' with a skrull?
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