ARTS& ENTERTAINMENT | Love You She-Hulk Vince Yim, OP Comic Book Guy After receiving a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner (better known as The Incredible Hulk), mild-mannered lawyer Jennifer Walters became a 7-foot- tall, gamma-powered Amazon with superhuman strength, invulnerability, and _ strong fighting ability. Now, as the sensa- tional She-Hulk, she continues to defend the law, both as a lawyer and as a super- » hero crime fighter. In the previous installment of She- Hulk, Jennifer Walters was involved in all sorts of wacky legal cases involving superhumans. In the last issue, the law offices of Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg, & Holliway were destroyed as her arch- enemy came seeking revenge, putting Ms Walters out of work. However, in the six months that have passed (both in real time and in the comic book), the law offices have since been rebuilt, allowing her to go back to work. Her first case is a bit of a doozy, though: it’s an old-fash- ioned murder trial. However, the defen- dant is claiming self-defense even though the victim was shot in the back. So, how do we explain this one? Easy: because of irregularities in time travel, the defendant learned that the plaintiff would murder him in the future. If this sounds confusing, don’t worry it’s all part of the fun. This is what earned the previous Se-Hulk series acclaim from such comic book authori- ties as Wizard magazine and The Fourth Rail. Simply put, She-Hu/k puts the funny back into funny books, with its self-paro- dying humour and razor sharp dialogue to complement the type of action you expect in a superhero comic. Dan Slott continues with the writing duties and crafts all sorts of contrived situations for our heroine. She-Hulk is probably one of the most self-aware comic books around. As a lawyer special- izing in superhuman law, her law firm actually cites Marvel comic books as legal documents. However, since the law office was previously destroyed, they decided to replace their entire library with trade paperbacks. This is amusing, partly because it relates to a cutrent con- troversy in the comic book industry (which appears to be moving away from the traditional comics into pricier compi- lation books), but also because it literally saves the life of a character later on. No legal stone is left unturned in this comic book, as they answer the ques- tions that some comic fans have been wondering for years, such as, who is Age | responsible when heroes and villains clash, causing millions of dollars in property damage. Indeed, the issue shows two supervillains using legal wran- gling and technicalities to get off of an illegal weapons charge. Juan Bobillo returns to penciling shores with this book. While his art is a bit of an acquired taste for some readers, he gives the book a very distinctive look. Providing a slick and clean art style, Bobillo still manages to pack a lot of detail into each panel, which will have you pouring over the pages. Easily one of the better comic books to come out in a while, it has good art- work, a compelling story, interesting characters and great dialogue—every- thing a comic book should be. She Hulk Vol. 2, No.1 “Many Happy Returns” Story by Dan Slott Art by Juan Bobillo and Marcelo Sosa Cover by Greg Horn $4.25 CDN Smith & Reeve at the Movies Wallace & Gromit in the Case of the Were-Rabbit Master. Wallace & Gromit Aardman animators brings their classic short-film char- acters to the big screen in a new adventure filmed entirely using stop motion claymation. This time, cum- bersome inventor Wallace and his faithful super-dog Gromit have their humane pest-removal business thrown into jeopardy when the town they protect is suddenly targeted by a rabbit of disturbing size and appetite. Spoooooky! Reeve: Where can I even start to say how much I love this film? Now I may be biased, as a big fan of the W&G shorts, but the only excuses for not loving this film are a history of massive head trauma, or a less than func- tional usage of the English language. Actually, strike that last one, as this film contains enough visual delight to keep your most devout European relatives howling in the aisles. Bien! As much as I loved Chicken Run, I always secretly wished a W&G movie would eventually happen. The wait was worth it. The laughs are fast and furious, the characters are brilliantly played, and the unique comedic style is well preserved. All the fantabulous inventions, physical brilliance, and cutesy character design is there to delight audiences old and new. The quality has only gone up as the Aardman folks have taken their decades of experience and combined it with a big budget to produce stellar though modest results. This film is hilarious from beginning to end with a wide variety of jokes ensuring everyone will be rolling in the aisles at one point or another. If Wallace’s charm- ing foolery doesn’t charm you, Gromit’s ever dying devotion expressed through expertly designed facial expressions will. Planes, underground car chases, well- timed lightning, and, of course, all manner of crazy contraptions fill out the film’s comedic scenes. There are even plenty of little adult jokes in there to help the big kids get through. Also, any film that subtly pro- motes humane treatment of animals and a balanced vegetable diet wins points with me. This was, hands down, the best family feature of the year, and possibly the best comedy. If you’re a fan you’ve probably already seen it, if you’re not, then get your butt out there! Smith: There was nothing about this movie that I didn’t like. Having been a fan of Wallace & Gromit for a long time, I was looking forward to this one. Nowadays, every animated movie is computer animated, and while that does produce some fine looking films, there is nothing like plasticine. Moulding tool and plaything for children everywhere, the stuff is apparently a powerful animation tool as well. As a result, the movie has its own unique look, and it’s a good one. The animation process was supposedly very tedious and daunting. The animators managed only three sec- onds of film per day and as a result, the movie took five years to complete, but it was well worth the wait. I haven't laughed that hard at a film for quite some time. It was smartly written and the visual jokes were the same. Even though it was made primarily for children, W&G manage to pack in a ton of grown-up jokes as well. The plot was remarkable, and not at all predictable. There is a twist towards the middle of the film that no one would have guessed (or at least that I didn’t guess). A rare occurrence in any film, let alone one aimed at children. As well as the amazing animation, the voice acting was incredible. With celebrities such as Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes providing voices, one is hard-pressed to find fault. This movie was a long time coming, and it was well worth the wait. I highly recommend it. On a scale of Davey and Goliath to Gumby, I give it a Chicken Run.