“Planet She-Hulk” Debut Week: Interview with Stephanie Phillips
The new Marvel ongoing series!
We all know the famous Incredible Hulk run Hulk: Planet Hulk from writer Greg Pak and a team of incredible artists including Aaron Lopresti and Carlo Pagulayan. The famous run inspired the 2010 animated movie Planet Hulk and has led to multiple popular comic book spin-offs. It is also safe to say we also all know Bruce Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters who superheroes under the name She-Hulk, known for her witty humor and ability to break the fourth wall. Now Jennifer is trapped on the planet Sakaar in the new ongoing series from Marvel comics called Planet She-Hulk.
SAKAAR, PARTY OF ONE! SHE-HULK is back, and she’s... stuck on Sakaar?? Spinning out of Jonathan Hickman’s hit cosmic epic, IMPERIAL, Jennifer Walters made a promise to her cousin, HULK, to watch over the planet Sakaar and its people for a few days. But it’s been longer than a few days, and now She-Hulk is in charge of keeping the peace on a planet at war! But Jennifer is a VERY different Hulk than the one that once smashed Sakaar into submission... is she up for the task?
Starting with Imperial War: Planet She Hulk, Planet She-Hulk is from writer Stephanie Phillips, known for her creator-owned series Grim and Life, as well numerous Marvel series like Phoenix and Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider. She is joined by artist Aaron Kuder, known for his work on various titles from the big two including Ghost Rider and Action Comics, colorist Sonia Oback, known for series like Catwoman and X-Force, and The Amazing Spider-Man letterer Joe Caramagna.
The DeMonster had the honor to chat with Stephanie Phillips about the first issue of Planet She-Hulk, which debuted this week on November 5th. We talked all about the future of She-Hulk on Sakaar to Jennifer’s favorite musicians and TV Shows! This was a fun one!
What can we expect to see from She-Hulk in this new position trying to keep the peace on Sakaar in this politically fragile environment?
A lot of action! She’ll have plenty of people to punch… and also use her new giant sword against. This is very much an adventure and action story, but with a character that is out of place. Jen brings order and logic to a planet that thrives on chaos. I think that allows for a lot of humor but also a lot of heart as Jen navigates relationships with the new characters she’ll meet in our story.
What makes She-Hulk different from Hulk, especially in relation to the planet Sakaar?
Jen has no interest in ruling or really being on the planet beyond the 5 days Hulk asked her to stay and keep the peace. Jen is a successful attorney and she has a full life back on Earth. She will absolutely still smash things—she is a Hulk!—but she does it with a sense of logic and reason that is ultimately at odds with how Sakaar functions.
Working with IPs and established characters, what research went into bringing the Planet She-Hulk series to life—and how does it follow Imperial and Imperial War: Planet She-Hulk as well as relate to the original Planet Hulk run?
Jen being left on Sakaar by Hulk is a plot point in Imperial, so we’re spinning out of that moment from that storyline. I was already familiar with a lot of She-Hulk and I’m excited to bring in a lot of classic elements from the Bryne run, like fourth wall breaking. But I also did a lot of research outside of comics in order to really understand what makes this kind of adventure story compelling. There are elements of things like Game of Thrones, Witcher, and The Last Kingdom (my personal favorite) that we are bringing into the construction of New Sakaar and our cast of characters.
What is it like balancing She-Hulk’s famous humor and the serious setting of Sakaar?
I think this blend of humor and seriousness is close to how I interact with the world personally, so bringing those sensibilities into the story and allowing for that classic fourth wall breaking from Jen is just absolutely perfect for how I want to write her character. Of course, we see moments where that humor drops as Jen realizes how serious and dangerous the situation can really be the longer she’s on New Sakaar, and that’s something that Jen will have to reckon with.
What are your favorite aspects of writing the character She-Hulk and writing within a setting that isn’t Earth?
The world building with Aaron Kuder has been the most fun. We really get to create a world almost completely our own for Jen to play with. The rules are really just the ones we impose on this world, and that’s both freeing and terrifying at the same time.
What has it been like working with your creative team: Aaron Kuder, Sonia Oback, and Joe Caramagna?
I can’t say enough good things about all of them. Have you ever felt a moment in life where everything just feels like it’s clicking into place? This is one of those moments for me. From the character to the creative team, this project CLICKS. We are all clicking with one another, feeding off of each other, and building something collectively. We also have to throw editors Jordan White and Emerald Bensadoun into that as well because they have put so much trust into us to create this story, and I think that really shows.
What can you tease about the arc? Is there anything you’re particularly excited for fans to see?
There will be so many twists (hopefully unexpected ones!), so I think I’m excited to see readers react to all of that. I want to hear theories and what everyone thinks of different characters. It’s so wild that we have been working on this story for a while, and now we finally get to invite others onto the planet. But mostly I’m excited to say “hey, here’s this thing that I can’t possibly love any more than I do, I hope you love it too.” Comics aren’t created in a vacuum. There’s a team of us sitting here working on it, and when that team has this much fun and clicks like we do... I think something really special comes from that.
And ending with a fun question—while She-Hulk is trapped on the planet Sakaar, *hypothetically* What books, movies, shows, and music would be keeping Jennifer company while she’s away from home?
For music... Madonna, Chappell Roan, Missy Elliott, Doechii, Kesha, Charlie XCX, Salt-N-Pepa, Mary J. Blige... she doesn’t limit herself but there has to be a good beat. She’d bring something romantasy to read—a long series to keep her occupied. Maybe Fourth Wing? She’d probably want to re-binge New Girl or Fleabag for a TV show, and she’d bring her guilty pleasure movie Mamma Mia! (fight me... this movie has it all and if it’s not on your ‘I’m-stranded-on-a-distant-planet-by-my-cousin-Hulk’ movie list, you’re lying).
Planet She-Hulk #1 is now available wherever comics are sold! Follow Stephanie Phillips on socials on Instagram and TikTok!
Sami DeMonster is the founder of The DeMonster and is a freelance writer for DC.com. She is mostly known for being a content creator who passionately shares her favorite comics and stories with people online–with an affinity towards horror. She works with most major comic book publishers to help promote new titles and encourage people to read more comics!
