The Sensational She-Hulk #19

History

By issue #19, John Byrne had departed the series he launched in 1989 after internal editorial conflicts, leaving the book in the hands of other creative teams during what became a transitional stretch. Writer Steve Gerber — the cult creator behind Howard the Duck — scripted 'Year Zero,' with pencils by Bryan Hitch (then early in his career) and inks by Jim Sanders III; editor Bobbie Chase oversaw the issue. The cover was provided by Dale Keown, who had been supplying distinctive covers for the series since issue #13. The story was almost certainly conceived as a response to the Batman marketing saturation of 1989–90, a phenomenon the Marvel wiki notes the issue directly criticizes.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Title of the story: 'Year Zero' (a deliberate echo of DC's 'Batman: Year One'), released with a cover date of September 1990 (on-sale July 3, 1990).
• First appearance of Nosferata (real name: Purple Hayes), a female Batman parody created by Steve Gerber and Bryan Hitch; her civilian name is itself a parody of Jimi Hendrix's song 'Purple Haze.'
• First appearance of Jack Serious (alter ego: Dr. John Cereus), the issue's primary villain and a stand-in for the Joker, who deploys a chemical agent that kills victims with a frown on their faces.
• Also introduces supporting characters Timothy Hayes, Blair Hayes, Freda (Nosferata's housekeeper/Alfred analog), and the fictional Massachusetts city of Visigoth with its 'Dorkham Asylum.'
• Writer: Steve Gerber; Penciller: Bryan Hitch; Inker: Jim Sanders III; Colorist: Glynis Oliver; Letterer: Jim Novak; Cover art: Dale Keown; Editor: Bobbie Chase.
• The Marvel Database explicitly notes the story is 'a parody of the origin of DC Comics' Batman' and 'highly critical of the advertising campaign used for the then-recent 1989 Batman film.'
• The issue is part one of a two-part arc concluded in Sensational She-Hulk #20.
• Reprinted in the French anthology Nova #168 (January 5, 1992, Semic S.A.) and later collected in the English-language She-Hulk Epic Collection Vol. 4: The Cosmic Squish Principle (Marvel, 2023).

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