by Brian Bendis and Michael Gaydos (covers by David Mack)
With a running title in Ultimate Spider-Man, Brian Bendis was a hot ticket item at Marvel, and he followed that up with starting the Marvel MAX Imprint in 2001. His was probably the first to utter the word "Fuck" in a Marvel comic, and there's a letter from Jeph Loeb introducing it as such.
Jessica Jones: Alias is very much the brainchild of Bendis and Gaydos, and it presents to you the intersection between crime noir that Bendis is so fond of, and the Marvel Universe. Jessica Jones is a private investigator who runs her business in Manhattan, running odd jobs and tracking people down that people hire her to.
There are two stories in this paperback: Issues 1-5 revolve around a tape that Jessica's recorded. . . of Captain America's affair! And Issues 6-9 collect a story about Rick Jones, and why he is missing.
There's the ever-present "Bendis-speak," fast back-and-forth lines of dialolgue that keep the pace moving, and the cliffhangers keep you turning the page, making it a great binge-read for a rainy day. While Gaydos rarely has dynamic action scenes to draw, he nails the gritty, dirty tone that you'd expect from a crime noir comic. It's as if you have this surface layer, where life is bright and happy, and when you lift it you see what's really going on. I do have qualms with Gaydos's cut-and-paste style, and the guy is awful at emotes -- just look at this panel on the very first page --
Does that look like a guy who's just learned that his wife is cheating on him? Certainly not to me, but it allowed Gaydos to keep up a monthly comic for 28 issues, so that comes appreciated. Varied layouts help you view different scenes in different ways, so you never do get tired of reading those word bubbles.
The first story turns out to be a wide-scale political conspiracy, more than you think, and then the second story is almost a non-story. I'm not sure how I would feel had I picked it up serially, but the more I think about it, the smarter I realize it is. Sometimes the easiest answer is there all along, and in this second story, that's exactly what Jessica finds out. And she moves on. Together these two work as a superb introduction to the life of Jessica Jones, and I'm excited to read more.
At the end of issue 5, Steve Rogers talks to her about why she didn't give up the tape:
And I find that to be the thesis statement of the comic book. In the Marvel Universe, there are good guys and there are bad guys. But in the Alias-verse, there are just people. Some of them do good things, some of them do bad things. Most of them do both. In this story, Steve Rogers had an affair. But he also defends the rights of Americans as the Sentinel of Liberty, Captain America.
BONUS PAGE:
Check out this "splash" page from issue 1 (2?):
Jess has just recorded the video, and is pondering what to do with it. She's got it in the microwave and is thinking about pressing the button. The thought boxes help you stretch out the moment, and the tension of will-she-won't-she, while the paneling makes you stop and pause between each thought, with the final silent panel lingering on the button. Smart!
Read more Alias:
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