Why I Love Alias!
Welcome to another edition of the Why I love comics column where I Eric Ratcliffe pick something either at random, just finished reading or just love as a fan to turn the spotlight on. This week we talk about another very special book that's very close to my fanboy heart and probably the best work Brian Michael Bendis ever did at Marvel.
By now a lot of New Avengers readers know who Jessica Jones is, her relationship with Luke Cage and how she went to school at one point with Peter Parker. But what people might not know is that Ms. Jones started in a Marvel Max book where the first word on the very first page of the first issue was "fuck". Marvel MAX is pretty much the R-rated comics division of Marvel and back in its earlier days it was headed towards giving people like Luke Cage, The Punisher and a few others the spotlight in miniseries or other things.
What's interesting about Alias is the fact that Jessica was completely created by Brian and Michael Gaydos, but via the MAX line she was introduced and placed heavily into the Marvel Universe. She was a self loathing, alcoholic, chain smoking private eye who earlier in her life was a super hero.
I say that this is Brian's best work at Marvel because, very simply put, Brian manages to have us pulled in with the very first scene and never lets go. Jess is confronted by a man who hired her who, instead of being happy to find out the truth about his wife, attempts to attack Jessica and is put through her glass window.
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Brian Michael Bendis' strongest asset has always been his dialogue and here it shined. Whether it was Jess talking to her best friend (Carol Danvers aka Ms. Marvel), to her on and off relationship to Luke Cage or the extremely powerful scene between Jess and the cop in the interrogation room, it was an examination of a woman who had truly lost something in herself. It was an examination on if you have something taken from you (In Jessica's case it was herself thanks to the man called the Purple Man) - if you can ever truly get it back. It was about the relationships you can have with those around you, questions of faith, humanity, humility and whether or not - if you truly had superpowers - if you'd use them wisely.
The supporting cast to the book was also a highlight. Luke Cage here is very much in character living an almost normal life, running a club and just being that slightly sarcastic great character. His relationship with Jessica is a rocky one where it feels a little like you don't know if they will get together or not by the very end. Carol Danvers is probably the most centered supporting character in the book as she does her best to facilitate all of Jessica's problems and help her find some sort of happiness.
Scott Lang fans should also be very happy to find out that he is in the book and is very much in character; Cassie gets a mention as Jess and Scott do their best to attempt to date. It's an awkward but cute relationship that never gets predictable throughout the book. Jess also comes face to face with Steve Rogers at one point to which I found was one of the most human ways he's ever been painted.
My personal favorite appearance, though, was the arc with Jessica Drew aka Spider -Woman. For those that don't know, when Brian first came to marvel he was pitched the idea to work on a Spider-Woman series, which is finally coming out a decade later, and is very different from that original pitch from what I heard. But Alias was similar to the original pitch where Jessica Drew was going to be a private investigator, which is what we got to see here from her. The two Jesses have a completely different style and have to work together to get to the bottom of a missing girl's case and eventually run into a very unlikely person who is trying to save the day himself. (I won't spoil that for you, dear reader, as I'd say it's one of the highlights of the run)
Brian took a few risks throughout the series as well but none really matched up with one of the strongest issues of the series. Issue #10 has J. Jonah Jameson hire Jessica to find out exactly who Spider-Man is. It features Jess, Ben Urich, Robbie and Jonah and has most of the dialogue coming from just the side of the page, having static drawings telling the story for the whole issue. JJJ's voice is perfect and right on and it's great to read through and find out exactly what Jessica does to the man who deserves what's coming to him. Ben Urich is also a treat here as he does nothing but help Jess in the long run.
At the time of Alias Brian was also writing both Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man, so there were a few things that came over from both series. Matt Murdock became Jess's lawyer thanks to a call from Luke and they had one of the more interesting relationships through the book. Mark Bagley, the amazing artist on Ultimate Spider-Man came over for a few flashback scenes to Jess' past and was a highlight in the book. It's not jarring at all going between his and Michael Gaydos' styles.
Speaking of Michael Gaydos the artwork to the series was incredible and really fit the noir/mystery/pulp setting that the book went for a lot. There are scenes that are supposed to be jarring and shocking that he hits on all cylinders and it's beautiful seeing the characters evolve and change through the series.
The series lasted 28 issues and had a one-shot What If where Brian told the story of What If Jessica Jones Joined the Avengers. It's one of my personal favorite What Ifs and reunited the original creative team to tell us the story. It's great to see who she might have ended up with instead of Luke and just how another happy ending could have gone.
The extras in the book feature a forward by Allan Heinberg, Brian's original pitch, some behind the scenes material, Michael Gaydos' sketchbook, an interview with Brian, a David Mack sketchbook and an introduction from Jeph Loeb from the first printing, as well as the last thing Brian wrote in the back of the last issue.
All in all, this is Brian's best work for Marvel and it's great to see Jessica in the main Marvel Universe with Luke and friends. She's becoming as strong as ever and it's great to see the character continue to evolve. The original creative team will apparently be reuniting in 2010 for another miniseries devoted to Ms. Jones-Cage and it should be interesting to see what they come up with this many years later. This is one that definitely belongs on anyone's bookshelf.
Well, that's it for this week, readers. Join us next week for another spotlight on another great book!
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Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching DVDs, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
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