In this issue, Brian Michael Bendis explores the notion that Jessica is a regular person in the middle of an unusual world, but he also points out that in Jessica's background is also a thoroughly atypical event that sets her apart from Norman Rockwell's America. This is a strong character-driven piece that also pay tribute to the Silver Age of comics, and to the beginnings of Marvel Comics in the 1960s in particular. Gaydos demonstrates that his style is more flexible and versatile than we may have suspected as well.
While weird and wondrous things were transpiring all around her, Jessica Jones had a typical childhood. Her little brother annoyed the living crap out of her, and she was smitten with a boy at high school who didn't even know it. And while her parents bickered a bit, they were a loving family... until an accident tore them all apart. Jessica survived the incident, only to awaken to a life that was much different than the one she had come to know, and even take for granted.
Gaydos captures a Silver Age feel in his artwork, eliciting memories of Stev Ditko's classic Spider-Man work in particular. I'm surprised at how well he's able to capture the feel of yesteryear while still maintaining his own dark, realistic leanings in the artwork. I'm also reminded of the styles of such artists as Mike (Madman) Allred and Daniel (Ghost World) Clowes here. I also love how he demonstrates how pivotal and traumatic moment Jessica experiences through the seemingly physical transformation she goes through as a result. One can see that her innocence was one of the casualties of the highway incident.
The teenage Jessica we meet in the first half of the book takes us back to a more innocent time in comics, but she also represents a universal quality of simply being ordinary. There's nothing particularly unique about her, and amid the fantastic events unfolding right under her nose, it makes for an interesting contrast. Later, Jessica becomes quite unique, but it's not the result of radiation exposure or some other power-inducing event. It's her sadness and isolation that set her apart. Her tragedy defines her here, and while it's more difficult to identify with her, it's easy to sympathize.
Bendis both pays tribute to a simpler time in comics here while at the same time, pointing out some of the silliness in the conventions of coincidence that serve as a foundation of super-hero storytelling. This issue is unlike any other in the series thus far, and the change of pace adds a fresh feel to this already strong title.
