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ALIAS #3 (Best of the Week!)
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics/MAX Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Gaydos
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Comicraft
Editors: Stuart Moore & Nanci Dakesian
Price: $2.99 US/$4.50 CAN |
While the rest of Marvel's MAX Comics line hasn't lived up to the full potential of a mature-comics imprint, Alias, the flagship of the line, most definitely has. Bendis is developing a fascinating heroine, and the fascination stems from her flaws and fortitude. Along with Gaydos and Hollingsworth's dark, dripping art, it adds up to one of the publisher's best titles. And given the creative atmosphere that seems to flow throughout Marvel's efforts these days, that's saying something.
A New York detective questions Jessica Jones, trying to get to the bottom of her connection to the strangulation murder of a young woman. A friend looks out for her legal interests, though, sending a top-notch lawyer to her rescue. Though the cops are off her back, her main problem persists: she shot a video of one of the country's most guarded secrets. Jessica turns to a former friend from her spandex days for help.
Just as Pat Garrahy used to do in Powers (also written by Bendis), Hollginsworth bathes key scenes in a single color. The bright red of the interrogation scene brought an added edge to the exchange. Even more impressive is Gaydos's use of inky darkness to establish that atmosphere. Jessica is often depicted with black pools in the place of her eyes, and it conveys her desperation. However, it conveys something else as well. Her mind is racing, thinking of what she's going to do next, not what's happening at that given moment in the police station.
Bendis takes super-heroes into a different world. A world in which a woman with alien powers gets the flu, gets her period. The heroes are guided into that world by someone who lived on the edge of theirs, and it brings a more believable tone to the wonder we've enjoyed for so many years.
The plot is something we've seen before (a P.I. gets wrapped up in something way too big for her to handle), though perhaps not peppered with super-heroes. However, the plot, though entertaining, is not why I'm reading this book. Bendis has crafted a strong character study here, and with every issue, we get to see a different side of Jessica Jones. I look forward to getting to know her even better in the future.
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