|
ALIAS #6
Highly Recommended (9/10)
|
Marvel Comics/MAX Comics imprint
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Gaydos
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Stuart Moore
Price: $2.99 US/$4.75 CAN |
If you pick up an issue of Alias and the first few pages don't
grab you, it's probably because the book is just not for you. That's certainly
the case this issue, which starts with one of those patented Bendis
conversations, something that would look dull or self-indulgent in the hands of
most writers but comes across as one of the funniest and most honest bits of
characterization I've seen when Bendis writes it. I'm amazed at how Bendis and
Gaydos have created a book that is of the Marvel Universe, but not dependent of
it, sure to appeal to mature fans who still love the costume books as easily as
it does to crime fans who don't want a hint of super-hero spandex near their
books.
Easily the highlight of this
issue are the first nine pages, which feature two old friends getting together
and talking. They talk about life, love lives, jobs, mistakes of the past and
they do it all with a sense of self-deprecating humor. That these two women are
both super-heroines (one former, one current) is really immaterial, except that
it makes for a couple really funny in-jokes. It's the most upbeat we've really
seen our protagonist, Jessica Jones, and it's a nice indication that her entire
life isn't just a booze-soaked self-pitying nightmare.
Of course, that doesn't mean
her job isn't portrayed as a bit on the sleazy side. Jessica's current job,
involving gay porn chatrooms, reads like the kind of thing Bendis would have
come up with as a joke and then realized it could make a good story. In fact,
it's sort of establishing material, just like the non-paying husband from the
first issue, showing that Jessica's job, private investigator, is nowhere near
as glamorous as it sounds.
Along with spectacular
dialogue in the opening scene and some delightfully sleazy chat messages, both
of which set the scene quite well, Michael Gaydos continues to match Bendis's
tone and style with his artwork. His work reminds me of early Charlie Adlard and
Bendis himself, with a sort of rough and ugly edge that fits nicely into the
feel of the book, and with incredible storytelling skills. Slight changes in eye
or mouth movements, with close-ups on those indicators, give the reader a real
sense of what's going on in a character's head.
There's an interesting
balance going on in this book between being a "MAX" title and a "Marvel" title.
Fans in the know will get the ending more effectively, realizing the truth about
a key Marvel character, while others may scratch their heads having no idea who
Rick Jones is, but still getting the emotions and the basic idea of the ending.
Fans who know who Scott Lang is will see a joke coming, and that makes it more
funny, but even those who have no idea of his secret identity will get the
teasing references made to his codename. Basically, though the book is
accessible to anyone, it's got extra layers for the fans of the Marvel Universe.
This is not just a private eye book that could have been done as an independent,
at least not in the same way... Bendis has made it a book that belongs in the
Marvel Universe as well.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
