by Randy Lander

ALIAS #3 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/$4.50 CAN A friend recently joked that Bendis should do "interrogation month" across all of his comics. Then we both realized that would probably be a pretty good month of comics, as Bendis proves once again with this issue of Alias that he can really write a good interrogation sequence. In the previous issues, Jessica Jones has dealt with self-esteem problems and a seeming conspiracy, in this issue she comes up against a detective who wants to pin a murder on her while hero-worshipping at the same time, and it makes for some gripping (and often very funny) reading. In addition, the issue pushes forward the story of Jones's case, as well as establishing her less-than-perfect work as a super-heroine. It may be because dialogue is his strong suit, but for some reason, Bendis is a natural when it comes to the back-and-forth of an interrogation room. Even more impressive is that despite having seen Bendis write several of these types of scenes, there's always something different in each one. This issue has the usual caustic wit on both sides, but there's also a nice undercurrent of fear in Jessica, conveyed very effectively through Gaydos's artwork. As a bonus, the detective's questions help explain some of Jessica's powers to the readers. That's really what the book is about. The case that Jessica is on, and indeed every interaction she has, are all aimed at fleshing out her character. Her interaction with Carol this issue lets us see that she doesn't deal well with others, and that she's made more than one mistake in her past. Bendis is making good use of his Marvel guest stars, whether it's showing struggling super-heroine Carol Danvers alongside Jessica or using Matt Murdock as a crusading lawyer who comes to her rescue. While Gaydos isn't as accomplished on those guest stars as he is on Jessica (Carol looks rather ugly, honestly), his work generally continues to impress. The dingy look of the interrogation room gives way to a brightly-lit city street or apartment, and the characters' expressions all speak volumes. The world that Jessica inhabits now is one of dirty reality, rather than shining super-heroics, and Gaydos goes a long way toward conveying that. Although I'm fascinated by the character of Jessica Jones without any plot to hang onto, Bendis is also giving us an interesting mystery here. Is there a Presidential candidate trapping Jessica and Captain America in some kind of conspiracy, or is she just dreaming up paranoid fantasies? Honestly, what we know about the character makes it such that it could go either way, and I'm eager to see which way the story goes. Email Randy Lander comments about this review.