Logan Dalton, Author at Graphic Policy

Author Archives: Logan Dalton

TV Review: Broad City S3E04 “Rat Pack”

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Logan Dalton

Broad City airs Wednesdays at 10 PM EST on Comedy Central.

On this week’s Broad City, Ilana’s hustle game returns as she and her roommate Jaime (played with an extra shot of confidence by Arturo Castro) try to make up the $400 they paid an exterminator to take out a rat in their apartment. There’s a nice play on the boutique of tasty fruit, popcorn, and fancy gift baskets Harry and David with “Larry and David”, and this bountiful basket is the foundation of a house party with a $10 cover charge and a side of every piece of marijuana that Ilana owns in the house. And on Abbi’s side of things, she goes to her first Soulstice trainer party where she is the only one not wearing fitness attire, has one too many alcoholic kombuchas, kisses fellow trainer Trey, and then realizes she needs to meet more.

As it is with basically every episode of Broad City, the cold open is a showcase for some visual panache. This time, director Ryan McFaul goes the handheld camera route and shoots Ilana’s apartment from the rat’s point of view with frantic camera movement and a grainy filter before settling on the great shot of it (later her) munching on Ilana’s latest blunt as she finally wakes up and yells, “Weed thief!” This wild and wacky directing contrasts with the staid, straightforward tone of the exterminator asking for the money and keeping a straight face even as Jaime and Ilana imitate puppy dogs. But McFaul breaks out some style again in a trap music-infused montage of Ilana’s various weed stashes ranging from the inside of a bell pepper to a Russian nesting doll and finally her own curly hair that shows that Broad City can do silent visual comedy as well as it does verbal humor or slapstick.

The presence and possibility of filthy rodents popping up in “Rat Pack” a great nervous tension, but writer Jen Statsky decides to end their saga in a life affirming, drawing parallels with the show’s characters, and still pretty gross moment with the rat having little rat babies snuggled by Ilana. This tender, yet wildly hilarious moment is a callback to Ilana saying earlier that Lincoln, Jaime, and Abbi are her only friends. She might not have a big friend group, but loves the ones she has dearly and involves them in all matter of hijinks.

Unfortunately, Abbi joining Tinder felt a little underdeveloped, especially after the great sight gag earlier in the episode of her wearing a cute, stylish dress to a “work party”, which was a bunch of Soulstice trainers wearing black tanktops and making “that’s what she said” jokes like The Office was still airing. There is the relatable feeling of not being able to find people outside of work and close friends to make out with, but there is so much untapped satirical and comedic fodder left on the table with her dates being the typical old guy, Neo-Nazi, and guy who looks too much like his profile. Abbi not knowing how to swipe left is pretty great though.

On the positive side, this is the first episode since “Citizen Ship” that I enjoyed the character of Jaime as Statsky fills him out a little bit revealing that he only recently came out to his parents (who still live in Guatemala) a few months ago, who haven’t spoken to him since. However, a Larry and David basket with a literal olive branch really perks up his mood, and he exudes confidence by rearranging Ilana’s and his apartment while playing the perfect host to Lincoln’s (Hannibal Burress) Food Network personality in training, Spider-Man quoting head chef. He even gets some romantic sparks towards the end of the episode and gets to firmly, yet kindly point out to Ilana that her famous “Latina” earrings are cultural appropriation as the credits roll. It’s a solid guest performance, and he doesn’t steal the spotlight from Glazer’s frenzied hunt for the rat in the apartment while wearing a cat costume, randomly dancing, and offering opinions on the electronica artist Ratatat and Frank Sinatra and making sure the party doesn’t scatter.

An undercooked online dating subplot aside, “Rat Pack” showcases both Glazer and Ilana at her best: when she’s making money in creative ways even if she doesn’t go to quite the lengths that she did in Broad City‘s first episode where she cleaned a diaper wearing Fred Armisen’s apartment in her underwear to get Lil Wayne tickets.

Rating: 8.1

Television

Review: New Romancer #4

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Logan Dalton

The sides have been set, and the war for love rages on in New Romancer #4 as Lexy comes to terms with her genetically engineered past while dodging the forces of both Casanova and Mata Hari, who wants to resurrect her lover Marcel’s mind in Lord Byron’s mind. And the head of Incubator, who can’t feel emotions, wants to use Lord Byron’s grasp over human emotional topology to perfect artificial intelligence. Peter Milligan’s plot is pretty ambitious, and he is spinning a lot of plates, but to his credit, doesn’t drop them all thanks to his handle on Lord Byron’s occasionally blunt, occasionally poetic voice and by continuing to make Lexy the emotional crux of the story. However, sometimes she gets drowned out by cuts to storylines, including a nearly creepy flashback where it’s insinuated that her dad genetically engineered The story rushes so quickly that is hard to see exactly where they stand though.

Colorist Brian Miller excels at showing a romantic evening gone bad as the soft pinks around Lord Byron and Lexy at their first date is replaced with the gross green of a fart cloud because Byron hasn’t eaten in centuries. Then, he goes sepia toned for a flashback showing Lexy’s mom berating her husband for being sexist and not letting her go on a scientific expedition to study lightning during a storm. (And another great Frankenstein parallel from Milligan and company.) Brett Parson’s art is filled with slaps, pistol whipping, flashes of lightning, and almost kisses and Miller continues to help his pencils and inks crackle with energy. A lot of comedy in New Romancer hinges on quick reversals, and Parson is definitely game for that switching from Byron mooning over the head of Incubator before she whips out her gun with a side of speed lines. And he gives Byron a super hilarious outfit towards end of the issue

The chase scenes, the flashback with Lexy and her family, and even Byron’s attempts to hit on the Incubator head all pale compared to the opening of New Romancer #4 when Lexy suddenly is less sure she is in love with Byron. He sees women as inferior to men, says all his poems are a fake persona, and his idea of a romantic one-liner is asking Lexy if she wants to “rut”. Plus his weight fluctuates because historically Lord Byron had weight issues and exercised in seven shirts to shed pounds. He might actually be a gross, creepy person, and Lexy starts to have second thoughts about pursuing a romance with him that all gets complicated by the last few pages of the issue. And in its own cartoonish, over-the-top way, Milligan and Parson give readers a mix of the old “don’t meet your heroes” idea with the sad fact that sometimes people come off better online (or on online dating sites) than in person with their awkwardness and odors. Also, obsessing over and idealizing a human being can lead to bad consequences.

Peter Milligan burns through a lot of plot in New Romancer #4 as Lexy, Byron, her dad, and crew at New Romancer are beset on all sides by the CEO of Incubator, Mata Hari, and Casanova, who basically just wants to watch the world burn. He starts to lay the road for the first arc’s endgame, but everything is very much in the air. This is definitely a comic that I read for the flair of the character’s voices, the adorableness and unfortunate optimism of its protagonist, Lexy, and the energy and humor of Brett Parson’s art rather than its overarching storyline.

Story: Peter Milligan Art: Brett Parson Colors: Brian Miller
Story: 6.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.3 Recommendation: Read

Zootopia Deconstructs Beast Fables, Ancient and Modern

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Logan Dalton

*Spoiler alert for the entire Zootopia film*

The latest Disney animated film Zootopia wowed both audiences and critics grossing $75.1 million domestically, which is the biggest opening weekend for a non-Pixar Disney animated film, and getting 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film features anthropomorphic animals (Mostly mammals.) living in a society, not unlike contemporary American society with complex gender, class, and race divisions. It follows the first bunny police officer Judy Hopps (voiced by Once Upon A Time‘s Ginnifer Goodwin) as she moves from the rural Bunny Burrows to Zootopia and investigates a missing animal case with the help of fox con man and self-proclaimed hustler Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman). Along the way, she becomes aware of the problems, corruption, and overall complicated nature of living in a diverse society. The plot of the film is a crime thriller meets mystery with a dash of comedy and satire, and there are nods and homages to great crime stories, like Breaking Bad and The Godfather along with the slapstick and pitfalls of animated films. However, throughout the film, Zootopia is a deconstruction of the classic beast fable genre, which uses animals and their often stereotypical personalities to teach a moral lesson.

Reynard the Fox seducing the other animals.

Beast fables are simple and usually straightforward tales that use animals to model ethics. For example, in the “The Nun’s Priest Tale“ found in Geoffrey Chaucer‘s Canterbury Tales, the fox Reynard symbolizes deception and evil while the doomed rooster protagonist Chanticleer symbolizes pride and its downfall. It’s a pithy, memorable tale with the lesson of not listening to flattery. But beneath the moral instruction and broad animal personalities, there is usually something nefarious dealing with the ideological conflicts or fears of the time period. In the 14th century, the Roman Catholic Church used the popular Reynard character to attack the English Lollard preachers, who believed that the common people should read and hear the Bible in their own language and not Latin. Later, in 1937, there was an anti-Semitic Dutch children’s story called Of Reynaert the Fox that was used as Nazi propaganda on the eve of World War II to show the lawlessness of Jewish people and socialists.

This story (and later animated film) is one of many that shows the power of children’s stories featuring talking and dressed animals to create social and racial divisions. Disney itself isn’t exempt from this with Dumbo (1940) featuring an actual character named Jim Crow, the singing Siamese cats in Lady in the Tramp (1955), and all of the Song of the South (1946), which has never been released on video or DVD, but is still featured as part of the Disney theme parks’ Splash Mountain ride. Basically, people attribute different personality qualities to animals that may have nothing to do with their actual nature, biological or otherwise, and apply them to people to demonize them and make them less than human. This happens in Zootopia, a world where predators and prey supposedly live in harmony, but Judy’s parents give her repellent and a taser specifically made for foxes before she goes off to the big city. The opening of the film shows a young Judy along with a tiger cub talking about how they have moved on from this primal state, but deeply engrained racist attitudes still persist even in a highly developed society, like Zootopia.

But, back to the fox. In many cultures, the fox symbolizes treachery. “Outfox” means to deceive someone, the German WWII general Erwin Rommel was nicknamed the “Desert Fox” because he confused Allied forces with his maneuvers in North Africa, and in Japanese folklore, the kitsune is a symbol of mischief. However, in the 1973 Disney animated classic Robin Hood, the title hero was a fox because of Robin Hood’s guerilla tactics to evade the forces of usurper Prince John while stealing the government’s money and giving it to the poor. Robin Hood may not obey the law, but he has the good of ordinary people in mind in his actions. The multiple writers of Zootopia apply this more nuanced characterization to Nick Wilde, the film’s deuteragonist while showing the pitfalls of profiling and stereotyping people through the animal metaphor. Sure, Nick’s a skilled con man, but he only does this job because as a child, some non-predator children beat and muzzled him when he wanted to become a Zootopia Scout. He felt trapped by the stereotype, and one of the most emotional parts of the film is young Nick crying with his muzzle beside him.

The writers of Zootopia present audiences with the stereotypes of foxes being crafty and deceitful with Nick Wilde pulling a con with his partner Finnick (a fennec fox), who pretends to be his little baby as he gets ice cream from a species-ist elephant and then mass produces them as popsicles to sell to lemming bankers in one of the film’s funniest jokes. It’s a clever sequence and sets up Nick’s character as a trickster in the beast fable tradition. Then, the writers subvert it by making him Judy’s partner as they look for a missing otter and end up being drawn into a vast conspiracy featuring gangsters, the mayor, and drugs that make Zootopia’s predators feral. Judy goes from forcing Nick to help her, or she’ll turn him in for tax evasion to actually becoming friends with him. But this “color blind” utopia idea is short lived once Judy tells the press that predators have a “biological” reason to attack prey, and Nick is hurt by her discrimination. This leads to a citywide crackdown on predators from the corrupt vice mayor Bellwether (voiced by former SNL cast member Jenny Slate), who wants to rule Zootopia by uniting the 90% of non-predators in fear against the 10% predators. It’s similar to the racially charged rhetoric that is marking Donald Trump’s Republican presidential campaign, but Bellwether has a meeker exterior.

The biggest turning point in Zootopia‘s deconstruction of the beast fables comes in a sequence where a savage Nick is chasing Judy around in a natural history diorama featuring deer that is an homage to the Disney classic Bambi. Bellwether (and some of the audience by extension) thinks that Nick is actually savage, and that she can spin a story of a predator killing a hero cop and stir up even more discrimination. But it is all a clever ruse as Nick has replaced the drug in Bellwether’s gun with harmless blueberries from Judy’s parents’ farm. This scene shows the foolishness of judging someone based on their species and by extension, their skin color, sexuality, religion, or gender as Zootopia‘s writers put the stereotypes of the classic beast fables out to pasture in a beautiful musical number by Gazelle (voiced by Shakira), who is a pop star activist, and has tiger backup dancers symbolizing equality. But even though the ending is happy, there is still discrimination going on in Zootopia, and even organized crime from multiple gangs featuring wolves and polar bears that still control whole territories of the city. (Judy and Nick get a lot of help from the polar bear gang led by a shrew named Mr. Big, who is like the animal reincarnation of Vito Corleone.) Just like in our world, there is plenty of work to be done to end racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination.

Zootopia subverts the familiar stereotypes of beast fables and their successors, like the Redwall books where mice are good and animals like ferrets, rats, and weasels are evil simply because they are a certain species, and uses its animal characters to show a more nuanced view of the world. People aren’t bad or have a certain personality because they are a certain ethnicity or religion. Judy might be a bunny, but she’s not dumb. Nick is a fox, but he’s not evil. Instead of being like Dumbo or previous Disney cartoons and using animals to propagate racial stereotypes, Zootopia tears them down and even uses storytelling devices like the bait and switch with the berries and drug to get viewers to examine their own prejudices. It is also an entertaining buddy mystery comedy along the way.

Feeling the Pulse #2-3

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Logan Dalton

Feeling the Pulse is a weekly issue by issue look at the follow-up series to Alias featuring Jessica Jones and a team of reporters at the Daily Bugle, who investigate and report on superhero related stories.

In this installment of Feeling the Pulse, I will be covering The Pulse #2-3 (2004) written by Brian Michael Bendis, penciled by Mark Bagley, inked by Scott Hanna, and colored by Frank D’Armata, Brian Reber, and Pete Pantazis.

In The Pulse #2-3, writer Brian Michael Bendis and artists Mark Bagley and Scott Hanna abandon the whole half-assed murder mystery angle to tell the story of the Daily Bugle trying to expose Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin. It’s high concept and definitely a tough story to break, but is definitely the kind of hard hitting journalism that J. Jonah Jameson wants in The Pulse section of the Daily Bugle. Something that would usually be a subplot in a Spider-Man or Daredevil comic (or TV show) ends up being the main plot of The Pulse as up and coming reporter Kat Farrell, teams up with supposedly long in the tooth Ben Urich, and Jessica Jones to prove Norman Osborn is the Green Goblin after he killed the young Daily Bugle writer Terri Kidder.

The Pulse #2 is the kind of super focused character study that Bendis excels at as he and Bagley turn a woman, who was just a body at the end of The Pulse #1 into a flesh and blood human being with passions and weaknesses. The issue’s protagonist is Terri Kidder, a new reporter at the Daily Bugle, who transferred from a “major metropolitan newspaper”. (Perhaps The Daily Planet if sharing the first name and surname of two actors, who have played Lois Lane, is any clue.) She is trouble finding her place at a paper where the publisher is up in everyone’s business and gets laughed out of meeting when her first article pitch in a couple weeks is a puff piece on The Avengers. However, this lights a fire under her, and after talking with her friend, who is an Oscorp employee, she decides to interview Norman Osborn about multiple people at Oscorp, who have gone missing. She gets an interview with Osborn and plays to his pride first before pivoting and asking about the people. The issue ends with him strangling her to death, transforming into the Green Goblin, and killing her.

We finally catch up to the present day in The Pulse #3 as Robbie Robertson gives a big, motivational speech that wouldn’t be out of place in Newsroom, The West Wing, or hell even Friday Night Lights about the Daily Bugle having the best, most connected and giving Terri’s family a clear answer about why their daughter is dead. He puts Ben Urich, Kat Farrell, and The Pulse on this story/case. After showing a short tiff between Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, we get to see Ben and Kat in action and the difference in their reporting styles. Ben has a lot of skeletons in his closets from past editorials and gets told off by a NYPD homicide detective when he says he wants to help with the case. On the other hand, Kat makes friends easily and gets all the details about Terri’s death from her medical examiner buddy, who is on his coffee/look at Iron Man break. Along with Jessica, they put their heads together and think about flying superheroes/villains, who may have dropped Terri in the lake. The issue ends with Ben being a tenacious, dogged reporter and digging in Teri’s desk (aka an active crime scene), finding a recording of a phone conversation with her friend at Oscorp, making the connection to the Green Goblin, and calling Peter Parker. Because a Spider-Man cameo is always great for sales.

Even if the exposé of Norman Osborn is barely starting to pick up steam three issues in, The Pulse #2 stands alone as a “day in the life” type story about an ordinary journalist in the Marvel Universe, which happens to end with her getting dropped into a lake by the Green Goblin. This is a dangerous place to hold a job because the corporation that gives you a nice pension package and healthcare could be run by an insane supervillain. Before you try to go after a powerful billionaire, you should probably be able to call Spider-Man, Daredevil, or another superhero for backup But Terri is just an intrepid reporter, doesn’t have any of these connections and ends up fish food.

However, Bendis gives Terri a full character arc in The Pulse #2 as he and Bagley use a kind of “hypercompression” and the “illustrated play technique” that was used in Alias #10 to show how much of a damn chatterbox J. Jonah Jameson was. There is text off to the side showing how stressed out Terri is at the Daily Bugle while Bagley draws yet another full page cutaway diagram to show the bustling newsroom. Bendis’ writing also reveals her motivation for working for the Bugle: she wants to be part of every day people’s conversation by writing for a tabloid newspaper. (And once and for all, Bendis through Teri dispels the idea that the Daily Bugle is the Marvel Universe equivalent of the Daily Mail because the tabloid is the form and not the content in this case.) And this stress combined with J. Jonah Jameson’s insults propels her onto a deadly path, including an interview and death at the hands of Norman Osborn.

Bendis and Bagley are definitely on the same page when Osborn goes loony. Terri and Norman’s encounter just starts as a usual talking heads scene with a decent amount of panels as he adjusts his suit while she lobs softball questions. But when she asks about the missing people, something snaps, and Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin even before he puts on the Halloween costume. Bagley’s layout turns into a strict eight and then six panel grid, and he and Hanna progressively give Osborn more wrinkles in his face while colorists Frank D’Armata and Brian Reber give his eyes a full green color that they previously hinted at in the hue of his chair. The ever increasing close-up is a successful device at showing Terri’s horror and surprise and reminds readers that Green Goblin isn’t a cheesy villain, but a psychopath, who kills for kicks.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, the warm chemistry that they shared has mostly left the building in The Pulse #3. Neither character appears in The Pulse #2, and they share a short conversation in issue three, which is mostly contradictions and arguing for the sake of arguing. And, of course, Jessica cries because she’s pregnant while Luke sits and acts stoically. They do get one genuine spark as Jessica lands a great one-liner about hiring a guy to tell Luke he’s the “mutha&*%in’ best” superhero as a random Luke Cage fan wanders by and gives him a high five. The conclusion of their conversation isn’t half bad either as Jessica talks about hating her body, and Luke just gives her hug and kiss. Some interesting ideas are thrown about Luke not liking Jameson or the fact that he’s an obscure superhero, but they don’t really come into play. Basically, Luke and Jessica’s arc is stupid fight, not the best characterization of a pregnant woman, and then a kiss and makeup. They definitely both play second fiddle to the Daily Bugle reporters so far.

And we get to see Kat Farrell and Ben Urich’s journalistic process and philosophy in The Pulse #3 as they try to get to the truth in different ways. Kat doesn’t hate superheroes, but she knows her editor does and isn’t a big fan of both Terri’s piece about the Avengers as well as Ben withholding his knowledge about Daredevil’s secret identity. Therefore, she is more in-line with usual, non-fantastic journalistic practices, like having a source in the police station, similar to Terri, who has a friend that works at Oscorp. Their conversation is the kind of upbeat banter found in the good police procedurals and connects the plot dots a lot quicker than Urich mouthing off to an NYPD detective.

For some reason, Bendis gives her some insane Buffy-speak (“Did the guy have the super duper? Was he whacky on the junk?”) maybe to show that she is younger than Ben even though it’s impossible to tell her age relative to Jessica or anyone because again Bagley draws adult women like teenagers with slightly different fashion and an extra line or two from his inker Hanna. Ben Urich is the aging loose cannon to Kat’s fresh faced, company woman, and it shows in his not so friendly chat with Police Detective Gans, who has turned Terri’s desk into a crime scene. Bendis’ dialogue really sings when it’s used combatively, and the detective and Ben’s sniping shows the often antagonistic relationship between the police force and press of a major city. However, it’s his connection with Peter Parker that could be their only chance at exposing Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin and simultaneously providing a successful first story for The Pulse.

The Pulse #2-3 is trying to tell a non-superhero story in a superhero universe, and it should be commended for that even if it’s not as groundbreaking, visually interesting, or as nuanced as its “mother” series Alias. It might have Spider-Man on the cover, but it’s really about ordinary journalists trying to break stories and find the truth in an extraordinary world.

TV Review: Broad City S3E03 “Game Over”

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Logan Dalton

Broad City airs at 10 PM EST on Comedy Central.

In this week’s Broad City episode titled “Game Over”, writers (and stars) Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson turns their attention to a long running plot thread, which is how the hell has Ilana not lost her job at Deals Deals Deals. (A Groupon/LivingSocial knockoff.) It also follows Abbi’s first days as a trainer as she participates in the Soulstice Games and takes them way too seriously. Ilana finally loses her job once an investor (played with a nice blend of professionalism and silliness from Vanessa Williams) has the bright idea to give her the company’s flagging Twitter once Ilana spills out a string of early 2000s Internet minutia and is simultaneously sexually attracted to and inspired by her pant suit outfit that she got on sale for 70% from TJ Maxx. (Add “Maxxinista” to a long list of Ilana nicknames.) Of course, this “promotion” goes terribly as Ilana’s lack of a filter doesn’t work well with a corporate Twitter account, and she has to leave the company. But her firing does give director Lucia Aniello a chance to pay homage to the closing song of Sister Act 2 in a cleverly choreographed dance number to “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee” complete with colorful dissolve cuts and cameo from Whoopi Goldberg herself in character as Sister Clarence.

“Game Over” lets Ilana finally get some consequences for her horrible job performance at Deals Deals Deals while still being funny and not painting her former boss Derek (played meekly by Chris Gethard) and co-workers as one note villains. Even the man bun sporting “White Guy #7” and “Adult Braces” (formerly “Only Black Guy”) get a moment in the sun during the musical number that immediately starts once Ilana exits the building. Glazer’s performance as Ilana has a raw comic energy, and she sells the most outlandish outfits, including a puppy hoodie paired with red markers on her midriff to look like she’s wearing a human hoodie, but this energy can have a negative effect on the people around her, especially her deskmate Nicole, who is the queen of the shifty reaction glance.

Awesome dance moves aside, the real highlight of “Game Over” is the extra shading given to Abbi’s character when she reveals an uber fierce competitive side in her first Soulstice Games as a trainer. (Before this, we get to see her in action teaching skeevy old men water aerobics.) As a more introverted artist (with an occasional crazy side), Abbi has struggled to fit in the fitness obsessive culture of Soulstice where completely naked trainers immediately fall to the floor when another trainer spills a bottle full of supplements. After this, Abbi is totally cool with Trey (played by Paul W. Downs) showing her the private changing room to avoid the steroid infused fitness trainer butts.

However, she’s a completely different person once the Soulstice Games start with her non-stop trash talk towards both the laconic, beleaguered referee and her fellow employees. Ilana has to take one of her many breaks from work to give her “wife” a neck massage and remind her about the vanilla bean scented candles at Yankee Candle to let her cool down. This slow, meditative moments only has an effect for so long as Abbi is back into the fray with Aniello using a little boxing movie influenced slow-mo to show her whacking a fellow trainer with a pugil stick after one punching her. But, instead of going the obvious route and getting Abbi demoted back to cleaner of pube hairs, her fellow trainers are kind of impressed by her competitive spirit and start to treat her like one of them. Trey even gives her some free advice about steroids as Downs continues to making him an amusing supporting character with his sunny, irony free delivery of lines about everything from locker decorations to public nudity.

Glazer, Jacobson, and Aniello do an excellent job of giving the seemingly opposite plots of a field day for adults and Ilana destroying her career prospects a shared through-line of taking things too far. Some intense, outrageous comedy from Jacobson channeling a feral berserker rage through Abbi with a side of a status quo shift in Ilana’s employment makes “Game Over” a fun, important, and slightly embarrassing episode of Broad City. Glazer definitely has a knack for cringe comedy, especially when she tries to proposition Vanessa Williams’ character, and only then realizes her days at Deals Deals Deals are done.

Rating: 8.6

Review: Midnighter #10

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Logan Dalton

In Midnighter #10, we finally get the long awaited showdown between Midnighter and the Suicide Squad as artist ACO provides some of his most fun layouts yet channeling late-90s bullet time as Deadshot and Midnighter match up. The issue isn’t all punching, kicking, shooting, and trash talk. (Steve Orlando’s dialogue is 90% various anti-heroes and villains trying to roast each other though, and it’s very entertaining.) There are also connections made between Midnighter and Amanda Waller, who admires her ability to turn terrible criminals for weapons to do something good and is especially impressed by the special nano collar that she uses for the Suicide Squad. By the end of the issue, Midnighter has truly proven himself to be the ultimate wildcard in a black ops war fought between Spyral, Task Force X, and even the God Garden for a chance to control the world’s superhumans. This is definitely the skeevy side of the DC Universe, and Midnighter is right at home along with his creative team of Orlando, ACO, Hugo Petrus (who takes penciler duties for half an issue), and colorist Romulo Fajardo, who brings the brutality with his reds.

Orlando makes a case for becoming the writer of the main Suicide Squad series once DC Rebirth rolls around in his writing of Amanda Waller’s character. She’s the queen of all opportunists, and her dressing down of Deadshot citing his low mission performance rate compared to the pre-cog Afterthought may be her finest moment in the New 52. Waller and Midnighter are definitely the proverbial irresistible force and immovable object. Even though he does bust out of her restraints, the so-called Suicide Squad B-team ends up being a better match for him, mostly thanks to Parasite’s absorbing/draining ability and Harley Quinn’s sheer craziness. However, Orlando and ACO give Midnighter a chance for payback for the blowhard Deadshot with his completely logical way of taking him out in the most painful way possible. (Hint: It has to do with the “tools” he uses to play with his favorite toy. Everything is a double entendre with Midnighter.)

Deadshot’s reliance on firearms instead of hand to hand fighting or martial arts moves lets ACO play around with different grids and double page spreads in Midnighter #10. He creates a kind of “bullet time” effect with shots spraying in a pair of eight panel grids on the side of the page while Deadshot faces up against Midnighter and continues to insult him calling him an off-brand Batman even if only one of his rounds hits Midnighter. Letterer Tom Napolitano is truly the secret weapon on this issue, which is filled with shots blasting, bones cracking and even some hammer cracking once Harley Quinn joins the fray. His sound effects are emphatic and draw you into the action while complementing Fajardo’s colors, like orange for gunshots or yellow for hand to hand and finally red for the really painful stuff. If Midnighter was a film, Napolitano would be the sound editor and sound mixer, and he deserves an Oscar/Eisner for his work here.

Midnighter #10 puts the anti-hero in the middle of a kind of superhuman Cold War, and he must weigh his options in working for a variety of morally ambiguous or downright amoral organizations. He picks Spyral for now because they are his employer even if he lines up more ideologically with Amanda Waller. Just like Waller uses supervillains to accomplish good things in messy ways, Midnighter uses his God Garden enhancements to help people in extremely violent ways. Throw in some great humor from Midnighter and the Suicide Squad members, an intersecting narrative involving DC Universe black ops organization and a superhuman arms race, and detail studded pages from ACO and Hugo Petrus, and Midnighter #10 is a shining example of why this title is one of the best comics in the action genre. And it literally goes out with an orange bang courtesy of colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Story: Steve Orlando Art: ACO and Hugo Petrus Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr. Letters: Tom Napolitano
Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

Feeling the Pulse #1

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Logan Dalton

In this installment of Feeling the Pulse, I will be covering The Pulse #1 (2004) written by Brian Michael Bendis, penciled by Mark Bagley, inked by Scott Hanna, and colored by Frank D’Armata and Brian Reber.

In The Pulse #1, Jessica Jones goes from being the through and through protagonists of her own series to a co-protagonist with embattled Daily Bugle city and crime reporter Ben Urich, who was a scene stealing supporting character in writer Brian Michael Bendis’ work on Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil as well as making a couple appearances in Alias so the two aren’t strangers. And like Alias, The Pulse isn’t a superhero comic, but something like The Newsroom set square in the center of the Marvel Universe. For over 50 years, the Daily Bugle and its denizens, like J. Jonah Jameson, have been supporting characters of Spider-Man, and now they get the spotlight. And they shine for the most part with some quick hitting conversations that would make Aaron Sorkin or David Mamet proud even though the “hook” for the next issue is a little conventional with a floating dead body and an ID of a random person. Also, it is entertaining to see J. Jonah Jameson talk out of both sides of his mouth as he pitches “The Pulse” newspaper section to both Jessica Jones and Ben Urich.

The Pulse #1 opens slowly and cinematically with a full page spread from artists Mark Bagley and Scott Hanna of reporter Ben Urich looking at a Daily Bugle newspaper with a typical anti-Spider-Man headline while his crime story about a Yakuza uprising is pushed to the back page. Perhaps this is a comment on traditional superhero tales continuing to dominate comics sales while compelling crime and noir stories are more middling, and no one wants to read about journalists. (In February 2004, Ultimate Spider-Man #53 sold 92,514 copies whereas Bendis’ crime meets superhero story in Daredevil #57 sold 54,629, and The Pulse #1 sold 51,116 and dropped to a little over 27,000 towards the end of its run.) It’s a compelling character introduction with a medium brown color palette from Frank D’Armata and Brian Reber

The first issue shows a dead body just rotting in a lake in Central Park for a whole issue while Jessica Jones prepares for her interview with the Daily Bugle in an attempt to find stability (and health insurance) for her and her boyfriend, Luke Cage. J. Jonah Jameson tells her that because his paper’s circulation numbers are down in the age of TV and Internet news that he is trying something new and deciding to give superheroes a positive spin in the new weekly “The Pulse” section, which will feature in-depth features about them. Ben Urich will write the stories while Jessica Jones acts as a “vigilante analyst” or consultant and will even be part of the story once she announces her pregnancy. Jameson tells a very different thing to Ben Urich telling him that even though “The Pulse” is meant for admirers of superheroes that he should be tough on superheroes if he catches them doing something wrong. This section is Jameson’s attempt at trying to shake off his lethargy and get him breaking big stories. Presumably, his and Jessica’s first piece will have something to do with the random body in Central Park that was dropped by a superhero or supervillain.

Before delving into the excellent characterization of J. Jonah Jameson or Bagley’s use of double page spreads to give letterer Cory Petit an opportunity to let Bendis’ long stretches of dialogue breathe, there is one main negative that will make you wish Michael Gaydos was still the artist. Mark Bagley is terrible at drawing adult women. He does an okay job with the teenagers in Ultimate Spider-Man, but his facial and anatomy work with Jessica Jones shifts rapidly as she goes from looking like a 17 year old when she’s cuddling with Luke Cage to a middle aged woman when she enters the Daily Bugle offices. Hanna’s inking gets more consistent during the “interview” scene between her and Jameson, but she does look like a brunette version of Ultimate Mary Jane Watson.

Bendis really seems to get a kick out of writing J. Jonah Jameson and even though Ben Urich and Jessica Jones are nominally the protagonists of The Pulse, he steals the entire issue kind of like J.K. Simmons stole the entire Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy from Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, and company. He builds off Jameson’s characterization in Alias where he is grateful to Jessica for finding his missing foster daughter, Mattie Franklin, and creates a turning point for him as a character as he goes on about giving superheroes a fair shake if only to increase readership. But there’s always a catch with him, and the catch is the Daily Bugle getting the exclusive on her pregnancy as his tabloid headline grabber side reveals itself. Jameson likes good, hard news as evidenced by his keeping Ben Urich on the staff, but he also wants to make a buck and if he has to say nice things about superheroes, so be it.

Bendis and Bagley create a study in parallels between Jameson’s chat with Jessica Jones about The Pulse, and his chat with Ben Urich at the local watering hole. Bagley uses a stricter grid when Jameson and Jessica speak as she tries to keep it as businesslike as possible and is willing to compromise a little bit to support her family. But with the Jameson, Robertson, and Urich conversation, D’Armata evokes the smell of a respectable, but not too respectable tavern with brown wood tones and just enough shadow to keep it from being noir. Jameson also uses a similar manipulative technique on Urich that he did with Jessica by portraying each of them as “washed up” in some way or another. Jessica as a superhero and P.I., Urich as a reporter. Starting out, he dictates the narrative and dynamic between them. And teaming up an ex-superhero, who has a low opinion of them with a journalist, who respects their power to inspire, and an editor, who hates them is bound to lead to some great drama and disagreements along the way.

For being a first issue, The Pulse #1 doesn’t have the greatest final page hook. It is kind of interesting that there’s been a dead body in the lake for an entire issue in a city the population of New York, and that no one has noticed. Perhaps some kind of mind control is involved. But, whether it’s because of lack of visual distinctness in Bagley’s faces for women or just a plain, bad ending, the cliffhanger of the police looking at a faded I.D. falls flat. But the concept of a supervillain murder mystery from a journalist and possibly police perspective has some genre bending potential, and the interference and role of the press always spices up mystery and crime stories. (See The Wire or more recently BBC America’s Broadchurch.) Plus it’ll give Jessica a chance to do her private investigator thing.

The Pulse #1 has a unique concept and the makings of a compelling ensemble in Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, J. Jonah Jameson, Ben Urich, and Robbie Robertson, who have been liberated from playing second fiddle to Spider- Man.Some of the execution is lacking, such as Bagley’s inability to draw adult women and a half-assed murder mystery plot, but Bendis’ dialogue was built for walk and talk newsroom environment. (He used to work as a cartoonist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and this is evident in his development of Jameson’s philosophy for the Daily Bugle and its Pulse section.)

Review: Karnak #2

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Logan Dalton

After several months hiatus, Warren Ellis and Gerardo Zaffino’s (with inking help from Antonio Fuso) meditation in minimalism returns with Karnak #2. Its plot is simple. Karnak, an Inhuman martial artist and philosopher, is tasked by S.H.I.E.L.D. to rescue an Inhuman boy from a dark, cult-like organization called the I.D.I.C., who sees him as an archetypical Chosen One. The comic is part martial arts extravaganza, part philosophical debate, and it definitely draws inspiration from the tightly edited, no room for fatty subplots action films of the 2010s, like The Raid, Dredd, Hawywire, and John Wick, with a dash of superheroes and pop philosophy. Plus he one punches a church building.

Most of Karnak #2 is silent sequences involving punching, martial arts moves, and Karnak using literal fragments from his environment to dispatch his opponents. Zaffino and Fuso’s inking style is rougher and scratchier than the previous issue as the cool fighting moves getting covered in speed line and pitch black colors from Dan Brown. The art style is reminiscent of some of Bill Sienkiewicz’s looser work, like Elektra Assassin , but with less of a painting influence even if some panels are hit and miss. But when Zaffino, Fuso, and Brown hit, the result can be pretty breathtaking like Karnak taking out a line of goons with splinters, or the revelation that the creepy, priestlike man keeping the Inhuman boy has his own special ability known as Zen Gunnery. He channels his faith into a weapon in a way similar to Morpheus in The Matrix, but instead of standard issue martial arts and marksmanship, he gets a cool Inhuman power with a burst of red. But he’s no match for Karnak, the philosopher/warrior, who dismantles his flimsy Messianic philosophy

Karnak is definitely the most unlikely protagonist to have a book in All-New, All-Different Marvel. He’s cold, humorless, and tells his opponents how he is going to defeat them, like Midnighter, but with none of his wit. (Ellis was actually the co-creator back in Stormwatch so it’s interesting to pit the characters’ abilities and temperaments against each other.) There is really no suspense when he takes out the Inhuman boys’ guards in the first half of the issue, but Ellis hooks readers for upcoming issues (Other than the promise of more skillful pugilism.) by giving Karnak himself a relatable character flaw: loneliness.

From the opening of the issue where he builds blocks and takes them down while his parents argue about exposing him to the Terrigen mists or not to its conclusion where he drinks water alone while people are kissing and dancing, Karnak is truly isolated. He has no personal connections, and his current mission, argument, or fight is his life. But perhaps he wants to be part of something bigger just like the Zen gunning priest, and it will be interesting to see if Ellis develops Karnak’s character or just uses him as a cipher for fight scenes or philosophical debates.

In its second issue, Karnak continues to develop its identity as a minimalist kung fu philosophy comic with a side of science fiction and an incredibly cranky protagonist. The comic sort of just trails off at the end, but Karnak’s interest in finding the Inhuman “savior” out of true faith or to prove people wrong sets up the rest of the series. Gerardo Zaffino and Antonio Fuso’s art is roughly inked (Almost too rough in some spots.) and hard hitting, but lacks the ballet-like choreography of Ellis’ previous action minimalist Marvel story, Moon Knight #5 that he did with Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire.

Story: Warren Ellis Art: Gerardo Zaffino with Antonio Fuso Colors: Dan Brown
Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.3 Recommendation: Read

TV Review: Broad City S3E02 Co-Op

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Logan Dalton

Broad City airs at 10 PM EST on Comedy Central.

In “Co-Op”, writers Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs put a Broad City twist on a comedy trope as old as Plautus: mistaken identity. For an entire episode, Abbi is Ilana, and Ilana is Abbi. They swap identities because Ilana still wants to be able to use her Co-Op card to buy tasty produce, but hasn’t It is a perfect opportunity for Abbi Jacobson to do an amazing caricature of Ilana Glazer’s perfomance as Ilana

However, Ilana doesn’t commit to the character at all spending most of the episode freaking out about going to her family doctor Angela (played by stand-up comic Judy Gold) in Long Island and completely geeking out about Lincoln (Hannibal Burress) having sex with another girl. Because poly relationships are completely normal, and Glazer demonstrates this through some uproarious physical comedy that in most sitcoms would be met with angry, melodramatic Grey’s Anatomy style relationship yelling. But this is Broad City, and it’s cool to be in a sexual relationship with multiple people as long as everyone consents. (As Lincoln reminds the rambunctious Ilana when she wants to “trick” his lady friend into having a threesome.) “Co-Op” is a great episode of TV to teach friends and family members about being poly, especially if they ask you if you’re Mormon. (Insert sighing noise.)

Like “Two Chainz”, “Co-Op” most striking visuals from director Ryan McFaul come in the cold open that starts as a commonplace conversation about butts and then swerves into a Muppet Babies version of the street harassment that Ilana and Abbi had to deal with earlier in the show at the basketball court. Abbi tells the rude, pre-pubesecent boys that the only time they’ll touch her boobs is when she’s dunking on them , and the streetball game begins. And this is when things get trippy with a level of slow-mo that would make the Wachowskis and Zack Snyder lose both lunch, breakfast, and their midnight snack to show off Abbi and Ilana’s “sick moves”, including Ilana kissing and twerking on the rim. Of course, they dominate because they’re playing little kids, and McFaul quickly cuts from NBA Jam level of epicness to stark reality with crying kids, who can’t handle TV-MA rated trash talk. Even though the cold open has nothing to with the episode’s plot, it’s an opportunity for McFaul to cut loose and for Jacobson and Glazer to show off their background in sketch comedy.

But it’s not like the other scenes in “Co-Op” are lacking in visual panache, like the extreme close-ups of Abbi as she tries to get into the role of Ilana in both her looks (crop top, pigtails, blingy earrings), speaking patterns (Lots of “yas” and “queen”), and facial expressions. She nails rehearsal, but the real thing is much more difficult with Abbi overplaying Ilana so much that her words are incomprehensible. (Jacobson’s delivery of “queen” as “quayn” to her fellow co-op worker is the funniest part of the episode.) Aniello and Downs even through a romantic wrench in Abbi’s path in the form of Phish fanatic and true believer in the co-op lifestyle, Craig, who is interested in this “Abbi” that “Ilana” keeps mentioning. (He also sports a man bun and can pull off tank tops.) And like a vegan homme fatale (Pardon my French), Craig causes Abbi to blow her cover and speak and act like herself while overselling the Ilana act way too much culminating in twerking.

Unfortunately, Craig and Abbi don’t work out due to Craig’s inability to compromise. He cares more about following the rules of the co-op ruled over by Lori (played by Academy Award winner Melissa Leo in time for Oscar Week), the super fertile and super vegan dictator of all natural and organic food in the five boroughs. Abbi cares more about sticking up for her best friend even if it means losing access to tasty food and relegated to “bodega veggies”. It serves to show you can have all the same interests as someone, but not be compatible as romantic partners or even friends. Human beings are deeper than their lists of top ten movies, albums, books, or comics, and successful relationships have this weird, spark of chemistry that goes beyond matching likes and dislikes. So, Abbi might be an enormous fan of Phish while Ilana doesn’t know a single lyrics, but they are incredible because they have shared experiences and just plain click. And the frank discussion of polysexuality along with Abbi rejecting Craig in favor of Ilana might hint and possible romantic developments in the future for the pair.

“Co-Op” proves the old adage that tropes aren’t bad and has Abbi Jacobson give an excellent performance as Abbi pretending to be Ilana while Ilana Glazer shows a new side of Ilana as she loses her usual cool and freaks out about going to the doctor. And along the way, there is a positive portrayal of polysexuality and some neat use of slow-mo, extreme close-ups, and enclosed spaces, like the Co-op and especially Lori’s office, from director Ryan McFaul.

Score: 9.3

Investigating Alias #28

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Logan Dalton

Investigating Alias is a weekly issue by issue look at the source material that inspired the popular and critically acclaimed Jessica Jones Netflix show.

In this installment of Investigating Alias, I will be covering Alias #28(2004) written by Brian Michael Bendis, drawn by Michael Gaydos, and colored by Matt Hollingsworth.

In Alias #28, writer Brian Michael Bendis, artist Michael Gaydos, and colorist Matt Hollingsworth wrap up the story of the superhero turned P.I. Jessica Jones as she faces Killgrave one last time and proves without a shadow of a doubt and in front of all the Avengers that she is a hero. She also reveals that she doesn’t like fighting (Even though she is good at it withe her superpowers and everything.), which is in line with her actions throughout the series as she tries to use her words and sleuthing skills to solve cases instead of just bludgeoning people into submission. Bendis also once and for all shows that Scott Lang is a slut shaming jerk (Not on Killgrave’s level though), and that Jessica Jones and Luke Cage were meant to be. Hollingsworth’s colors add some nice atmosphere to their tender romantic chat that closes out the series. And it’s fitting that this book ends on a conversation when some of the greatest battles in Alias weren’t punching brawls, but wars of words.

Alias #28 opens with Killgrave in Scott Lang’s bedroom gloating over him and taunting Jessica while still breaking the fourth wall and playing the critic calling her comic “mainstream with just a touch of indy”. In admittedly what is a cheap twist, Killgrave is actually using his mind control abilities on Jessica to make her see a dead Scott. Then, he manipulates Jessica even more by forcing her to see an image of her friend Carol Danvers snuggled up suggestively between Luke Cage and Scott. This is while he is slut shaming her, and then he walks out and makes her watch as he tells people to beat their neighbor to death. Then, a plot element from Alias #26 comes into play in that it’s revealed that Jean Grey left a psychic trigger for Jessica to overcome Killgrave’s mind control if she makes the choice.

JeanGreyChoice

The Avengers fly into the street to apprehend Killgrave, and Killgrave tells Jessica to break Captain America’s back in a scene very similar to the flashback where he told her to kill all the superheroes to get at Daredevil. However, in what is basically the most epic moment of the series, she beats the crap out of him for entire page as the Avengers watch and admire her. She talks with Scott after the battle about how she feels and says that she is pregnant with someone else’s baby. He runs away. And Alias ends with Luke Cage telling Jessica how much he has begun to care for her after she opened up to him about Killgrave. She tells him that she is pregnant with his baby, and he takes it in stride saying, “Alright then. Next chapter.” Their relationship is further explored in The Pulse where Jessica Jones finally takes a job at the Daily Bugle for J. Jonah Jameson, who is a big fan of hers after she rescued his foster daughter, Mattie Franklin, who used to be Spider-Woman.

PurpleManFourthWall

After seeming a little jarring in Alias #27, the plot device of Killgrave having the ability to break the fourth wall is ingenious at showcasing his evil and powers in a unique way only comics can. His dialogue has a theatrical smarm to it, which means that getting an actor like David Tennant, who is renowned for addressing the audience directly in his soliloquies in Hamlet as well as his monologues in Doctor Who, was a clever bit of casting. Killgrave thinks he plays both author and critic about the world around him giving a short critical assessment of Alias as a comic, predicting future events, and then calling Jessica a “whore” over and over again and shaming her for enjoying sex. Unlike most superhero villains, he has no larger plan to take over the world or gain power just to do what it wants even if that involves rape or murder. Gaydos is the secret weapon here with Killgrave’s casual expression and toothy grin standing at odds with the killing going on around him. And because Jessica isn’t immune to his powers (unlike the TV show), overcoming him is a much tougher challenge.

Killgrave hogs most of the dialogue for the first third of Alias #28, but this comic is all about Jessica Jones’ triumph CapAdmiresJess over him, her PTSD, and making a conscious choice to not be a victim. That’s why the climax of the comic is five, almost silent, vertical panels of her beating Killgrave to a pulp. It is a truly cathartic reversal as she beats up the man, who told her to beat up other superheroes while the aforementioned superheroes watch and are impressed by her. Gaydos cuts away from Killgrave vs. Jessica for a single panel to show Captain America’s reaction as he realizes that his motivational words to her in the first arc where she protected his secret identity weren’t in vain, and that she is truly a great hero even if she hates violence, doesn’t , and isn’t interested in being some kind of a role model. Her beatdown of Killgrave isn’t just a typical end of arc superhero vs. supervillain slugfest, but a personal victory for her as she puts on a mantle of a job she doesn’t want (superhero) to take control of her narrative away from Killgrave, whose metafictional asides are getting a little annoying. And the hug she gets from Carol adds to the catharsis along with her tears as she looks as the incapacitated Killgrave. She has found a kind of peace for now.

After letting Jessica Jones triumph over her demons, Bendis and Gaydos provide the final word on her romantic relationship with Luke Cage and Scott Lang that have been brewing and burning throughout the series. First, Scott Lang is super cold, and his immediate leaving of Jessica after she says she’s pregnant with another man’s child make come across as deeply unkind for fans of Paul Rudd’s charming everyman in the Ant-Man film. But it definitely makes sense in light of his previous comments about her drinking on their first date, his prying into her past and even asking if she got raped, and finally shape changing into Ant-Man when she obviously wanted to be left alone. Even though he is ostensibly nice and heroic, Scott’s relationship with Jessica has been dictated on his terms, and he didn’t like the fact that Jessica slept with another man so he walks out not caring about her feelings in light of her confrontation of Killgrave.

Luke Cage’s relationship with Jessica Jones has been all over the place in Alias. It’s “frustrating” as he tells her in the closing pages of this issue going from passionate sex in Alias #1 to Jessica calling him out for being a “cape chaser” to awkwardness when they both were bodyguards for Matt Murdock and most recently, Jessica opens up to him about her past with Killgrave. This is something she didn’t do for Scott, and Luke listens to her experience and is physically present for her without prying or judging. This simply being there continues in Alias #28.

LukeandJessFinale

Hollingsworth’s colors might be darker alluding to their first night meeting, but Gaydos’ layouts are closer together. There are also plenty of silent, beat panels from Gaydos like when Jessica tells him that she’s pregnant with his child. Instead of running away, Luke sheds a single tear and then smiles. He is ready to make some kind of a life and have some kind of relationship with Jessica Jones. Her face is pretty tensed up through this whole scene, but relaxes just a little bit at the end. And, in 2016, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones are still a couple (Happily married since 2006’s New Avengers Annual) and appearing in Power Man and Iron Fist. The chemistry in this touching moment and the earlier one involving Jessica’s past can be definitely be seen in Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter’s interactions as Jessica Jones and Luke Cage even if he disappears and gets used as Killgrave bait towards the end of the season. Maybe, we’ll get closure in his show or Defenders.

LukeCries

By the time we roll around to Alias #28, we have a real idea of what makes Jessica Jones tick thanks to Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos, and Matt Hollingsworth. The “Secret Origin of Jessica Jones” and “Purple” arc are especially valuable for providing concrete evidence to why she mistrusts superheroes and their punch first, listen later tactics. There is also her paranoia present from the first arc that is born out of her fear of Killgrave escaping prison and manipulating her to try to kill superheroes or watch him rape young women. Her defeat of Killgrave in Alias #28 is well-earned as she makes a powerful choice to overcome her past, defeat him, and find some kind of closure.

And like all good comics creators, Bendis leaves a couple threads hanging for future developments in the arc of Jessica Jones. First, there is her pregnancy and closer relationship with the father of her baby, Luke Cage, and second, there is her pending job offer from the Daily Bugle, which gave her an honest and worthy headline when she defeated Killgrave. Both of these threads are explored in The Pulse, which places her more in the mainstream Marvel Universe than in the sexy, sleazy, and artistically bold MAX imprint.

Because Jessica Jones is such a compelling character with her unorthodox, yet relatable approach to heroism and has an excellent arc, I will be following her over to the Daily Bugle in The Pulse series in a new series of features of called “Feeling the Pulse”. Fuck yes! (Sadly, that favorite word of Jessica’s isn’t allowed in The Pulse.)

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I would also like to thank Kori and Emma at The Rainbow Hub for publishing the first installments of the series, Brett and Elana for helping me find a new home for Investigating Alias at Graphic Policy and letting me guest on their Jessica Jones podcast, and finally to Julia Michels for being the first Jessica Jones fan I met in real life, the best Jewel cosplayer ever, and for rekindling my love for Jess and Alias by taking a night bus to New York Comic Con from Washington DC just to see the Jessica Jones panel. (And snap a selfie with Krysten Ritter!)

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