Jessica Jones #5
(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A) Michael Gaydos (CA) David Mack
Parental Advisory
In Shops: Feb 08, 2017
SRP: $3.99
Jessica made some tough choices to save her husband and child from the clutches of the latest hateful madness that has hit the Marvel Universe. But was it enough? Another all-new chapter from Jessica’s original creators. The new adventures of Jessica Jones that you’ll only find right here.
Like every issue of Jessica Jones so far, something is really off with the characterizations in this series. Jessica Jones #4 opens with Misty Knight dissecting his and Jessica’s relationships and calling her “broken”. I took Misty for a kinder, more heroic figure, but maybe not in this story. Later in the issue, the shot of Luke hugging Misty end up in a press barrage condemning his erratic behavior. Someone might be manipulating Luke and/or Misty, and we’re probably not going to find out until this fairly decompressed story arc wraps up after six issues.
Jessica Jones is a really difficult comic to write about on an issue to issue basis because the new series is mystery driven instead of character driven. Certain folks might seem to be written out of character for the sake of the overall plot. But as writer Brian Michael Bendis, artist Michael Gaydos , and colorist Matt Hollingsworth unpeel layers of this onion of a mystery arc, the interactions start to shine through, especially Jessica’s blend of misanthropy and heroism which endeared me to her the first time I read Alias in college. A moldy old Bendis running gag since his days on Ultimate Spider-Man of D-list supervillains loudly proclaiming their innocence gets some new life when Jessica tackles Leapfrog and immediately asks the cops if she can help with their case featuring one of her dead clients. Even though her relationship with Luke is majorly strained, Jessica doesn’t retreat into herself, but wants to atone for her mistakes and help out.
This whole idea of Jessica helping out while being super snarky about it and making jokes 
comparing superheroes to head cheerleaders slides neatly into Jessica Jones #4’s reveal that Jessica Jones is a deep cover SHIELD operative. Or she’s basically what Jessica Drew was in Bendis mid-2000s Avengers comics, but with no family connection to HYDRA. This is why she had to send Dani off to her mom, went to jail, has a strained relationship with Luke, and pretended to think about joining Allison Greene’s organization. The reveal isn’t particularly groundbreaking, but gives the events of the previous issues some logical basis and also redeems the friendship between Carol and Jessica. It’s very messed up, but also quite heroic that Jessica is throwing her happy home life away to take down a big HYDRA cell while using her attitude of resentment towards superhero and their trappings as a way to keep her cover. Except Allison Greene isn’t just your run of the mill HYDRA accountant and yet another mystery that Bendis keeps slightly out of reach to get us to pick up issues 5 and 6. It’s refreshing that Jessica isn’t a criminal though.
Like Alias, the big (or probably medium sized in the long run) moments don’t happen in superhero slugfests, but in the middle of intense conversations. And even though he mainly goes for conventional grid layouts, Gaydos makes Bendis’ verbal tete-a-tetes more memorable with a well-placed facial expression, including Luke having a longing look about Jessica when Misty insults her or Carol’s look of surprise about Allison Greene’s leadership position in an unknown organization.
Without rehashing the events of Civil War II, this look shows that Carol know she’s on thin ice and letting a terrorist organization run around and kill innocent New Yorkers and superhumans wouldn’t be good for her approval rating as the new “top cop”. Hollingsworth mutes the color tone of her costume showing that she truly is there for Jessica as a friend and ally and not a high soaring hero like in previous issues. His use of dark blues in the early scenes with Luke and Misty show the coldness that Luke may feel towards Jessica as well as the web of intrigue around them and was one time the colors of Jessica Jones #4 stood out to me.
When Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos aren’t teasing and prodding readers for a fourth straight issue, Jessica Jones #4 is a celebration of its lead character’s heroism in the face of adversity and with a healthy dose of snark. And, on a more negative note, the portrayal of Misty Knight as jealous and cantankerous continues to confirm my theory that Bendis bases his characterization of classic Marvel heroes on what his plot demands. This is why most of his best work either is rooted in other creators’ work (Frank Miller for Daredevil, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for Ultimate Spider-Man) or involves his own creations like Jessica Jones, Echo, or Miles Morales.
Story: Brian Michael Bendis Art: Michael Gaydos Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Story: 6 Art: 8 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read
Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Jessica Jones #4
(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A) Michael Gaydos (CA) David Mack
Parental Advisory
In Shops: Jan 11, 2017
SRP: $3.99
Jessica Jones latest case has revealed a new hidden evil in the Marvel Universe. An evil so terrifying she was willing to rip her family apart to save them from it. But was the sacrifice enough? Another all-new blistering chapter of Marvel’s premier detective.
Some of the best scenes in the original Alias series were interrogations either with Jessica Jones doing the asking, or someone else. They put writer Brian Michael Bendis’ ear for dialogue on display and allowed artist Michael Gaydos and colorist Matt Hollingsworth to create conflict in a way that didn’t involve your run of the mill superhero punchfest. And Jessica Jones #3 is another memorable interrogation sequence, and Bendis continues to shroud the plot in mystery with the introduction of Alison, who bailed Jessica out of jail and wants to get all the dirt on superhumans. She’s also a bit of a Jessica Jones fangirl, which is a change from people not knowing who she is and fits in with Jessica’s increased popularity in pop culture landscape thanks to her Netflix show.
An interrogation is just two (or three in this case) people in a room talking so setting is important.With Hollingsworth’s greens and browns, I could smell how dank and disgusting the dungeon-like room was where Jessica was being held. There’s a little bit of a street level HYDRA vibe to the palette, but Alison doesn’t tell Jessica whose payroll she’s on or really anything personal about her. (I hope that she isn’t Dazzler with a new look, but that would be super out of left field.) As far as villains go, she isn’t that bad spending most of her time poking fun at her henchman Spot along with his creepiness and bad hygiene. She also lets Jessica go across the street to her office without laying a hand on her. Alison is brimming in confidence, and Gaydos makes her facial expressions open with big smiles and an in-charge kind of spirit compared to Jessica’s furrowed brows and smirks. She thinks that Jessica’s disaffection with the superhero community, especially after getting imprisoned, being estranged from her husband Luke Cage, and the fact that she runs and hides from anyone in a costume will make her give up all the dirt on them.
In fact, Alison gives a perfect surface level reading on who Jessica Jones is. She’s sarcastic, has a hate/hate relationship with her superpowers, and isn’t the biggest fan of the superhero community. Alison thinks she can use these traits so that Jessica will give her what she wants. But what she doesn’t know is that she has nice (If currently strained.) friendships with Carol Danvers and Spider-Man, and that Captain America vouched for 
her as a heroic person twice in Alias after he kept his identity a secret and triumphed over Killgrave once and for all. And even if she hates every superhero currently, Jessica Jones is no one’s puppet, and Gaydos shows this with little side panels of her busting out of her interrogation chair. Luckily, he and Bendis don’t go the cliché route of her fighting Alison and go the eerier way and have Jessica go free and immediately see her office across the street.
To pad out the issue, Bendis and Gaydos lead off the issue with a crazy cold open with Jessica on the run and getting saved by her daughter Dani, who is now Captain America and says “death” when she meant “dad”. Alternate universes have been mentioned quite a bit in Jessica Jones, and this is our first glimpse of one even if it might just be a dream. Hollingsworth’s almost bleached out palette, and Gaydos’ more active panels of Jessica jumping and dodging shows that this isn’t your usual scene from Jessica Jones comic before returning the shadows and sarcasm. There is also a Luke Cage subplot where he meets up with Detective Costello, who is investigating the murder of Jessica’s client. Their scenes are mostly connecting dots for yet another showdown between Luke and Jessica, but it’s refreshing to see Costello assume Jessica’s innocence in the situation unlike a lot of the clueless cops in Alias.
Jessica Jones #3 plays to the strengths of Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos, and Matt Hollingsworth in dialogue, expressions, and color palette while continuing to dig readers deeper into a multiversal mystery hole. I enjoyed how laidback, yet slightly overconfident a villain Alison was even though most of her appeal comes from her status as a human mystery.
(I may have an outlandish theory that she is an aged up, embittered version of Layla Miller, who is from another timeline or the Ultimate Universe because, like Alison, she “knows stuff”, was a mutant P.I. with X-Factor once upon a time, and is also a Brian Michael Bendis co-creation.)
Story: Brian Michael Bendis Art: Michael Gaydos Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Jessica Jones #3
(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A) Michael Gaydos (CA) David Mack
Parental Advisory
In Shops: Dec 14, 2016
SRP: $3.99
Jessica Jones’ new secrets start to unfold. How far did Jessica go to uncover a deadly secret in the Marvel Universe?
From the original creators comes an all-new chapter in the world-famous private eye’s ongoing adventures.
In Jessica Jones #2, the comic suffers a little bit of a sophomore slump as Jessica’s estranged husband Luke Cage confronts her about the whereabouts of their daughter, Dani. This is one of the many questions that writer Brian Michael Bendis actually answers the comic as Jessica’s P.I. case is still ongoing, and he hasn’t really dug deep into the falling out between Luke and Jessica beyond yelling and destruction of property. This reliance on mystery doesn’t leave much room for characterization beyond Jessica being a bad mom, on the run, and trying to live a “normal life” if normal means investigating cases involving other dimensions and obscure Spider-Man villains.
However, the art in Jessica Jones #2 remains solidly laid out and filled with the raw emotion of Alias, but with more inventive layouts from Michael Gaydos. He and colorist Matt Hollingsworth show the evolution of their art style from the original series thanks to a flashback done like an issue of Alias. Gaydos’ new take on Luke Cage looks a lot like the actor Mike Colter from the Netflix TV show, and his use of jagged lines gives him a powerful energy in spite of Bendis’ one note characterization of him. Hollingsworth keeps his colors neutral or muted to keep the book looking “realistic” even if there is a lot of flying and even some dimension hopping. A few major superheroes make cameos, but he doesn’t focus on the colors of their costumes because this is Jessica Jones’ story.
The parts of Jessica Jones #2 that really strike home are when Jessica is coming to grips with her feelings, and this is where Bendis’ decompression works unlike the parts with Luke Cage and her case. Gaydos’ vivisection of the page
helps too as she retreats in herself and wonders why she still can’t land after flying, or why she missed her daughter’s first steps. He also doesn’t reuse as many panels as he did in Alias using more poses like her lying down on the pavement after a long flight to New Jersey and trying to avoid superhero interlopers. Jessica’s longing for stability with her daughter and to be left alone to rebuild her life as a private investigator are the moments which will keep me continuing to read this series even if the whole tension with Luke plus run of the mill private investigator case that gets freaky and connected to superheroes is a retread of storylines in both Alias and New Avengers.(That is unless it somehow connects to Bendis’ work on the Ultimate Universe, which would be strange, yet cool and a good use of characters that he, Mark Millar, and others developed for over a decade.)
The main thing that keeps Jessica Jones #2 stuck in mediocrity is how Bendis writes Luke Cage, which is surprising because he was the writer that took him from obscurity, gave him a 7 year arc in his run on the Avengers titles where he went from an individualistic hero to a family man and a leader, and just made him so damn cool. A touch of this coolness remains in a flashback where he retells a funny story where he asked Dr. Doom for $200. But, in the present, his only character trait is anger that is channeled in highly unproductive ways like destroying his wife’s car, threatening her, and stealing her camera, which is important to her private detective work. It’s like Luke Cage went from a good, if occasionally goofy and reckless dad to borderline abusive overnight with no warning or reason. Hopefully, Bendis and Gaydos shade out his motivation and actions a little bit more, but for now, it reeks of a publicity stunt at best and a slap in the face to people, who have been the victims of their spouses abusing them verbally and through destroying their personal property.
Jessica Jones #2 is evidence of Michael Gaydos’ ability to draw out genuine emotions through poses and page layouts, but the plot is a bit of a police procedural snooze and Bendis falls back on old patterns when it comes to Jessica Jones’ characterization while being downright regressive with Luke Cage.
Story: Brian Michael Bendis Art: Michael Gaydos Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Story: 6 Art: 8 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read
Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Jessica Jones #2
(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A) Michael Gaydos (CA) David Mack
Parental Advisory
In Shops: Nov 16, 2016
SRP: $3.99
There are so many mysteries to discover in the Marvel Universe and Jessica’s new case may be the most dangerous one.
No spoilers, but some of the biggest questions about the new Marvel NOW! are about to be revealed in this very comic.
Jessica Jones is definitely off the couch and… fresh out of jail in Jessica Jones #1 as her co-creators, the creative team behind Alias reunites to weave quite the mystery. And Jessica Jones #1 definitely has an “Alias II” vibe with Jessica on her own, trying to avoid people who “care” about her, and having a weird P.I. client, whose case may end up connected to the larger Marvel Universe. (For example, the first arc of Alias seemed like a political conspiracy thriller, but ended up being about Captain America’s secret identity.) And then, there are also the visual and verbal hallmarks of Alias making their triumphant return, like Marvel heroes showing up in their civilian identities, snarky dialogue from Brian Michael Bendis, rough-hewn, yet subtly expressive art from Michael Gaydos, and a muted noir color palette from Matt Hollingsworth.
The first issue of Jessica Jones seems more concerned with the intrigue and mysteries surrounding our protagonist than her emotions or characterization, but Bendis and Gaydos still make sure her personality shines through beneath mentions of the multiverse, Fantastic Four, and guest appearances from Misty Knight and Jessica Drew, who weirdly is a dead ringer for Krysten Ritter. She is exasperated by the whole going to prison deal and just wants a simple P.I. case to take her mind off things.
Jessica gets a great character defining moment when Misty Knight shows up at her office and attacks her because Jessica and Luke Cage’s baby is missing. When it seems like Misty is going to deck her with her metal arm, Jessica grabs and kicks her in a simple, yet potent bit of choreography from Gaydos. And Bendis follows this up with a pithy bit of dialogue cementing her eternal underdog status in the Marvel Universe, “Didn’t know you were that strong.” “No one ever does.” Jessica Jones has great superpowers, a keen investigative mind, and even got an endorsement from Captain America at the end of Alias, but she has been stuck as a housewife for the past few years. This is all set to change in the new series.
On a pure entertainment level, Jessica Jones #1 is all hook. Even without the P.I. case, there are the three huge mysteries about the location of her baby Dani, why she was in a jail for supervillains, and why her and Luke’s marriage is in the rocks. The cliffhanger at the end of the issue might hold the answer for one of these burning questions though. Then, there’s the case itself, which is tangentially connected to the end of Secret Wars (and the Marvel multiverse), possibly Bendis’ work in the Ultimate Universe, and a big name Marvel character as a woman named Sophie thinks her husband is from another dimension or universe.
Gaydos does a nice job of making Jessica actually taken aback a little by this case with surprised glance and even 
an eyebrow raise after Sophie mentions “Peter Parker”. Bendis, Gaydos, and Hollingsworth also make a little magic with a dark color palette, rough camera lens-like layouts, and confident dialogue about Jessica finding the husband and closing the case. If anything, Jessica Jones definitely knows she has P.I. skills and talks trash to Jessica Drew about this criticizing her form on a stake out.
Jessica Jones #1 isn’t flawless, and some parts of the comic seem like a band going back and playing their earlier hits instead of breaking new ground with some reused faces from Gaydos and ripping down the past 10 years of Jessica Jones’ history to make the new series more compelling. But, if anything, there is loads of tension in Jessica Jones #1 as Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos, and Matt Hollingsworth have her way out of her comfort zone and lonely like her early days in Alias. This may seem regressive, but Jessica is channeling her rage and negative feelings to solve Sophie’s case instead of drowning it in a bottle of whiskey and is definitely more sure of herself than she was in Alias.
Jessica Jones #1 is a bold, high stakes start to Jessica’s new solo series, but its unique visual style and attitude from Bendis, Gaydos, Hollingsworth isn’t drowned out by the big time plot developments.
Story: Brian Michael Bendis Art: Michael Gaydos Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
That’s right, she’s back after a decade! This October, she returns to the fold for an all-new ongoing series as the highly anticipated Jessica Jones #1 explodes onto the scene as part of Marvel NOW! From the original creative team of Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos and David Mack comes a brand new series that drags Jessica to the center of the Marvel Universe!
There are still many secrets hiding in the shadows. Secrets only a special woman with talents like Jessica Jones can uncover. But when secrets from Jessica’s own past resurface, her caseload is about to get a whole lot heavier. Plus – just how did Jessica Jones wind up incarcerated in The Cellar – a prison designed to hold only the deadliest super villains? Find out in this blistering first issue when the eponymous heroine makes her triumphant return to comic this October!
JESSICA JONES #1 (AUG160842)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by MICHAEL GAYDOS
Cover by DAVID MACK
Variant Covers by ALEX MALEEV (AUG160843) and DAVID AJA (AUG160844)
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (AUG160845)
Teaser Variant by MIKE DEODATO (AUG160846)
Black Panther 50th Anniversary Variant by JEFFREY VEREGGE (AUG160847)
Hip-Hop Variant by JEFF DEKAL (AUG160849)
Champions Variant Also Available (AUG160848)
FOC – 09/19/16, On-Sale – 10/12/16
It’s been a long time coming as writer Brian Michael Bendis announced it at Emerald City Comic Con, but Marvel has officially announced that Jessica Jones will return in her own comic this October.
Jessica Jones will be written by Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos, with cover art by David Mack. The three previously worked on Alias, the series that launched the character in 2001.
In an interview with IGN, Bendis said:
We’re going to open up a book where Jessica’s world has blown up in her face. She’s at a place you’ll least expect her. You’re going to find all of her relationships have altered. And we’re slowly going to find out why. I do like writing Jessica where we have to figure out ‘why this has happened.
