Many years ago a friend gave me the complete omnibus of Alias for Christmas. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos, ALIAS tells the story of on-time costumed superhero, turned P.I. Jessica Jones.
Maybe you’re unfamiliar with this story, so here is a description of the series, via Goodreads (and amazon if you’re checking):
“Once upon a time, Jessica Jones was a costumed super-hero, just not a very good one. Her powers were unremarkable compared to the amazing abilities of the costumed icons that populate the Marvel Universe. In a city of Marvels, Jessica Jones never found her niche.
Now a chain-smoking, self-destructive alcoholic with a mean inferiority complex, Jones is the owner and sole employee of Alias Investigations – a small, private-investigative firm specializing in super-human cases. In her inaugural arc, Jessica’s life immediately becomes expendable when she uncovers the potentially explosive secret of one hero’s true identity. But her wit, charm and intelligence just may help her survive through another day.”
Like I said, I’ve had this book on my shelf since (maybe) 2006. It’s a large book. (It’s also a very heavy one.) I never intended to ignore it–but book are a ‘go to’ gift when it comes to me. So I have many, and some get overlooked. But then…Jessica Jones landed on Netflix.
Now, admittedly, I am one of the few who didn’t much care for the series. Being a huge fan of Marvel’s Daredevil series, also on Netflix, on top of a giant David Tennant fan–I counted down the days for that show.
But I never finished.
So, I’m reading the book, or, better put: I’m reading the omnibus graphic novel the TV series was (loosely) based on.
My review is this title is as follows: if you liked the Netflix series or didn’t, you should still pick up ALIAS. Jessica Jones is funny, intelligent, sardonic, and caring. The character is SO much better in the novel. She whines a lot less, plus she kicks ass–AND–has super friends. It’s a great story to look at another side of the whole ‘super hero’ world we’ve become inundated with in recent years. It also doesn’t hurt that Bendis is a hell of a writer and Gaydos is a hell of an artist.
And once you finish this series, you can run over to your local comic shop and pick up the new Jessica Jones series (also by Bendis and Gaydos) that was released last month.
Happy Reading! xxoo-Aryn
Word Junkie 