Comics fan or not, you gotta read this
I don’t know what your deal is. The things that we cover here at ftE are all over the map, so if you frequent this site you might enjoy comic books. Or you might be big into urban fantasy novels. Or goofy TV shows. Horror movies. Board games. Maybe you started reading Favorite Thing Ever when we did a piece on your beloved Spongebob Squarepants.
The point I’m trying to make is, if you’re a comics fan, I’ve got a really quick pitch for you. Alias. It’s some of the earlier work superstar writer Brian Michael Bendis did for Marvel back in 2001-2004, and it’s probably my single favorite thing I’ve read by him, period. If you’ve never checked it out, do it. It’s great. Done deal.
If you’re not a comics fan, I’m probably going to have to work a little harder for this.
First off, the comic doesn’t have anything to do with the TV show “Alias” which was airing around the same time it was published. That one confused me, too, for years. And then Jennifer Garner, from Alias on TV, played Elektra in the Daredevil movie, and Daredevil actually shows up in the Alias comic book, but only in a legal capacity — aaaargh. Don’t worry about it. Unrelated. Moving on.
Alias is a noir crime comic, set in the familiar confines of the Marvel universe but focusing on the life of private investigator Jessica Jones rather than the super-powered antics of the Avengers or the Fantastic Four. The thing is, Jessica used to be a superhero. She was never a very good one, though, so she gave it up, and now she just wants to live a normal life.
And Jessica is normal as hell. Sure, she still has enhanced strength (which comes in handy if some jackass tries to manhandle her on the job), and she even has the power of flight when she really, really wants it. But it’s more relevant to the story that she has issues. She pushes people away — you can guess why her relationship with her mother is strained, and why old friends answer her phone calls with “what the hell do you want.” She also has a habit of getting shit-faced, hooking up with random guys and then immediately regretting it the following morning. Like I said, we’re not talking about Wonder Woman, here. Alias launched Marvel’s “Max” line for mature readers — the very first panel of issue one is a client yelling the word “fuck” through Jessica’s closed office door — and it’s probably the single best example I’ve seen of what comics for adults can be. It’s not “adult” in the sense that it gives us gore and boobies and all that uber-juvenile stuff that children aren’t supposed to see, but in the sense that people talk like people, sex is a thing that happens between human beings, and often the characters have to deal with some pretty messed-up shit.
Comics certainly aren’t the only medium with a history of poorly-handled female characters. But they are probably the worst offender. At the heart of these little crime stories, though — these detective mysteries that drive the plot and keep the reader turning pages — Jessica’s humanity shines through. Hers is the quiet heroism of the regular schmuck who life keeps dumping loads of crap on, but who keeps doing the right thing in spite of it all. She lives on the periphery of the events that generally drive all the big superhero comics, but seeing that world through Jessica’s eyes somehow makes it feel so much more alive. In one scene she’s out on a first date with — well, with Ant Man, but that’s a whole other story — and it starts out pretty rough. He offends her, she offends him, and they both start putting up their barriers, but finally settle into a conversation about what they have in common, which of course is superheroics. They bond. It’s nice. And I can’t think of a date scene this cliché-free and emotionally honest anywhere in film, television or literature.
Brian Bendis and artist Michael Gaydon are in perfect sync here — the artwork is stylish and expressive, and so far from most Marvel books that when the costumed types do make the occasional appearance, they look oddly out of place (seriously, Ms. Marvel, put some pants on). And Bendis’ famous ear for dialog shines — it’s razor sharp and often laugh-out-loud funny. You can see how he wound up writing damn near every comic Marvel cranks out these days.
I borrowed the two-inch-thick Alias hardcover collecting the entire 28 issue series from my friend Seattlegnome (not his real name), and it sat on my bookshelf for something like eight months before I got around to finally reading it on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Then I immediately rushed to my computer to write this up. Don’t let this happen to you. It’s been collected several times over (the regular trade paperbacks break the story into four volumes, then there’s the ultimate collection, which has it in two chunks, or the enormous single-volume omnibus hardcover), but however you find it, check it out. Even if you’re normally not into comics. Even if you just come here for the board games.
Alias is really gutsy, compelling, heartfelt stuff. For any medium. It’s everything comic books for grownups can be.
You have a limited amount of time, so why spend it reading about things that suck or are only kind of okay? Favorite thing EVER is not a review site. We're unrepentant fans, and this is the stuff we love. Hope you like gushing, because we're about to embarrass ourselves.
The art is just fantastic, and apparently I’m shallow, because if the book is ugly, I won’t read it.
It does have that thing going on where the insides don’t look like the covers, but it’s okay because the insides are all moody and atmospheric. And even though the art is in a fairly abstract style, it feels so much more real-life than most comic book art. So good!
Whoa. Ok. I must read this immediately.