One of the best things about the explosion of interest in superheroes has been watching studios rummage around in the comic book attic for B-List (or C-List, or even D-List) characters that haven”t been adapted yet. Such was the case with Jessica Jones. Comic book fans – myself included – may have loved ALIAS when it launched back in 2001, but the Marvel MAX imprint was never on the general public”s radar. But with the success of Netflix”s Jessica Jones, Marvel is bringing the private detective back with her own solo series.
From the press release:
She is back after a decade! A lot has changed in the Marvel Universe and there are still many secrets hiding in the shadows. Secrets only a special woman like Jessica Jones can hope to uncover. Discover the haunting secrets from Jessica”s past in this blistering new series. Alias Investigations is open for business.
Not that Jessica has been absent from the Marvel universe. She”s been part of the POWER MAN AND IRON FIST comic, though perhaps not showing her in the best light. For her new series, Brian Michael Bendis will take back writing control of the character he created over a decade ago. Art will be provided by Micahel Gaydos.
IGN interviewed Bendis about the new project, and where fans can expect Jessica to be in her life at the start of the comic.
“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.
Having a child completely changes your perspective on everything, some in obvious ways and some in not-so-obvious ways. Some of them really sneak up on you. Like caring about somebody more than yourself, particularly when you're very self-involved like Jessica would tend to be, is a big thing.”
It”s been a banner week for Bendis, as this news comes hot on the heels of the announcement that the new Iron Man will be a black female teenager going forward. Riri Williams – the MIT student who will be filling in for Tony Stark – was also created by Bendis and will be written by him in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN.
With the addition of JESSICA JONES, Bendis now has five series going with Marvel. The others are CIVIL WAR II, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, INTERNATIONAL IRON MAN, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, and SPIDER-MAN. With 16 years of experience and history with Marvel, it makes sense they company trusts him to introduce new characters or bring back old familiar faces. But this is twice in the span of a week when comics has once again shown that while the needle is moving with diversity on the page, there”s still a long way to go on the creator side.