Alias Vol. 1
by Brian Michael Bendis
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Book Summary Information
Author: Brian Michael BendisEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05-01
ISBN: 0785111417
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Book Reviews of Alias Vol. 1
Book Review: A Private Eye for the Capes 'n' Masks Set
Summary: 4 Stars
Some of you old-schoolers might recall a superheroine named Jewel from back in the day, who had several adventures alongside the Avengers among others. And you WOULD BE WRONG. Jewel is an original creation for Bendis' now-defunct series "Alias" (not in any way affiliated with the acclaimed Jennifer Garner spy series on TV). She was retconned into the Marvel Universe and so she's "always been there", but as an exceptionally minor metahuman with relatively unremarkable powers, of course she never stood out.
In his ongoing "Powers" title elsewhere, Bendis has been telling the story of superhero cops. Now he brings us the superhero private detective. Jessican Jones, the former Jewel, is a one-woman agency, taking on cases ranging from the pedestrian (tailing people at the behest of suspicious spouses, searching for missing persons) to the extraordinary (touching upon the private lives of fellow superbeings and high-level government machinations). She's no World's Finest Detective or even an Oracle; she gets things done the old-fashioned way (mainly through Internet searches). She rarely has to call upon her greater-than-normal abilities, but they can come in handy.
Since this is a so-called "mature" title, there's a lot of swearing going on (partially just for the shock value to show that "Ooh, Marvel Comics is all growed up now!"). And Jessica Jones is no perfect angel. She smokes, she drinks heavily, she has one-night stands, she quarrels with her friends, she messes up. Her superheroine heritage is a mixed blessing, because it just draws the ire and scorn of the cops, while she was such a small fry in the metahuman community that she has few reliable contacts who will so much as give her the time of day.
This means that this is more than just a series of mystery yarns...it's also a bit of a study of what happens when you think you've reached the heights of glory, sailing through the skies alongside Thor and Iron Man, only to realize that you're really just not good enough and that your compatriots really don't think much of you.
Since the end of "Alias", the Jessica Jones character has been appearing as part of the cast of "The Pulse" and evidently has just started showing up in the new title "Young Avengers" as a mentor to the second-generation of Avengers. And with her nemesis the Purple Man on the loose again, we might see her in the rebooted "Avengers" title itself (especially since she's the pregnant lover of Luke Cage, a member of that reformed group).
If you've ever wondered what happens to a superhero when their adventures come to an end and they have to get a real job and they turn out to be a bit of an all-too-human foul-up, this is the title for you. The art is a bit sketchy, but it's rather suited to the seedy and desperate world the former Jewel now inhabits. This first collection, at least, is worth a look (the second volume is rather less impressive).
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