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BENDIS ON ALIAS
by Alex Segura Jr. (Newsarama)
Not
everyone is successful at his or her first chosen career.
Be it law, medicine, real estate or even being a super hero.
Take Jessica Jones for example. Formerly known as Jewel and
Knightress. Jones was a minor super being, hanging with the
likes of Spider-Man, Thor, Ms. Marvel and the major heroes
of the Marvel Universe. But something went wrong. Really wrong.
Now Jessica runs Alias Investigations, a one-woman operation
that sometimes drags Jessica back into the world of super-heroing
as she tries to redeem herself one case at a time.
But Alias isn't only about the costume Jessica
used to wear. It's about her life after being a hero, says
series writer Brian Michael Bendis.
"Jessica Jones was, for a short time, a costumed superhero,"
Bendis said. "But, truth be told, she wasn't very good
at it. Her powers are unremarkable in comparison to the great
icons that fly around New York City and she never found her
niche in that high flying life.
"But what we will discover in Alias
is that her remarkable days weren't meant to be as superhero
-- but as Jessica Jones Private Investigator. And we'll all
root for Jessica to figure that out as well."
It's Jessica's complexity as a character that draws Bendis
and series artist Michael Gaydos to the character.
"She's complicated," Bendis said. "I am constantly
amazed by her. It's hard to describe, but other writers will
know what I am talking about, she just surprises me."
Recently, Jessica made an appearance in Daredevil.
While some might question how a MAX character can move over
to a Marvel Universe title, Bendis sees it as an easy fit.
"Well, writers at Marvel comics have been doing this
forever, they carve off a little corner of the Marvel Universe
for themselves and they mix it up," Bendis said. "Alias
and Daredevil do have legitimate
crossover though, because they are both street level, New
York, Marvel crime-oriented comics. It was very natural to
find Matt and Jessica's relationship. You will see much more
of it in the future."
"It's a bit of a balancing act. But Daredevil
is pretty much an adult book anyhow so the transition isn't
too difficult. I think it's pretty much the same audience,
but that said its not like we are saying you have to buy Daredevil
to understand Alias or visa versa. I told
Joe about why I thought the books overlapped and he agreed
as long as didn't end up nude in Alias."
While most of the series has focused on Jessica's current
role as a private investigator, Bendis has dropped hints about
her life as Jewel and Knightress. These bits of information
will be coming together soon to reveal just why Jessica decided
to give up her costumed identity.
"First off Alias 22 and 23 will be
the secret origin story," Bendis said. "It's the
big reveal of how she got her powers, it guest stars Peter
Parker, Galactus and Thor, oh, you heard me.
"It's probably my personal favorite Marvel script as
far as what I think I can offer mainstream comics that no
one else is doing. I don't want to give too much away but
I would be surprised if it doesn't raise an eyebrow or two
on line. Man, was it fun to write.
"After that we have a larger storyline called purple
and it tells the horrible truth of what stopped Jessica's
superhero career, and it guest stars everybody. It is a big
untold story of the Marvel Universe, it's a dark secret and
it involves everyone.
"So, basically, issue 22 starts a run of stories that
I think would be interesting to fans of Marvel comics whether
they were into the idea of a private eye book or not."
Jessica's slowly developing relationship with Scott Lang,
the second person to wear the mask of Ant-Man, is something
Bendis had in mind for a while.
"He was on my list of characters that fit the Alias
theme in that he has a sordid past and is on his second chance,"
Bendis said. "I thought the two of then had a lot in
common and gave me the opportunity to really develop an adult
relationship."
One thing Bendis is sure will happen once the origin arc
is completed: Readers will have a totally new perspective
when looking at Jessica.
"Well, the audience of the book certainly will,"
Bendis said. "Everyone I have told the secret to have
gasped and raised their eyebrows. It's a real surprise."
Bendis, who has the title mapped out a year in advance, says
the character owes more to crime fiction than super heroes,
specifically in how readers first perceive her.
"Well, I know that some readers who picked up Alias
#1 were stunned by how far down the character was
both mentally and spiritually," Bendis said. "Superhero
readers are used to their leads being immediately likable.
"But crime fiction fans know that a staple of the genre
is introducing your lead at the point where they couldn't
be any lower and then we watch them pull themselves up by
their bootstraps.
"The reaction to the first hardback was very gratifying
because I constantly heard how surprised people were how much
they liked her by the end of the arc. Because you read that
first issue and you probably wondered if you ever were going
to like her.
"But that's the kind of character I really respond to.
I really love her."
While Bendis has a definite ending in mind for the series,
he wont be getting to the scene for some time.
"It has an end," Bendis said. "I know what
it is and have written the final scene. But that said I hope
to keep it going for a while. The book is a very fulfilling
experience for me and for Mike Gaydos."
The final thing Bendis would reveal about Jessica's end as
a hero: It was bad.
"Honestly it is all coming so soon that I hate to spoil
it," Bendis said. "All I will say is that her career
ended terribly, horribly. I am looking forward to the response
to it."
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