Somewhere online I once saw a list of popular fictional private eyes…the standard gang of characters: Sherlock Holmes, The Hardy Boys, Kinsey Millhone etc. and there on that list of notable dicks was…Jessica Jones. Jessica stands out because her gumshoe niche tends to be…superheros. No matter her Alias she can’t get superheroes out of her life which is why Andrew and I investigate her dark world in  Geek Hard’s Back Issue Bloodbath Episode 58: A Look Back At Alias.

From November 2001 to January 2004 Alias ran for 28 issues under Marvel’s MAX imprint: their R rated comic book line. Totally dispensing with the typical  Comics Code Authority…take that Seduction of the Innocent. Swears, sex and seediness were all in play and Alias does not disappoint.

Penned by Brian Michael Bendis this is Bendis at his best….just give him a pocket of the Marvel Universe and watch what he does. (See Daredevil, Iron Man).

Deftly balancing two unique art styles for each storyline: Michael Gaydos for the Rated R “present day” and Mark Bagley in the classic Mighty Marvel Tradition kicking it Old School. Alias is an infectious tension watching Jessica Jones resolving her life…grappling with an unwieldy past while trying to find her place in an uncomfortable present.

Alias with all its tensions and rough sex of course became the basis of the first season of the Netflix series Jessica Jones, which premiered in November 2015. (To be honest while I enjoyed Alias: I had trouble sitting through Jessica Jones. I would have preferred to consume a Purple Man series rather than a Jessica Jones series; Purple’s powers and nastiness works so much better on tv. Still Jessica Jones was decent but not appointment television plus it was born online it’ll always be there; this ain’t Wonder Years. I’ll come back to it; this isn’t over…yet. I am enjoying Netflix’s Daredevil as I go where the ruckus be.)

Once Alias concluded the characters from the series moved to Bendis’ subsequent series The Pulse. Not as strong; you can skip it.

I highly recommend picking up Alias’ 4 volumes. Perfect for a cold winter night when you don’t wanna put on pants and solve any crimes.
If you’re gonna geek out, GEEK HARD!

Sammy Younan @ W • T • F

Ziggy Was Here January 8, 1947 – January 10, 2016

Also published on Medium.