New Jessica Jones Book to be Announced Tomorrow

[Raijin]

This is the first time I've read anything Jessica Jones related. Now I think I'm a fan! Between this and Cloak & Dagger. I'm eager to see what other digital comics they'll put out.

[Drops Of Venus]

Cover:

This was so unexpected! I mean, not Kelly writing it, as I had predicted that already, but the whole straight-to-digital with a surprise release. The whole arc-hiatus-arc dynamic Kelly explained on Twitter also seems very interesting. I haven't gotten the chance to read it yet, but I'm definitely checking it out and I'm pleasantly surprised with the way things are headed for digital comics.

BTW, I created a new thread so we can discuss this new digital line there and keep this thread focused on discussing the JJ book.

[Factor]

Wow, I only read the first chapter, but I'm really impressed. Kelly truly gets Jessica's voice and the art is phenomenal, I can't believe I had never heard of the artist before.
I was surprised the double length mant two chapters in one book. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the comic be the usual length but have it ship more often to please the supposedly shorter attention span of digital customers?

[millernumber1]

I thought the book was pleasant, with some nice touches about Jessica's past, but I unfortunately didn't get the sense of desperation that I think is necessary for Jessica Jones to really work. Bendis walked the line really carefully in the latest 18-issue run, sometimes veering a bit too far in desperation in pushing the marriage to the brink - but on the whole, it really captured what made me fall in love with Alias. The new series, when it talks about how Jess used to think she couldn't have happiness, hit that correct note, but...it's really hard to write something that captures desperation, since I think, especially for Jessica, there's a huge amount of self sabotage that has to be part of that, and if you go too far in that direction, you end up with a character that isn't likeable enough, and who you don't buy maintaining a marriage like the one she's depicted as having with Luke.

So I don't know if it's really this new series FAULT that I think it's just a bit too safe. I like a lot of the touches - the phone calls, the interview, the attitude towards the jerk cops, the final reveal - both decidedly from Thompson's voice, and also clearly paying homage to the way Bendis writes in general and Jessica specifically (really liked the feeling that it wasn't just Another Thompson book, but clearly Thompson taking writing Jessica Jones in the tradition of Bendis seriously). This is clearly a labor of love in the writing, but there's a sense where I'm never really afraid for Jess. And I'm not sure that's completely avoidable.

The art was fine. It did look a bit overrendered in the coloring (perhaps using CGI models, perhaps just the style - I know I had similar problems with the coloring for Pete Woods on Action Comics back in 2010, and he's moved away from that coloring style in his Justice League stuff from this year). Very Sara Pichelli, as others have commented. Glad to see that we've got art with some detail and texture to it, though - too much of Marvel's art from what I'm reading tends to skimp on those kinds of details and elements of polish.

[XPac]

I thought the book was pleasant, with some nice touches about Jessica's past, but I unfortunately didn't get the sense of desperation that I think is necessary for Jessica Jones to really work. Bendis walked the line really carefully in the latest 18-issue run, sometimes veering a bit too far in desperation in pushing the marriage to the brink - but on the whole, it really captured what made me fall in love with Alias. The new series, when it talks about how Jess used to think she couldn't have happiness, hit that correct note, but...it's really hard to write something that captures desperation, since I think, especially for Jessica, there's a huge amount of self sabotage that has to be part of that, and if you go too far in that direction, you end up with a character that isn't likeable enough, and who you don't buy maintaining a marriage like the one she's depicted as having with Luke.

So I don't know if it's really this new series FAULT that I think it's just a bit too safe. I like a lot of the touches - the phone calls, the interview, the attitude towards the jerk cops, the final reveal - both decidedly from Thompson's voice, and also clearly paying homage to the way Bendis writes in general and Jessica specifically (really liked the feeling that it wasn't just Another Thompson book, but clearly Thompson taking writing Jessica Jones in the tradition of Bendis seriously). This is clearly a labor of love in the writing, but there's a sense where I'm never really afraid for Jess. And I'm not sure that's completely avoidable.

The art was fine. It did look a bit overrendered in the coloring (perhaps using CGI models, perhaps just the style - I know I had similar problems with the coloring for Pete Woods on Action Comics back in 2010, and he's moved away from that coloring style in his Justice League stuff from this year). Very Sara Pichelli, as others have commented. Glad to see that we've got art with some detail and texture to it, though - too much of Marvel's art from what I'm reading tends to skimp on those kinds of details and elements of polish.

It is tricky to capture that self sabotaging desperation Jessica is known for, without completely steamrolling her marriage. She's one of the few happily married couples in all of comics, so I don't think they necessarily want to throw that under the bus to tell Jessica stories. But at the same time, you don't want to risk her stories losing her edge either. It's a tricky balancing act.

[millernumber1]

It is tricky to capture that self sabotaging desperation Jessica is known for, without completely steamrolling her marriage. She's one of the few happily married couples in all of comics, so I don't think they necessarily want to throw that under the bus to tell Jessica stories. But at the same time, you don't want to risk her stories losing her edge either. It's a tricky balancing act.

Exactly. I think Bendis himself struggled with that in the first arc of the second solo Jessica series, which is why the whole "Luke's going to leave Jessica! Oh, wait, no he's not?" stuff was a bit off in that arc. But going a bit too far in the other direction is another problem.

Let me be totally clear: I have ZERO interest in putting Luke and Jessica's marriage in jeopardy. But I also know that it's HARD to write that kind of thing and still make it a tense, hardboiled mystery where there are real stakes for the detective.