Fans of Jessica Jones are eagerly awaiting her official MCU debut in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2. Unsurprisingly, Marvel Comics is capitalizing on this with a new Alias comic centered around the superhero turned detective. However, Alias: Red Band is firmly set in the Earth-616 reality, with a version of Jessica whose life is different than that of her streaming series counterpart. Despite this, it will also be accessible and familiar to fans of the Netflix show who never read the comics.
As Alias: Red Band #1 opens, Jessica Jones is in a bit of a rut. She is now married with children to Luke Cage, who was elected Mayor of New York City. The establishment was not happy about a known vigilante running the city and forced Jessica to give up her private investigator’s license for so long as her husband was in office.
To say that she’s not coping well with merely being the First Lady of NYC would be putting it mildly. She’s sick of being seen as nothing more than Mrs. Luke Cage. And Jessica Jones is especially sick of the paparazzi, who are following her around and trying to catch her investigating crimes illegally.
This comes to pass as Jessica Jones is trying to do a health-check on her neighbors while checking the mail at her old office. It doesn’t help matters that she finds evidence of a serial killer at work. This leads to a major argument with her husband about thinking of optics before doing the right thing. It also leads to an unlikely alliance, as she makes a devil’s bargain to investigate the killings on the down-low.
Alias: Red Band a treat for Jessica Jones fans
Both newcomers to the comics and Jessica Jones fans in need of a catch-up will be well-served by Alias: Red Band #1. Writer Sam Humphries does a masterful job of setting the status quo without a lot of exposition. He perfectly capture’s Jessica’s sarcastic inner-monologue and the tone of the original Alias comics. He also manages a surprisingly effective introduction of Typhoid Mary and explaining why she and her husband would help Jessica.
Artist Geraldo Borges was the perfect choice to draw this new Alias adventure. His style leans heavily on neo-noir influences, with heavy shadows and deep detailing throughout. He also adds a number of subtle touches, like the panel edges becoming jagged whenever Jessica Jones is agitated. This aesthetic is further enhanced by colorist Arthur Hesli, who largely renders the finished art with heavy greys and blues. This contrasts sharply with the red punctuating action scenes and the hot pink of Typhoid Mary’s costume.
Alias: Red Band #1 does everything a good first issue should. It captures the spirit of the series so far perfectly. It also acts as a welcome introduction to new readers and a refresher for old fans getting back into the books. Beyond that, it is a love letter to everything that made Jessica Jones a beloved character on both the streaming screen and the comics’ page.
Grade: 10/10
Alias: Red Band #1 is now available in comic shops everywhere.
