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Jessica Jones (2016)
Jessica Jones, Vol. 1: Uncaged!
After a decade, Jessica Jones is back in her own solo series! A lot has changed in the Marvel Universe and there are many secrets hiding in the shadows - secrets only a special woman like Jessica Jones can hope to uncover. Alias Investigations is open for business, and of all the many mysteries to discover, her new case may be the most dangerous one! This blistering new series is filled with haunting revelations from Jessica's past, and answers to some of the biggest questions about the new Marvel NOW! universe! From Jessica Jones' original creators comes an all-new chapter in the world-famous private eye's ongoing adventures!
COLLECTING: JESSICA JONES 1-6
COLLECTING: JESSICA JONES 1-6
136 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2017
About the author
Brian Michael Bendis
4,348 books2,468 followersA comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 307 reviews
September 10, 2022
They're back - Bendis, Gaydos and Jones! As MC Hammer would say... Can't touch this! This is the story of what happened after Jessica went to prison, let down all her friends and hid Dani (their child) from Luke!
There's the Marvel Universe... and then there's the Bendis Marvel universe where the reader is treated as an adult and gets proper characterisation, dialogue and plots. This is pretty well up there and just to make it that much cooler there's a supporting character who says they know all about the recent Marvel revamp (Secret Wars) as in the destruction of countless realities!!! Can't touch this! 9 out 12.
2022 read
There's the Marvel Universe... and then there's the Bendis Marvel universe where the reader is treated as an adult and gets proper characterisation, dialogue and plots. This is pretty well up there and just to make it that much cooler there's a supporting character who says they know all about the recent Marvel revamp (Secret Wars) as in the destruction of countless realities!!! Can't touch this! 9 out 12.
2022 read
June 21, 2017
So after reading this book I can confidently say I don’t give a fudgey-fudge about Jessica Jones!
JJ’s in prison for some reason! Her marriage to Luke Cage is on the skids and she’s hidden her baby with her ma for some reason! Intrigue? Mystery? Snores!
As I’ve only read the first JJ book, Alias, way back when (it centred around a VHS tape that revealed Steve Rogers was Captain America - yeah, it was a loooong time ago!), I wondered if I’d missed a bunch of stuff which explained why she was in the hoosegow and fighting with Cage; but nah, it’s all new stuff for this book. Compelling? Not really. More like confusing and mildly annoying.
And, honestly, I couldn’t care less about the state of her marriage or her prison crap especially as it’s all part and parcel of a convoluted plan with Captain Marvel to capture some no-name villain who wants to do generically evil stuff. As usual Brian Bendis crams the pages with too much dialogue and too little character action. JJ’s “bad girl” schtick is so forced here too while everyone else comes off as bland. Bore-pants!
The original Alias artist Michael Gaydos (giggles immaturely) is back and, yeah, I still don’t love his art. It’s coarse and rough and irritating. And it gets everywhere! … Alright, maybe quoting that cinematic masterpiece Attack of the Clones isn’t 100% accurate but you know what I mean. It looks as goopy and unappealing as George Lucas’s writing. The David Mack covers are pretty baller though.
One part of the story intrigued me: the subplot about the murderer who claims to remember life in a different universe. He says he knows about superheroes conspiring to blow up other universes to save their own, referencing Jonathan Hickman’s Illuminati storyline in New Avengers that culminated in Secret Wars. Who is this dude and how does he have this knowledge? I wish we had those answers in this book because I’m not interested enough to keep reading this series to find out.
Jessica Jones, Volume 1: Uncaged! is yawners. I recommend doing the dishes instead. Or maybe reading the original Alias series. Either way don’t bother with this one.
JJ’s in prison for some reason! Her marriage to Luke Cage is on the skids and she’s hidden her baby with her ma for some reason! Intrigue? Mystery? Snores!
As I’ve only read the first JJ book, Alias, way back when (it centred around a VHS tape that revealed Steve Rogers was Captain America - yeah, it was a loooong time ago!), I wondered if I’d missed a bunch of stuff which explained why she was in the hoosegow and fighting with Cage; but nah, it’s all new stuff for this book. Compelling? Not really. More like confusing and mildly annoying.
And, honestly, I couldn’t care less about the state of her marriage or her prison crap especially as it’s all part and parcel of a convoluted plan with Captain Marvel to capture some no-name villain who wants to do generically evil stuff. As usual Brian Bendis crams the pages with too much dialogue and too little character action. JJ’s “bad girl” schtick is so forced here too while everyone else comes off as bland. Bore-pants!
The original Alias artist Michael Gaydos (giggles immaturely) is back and, yeah, I still don’t love his art. It’s coarse and rough and irritating. And it gets everywhere! … Alright, maybe quoting that cinematic masterpiece Attack of the Clones isn’t 100% accurate but you know what I mean. It looks as goopy and unappealing as George Lucas’s writing. The David Mack covers are pretty baller though.
One part of the story intrigued me: the subplot about the murderer who claims to remember life in a different universe. He says he knows about superheroes conspiring to blow up other universes to save their own, referencing Jonathan Hickman’s Illuminati storyline in New Avengers that culminated in Secret Wars. Who is this dude and how does he have this knowledge? I wish we had those answers in this book because I’m not interested enough to keep reading this series to find out.
Jessica Jones, Volume 1: Uncaged! is yawners. I recommend doing the dishes instead. Or maybe reading the original Alias series. Either way don’t bother with this one.
November 6, 2018
3.5-4 stars!
Ask anyone, I am complete trash for Jessica Jones. I love that character and will read/watch just about anything she is in. When a coworker told me Bendis had written more, I requested it from the library and then impatiently waited until it was in my hands.
The mystery of this one with the client and her dilemma was boring to me, hence 3.5-4 stars. Also I skimmed some psychobabble tangents so this wasn't my favorite. But considering I dnf'd 4 books before this one, I call it a win. Cannot wait to dive into the next one!
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Ask anyone, I am complete trash for Jessica Jones. I love that character and will read/watch just about anything she is in. When a coworker told me Bendis had written more, I requested it from the library and then impatiently waited until it was in my hands.
The mystery of this one with the client and her dilemma was boring to me, hence 3.5-4 stars. Also I skimmed some psychobabble tangents so this wasn't my favorite. But considering I dnf'd 4 books before this one, I call it a win. Cannot wait to dive into the next one!
Follow me on ♥ Facebook ♥ Blog ♥ Instagram ♥ Twitter ♥
November 9, 2017
There are some good ideas in here but it suffers too much from being a square peg in a round hole. I'm a great believer in the old adage that your story should grow from your characters; you shouldn't take a group of characters and maul them artificially until they fit your story. It feels false to the reader. Still, as I say, there were some great moments here, despite its faults.
July 28, 2017
I read Bendis and Gaydos’s original dark Alias series about Jessica Jones, former superhero, her life on the skids, trying to dig out of the hole she is in, working as a P.I. Compared to all the typical superhero stuff Bendis was doing, I liked this a great deal, liked that dark noir-ish edge, something like what Ed Brubaker brings to superhero comics: brooding and angst. Literary fiction comes to comics.
Then comes the successful Netflix series Jessica Jones, with the corresponding cry for her return to comics, as well. Yay, I thought! I was pretty disappointed with this return of Jessica, for a few reasons:
*I hadn’t read the Civil War II stuff, and I went straight to this from Alias, so I felt just dropped into a storyline that was confusing/puzzling on a number of levels. For instance, her marriage with Luke Cage, now violently on the rocks, with a daughter Jess’s Mom is looking after, nothing explained. Is it even real?
*And she’s just out of prison, pretty much a hot mess (again), going nowhere, but
*She’s not really going nowhere, (maybe a bit spoilerish here, sorry) she’s really just involved in some forced story helping Captain Marvel defeat a supervillain . . .
*And! Allison Greene is not the best of villains; she’s kinda lame.
*And! In the process we are led to believe that a nihilistic killer Jessica interviews will get her to adopt a similar point of view. She’s off the deep end! She just wants money so she can permanently get out of the superhero game and betray her friend! Eh. Why would we really want to read about it, were it actually true?
*In addition to Captain Marvel, we see lots of Marvel superheroes and villains creeping in that we didn’t see in Alias, such as Hydra, The Spot, Iron Fist, and so on. Will she leave the Marvel Universe in what is essentially Alias Volume 5? Nah, this is a weird transition issue for the self-exiled Jess to reintegrate into the Avengers world.
*So, instead of building on the rich and complicated character we got to know in Alias, it’s a fake set-up, and it’s we readers who are being set-up. This isn’t the real Jessica we are dealing with in a lot of this volume, she’s operating undercover, but why not?!
I still like Jessica and will peek at just one more volume to see if Bendis can do something meaningful with the Jessica he masterfully created in Alias. But I am not optimistic.
Then comes the successful Netflix series Jessica Jones, with the corresponding cry for her return to comics, as well. Yay, I thought! I was pretty disappointed with this return of Jessica, for a few reasons:
*I hadn’t read the Civil War II stuff, and I went straight to this from Alias, so I felt just dropped into a storyline that was confusing/puzzling on a number of levels. For instance, her marriage with Luke Cage, now violently on the rocks, with a daughter Jess’s Mom is looking after, nothing explained. Is it even real?
*And she’s just out of prison, pretty much a hot mess (again), going nowhere, but
*She’s not really going nowhere, (maybe a bit spoilerish here, sorry) she’s really just involved in some forced story helping Captain Marvel defeat a supervillain . . .
*And! Allison Greene is not the best of villains; she’s kinda lame.
*And! In the process we are led to believe that a nihilistic killer Jessica interviews will get her to adopt a similar point of view. She’s off the deep end! She just wants money so she can permanently get out of the superhero game and betray her friend! Eh. Why would we really want to read about it, were it actually true?
*In addition to Captain Marvel, we see lots of Marvel superheroes and villains creeping in that we didn’t see in Alias, such as Hydra, The Spot, Iron Fist, and so on. Will she leave the Marvel Universe in what is essentially Alias Volume 5? Nah, this is a weird transition issue for the self-exiled Jess to reintegrate into the Avengers world.
*So, instead of building on the rich and complicated character we got to know in Alias, it’s a fake set-up, and it’s we readers who are being set-up. This isn’t the real Jessica we are dealing with in a lot of this volume, she’s operating undercover, but why not?!
I still like Jessica and will peek at just one more volume to see if Bendis can do something meaningful with the Jessica he masterfully created in Alias. But I am not optimistic.
March 9, 2017
Sadly, Bendis couldn't live up to the greatness of Alias with this new Jessica Jones series. The original comic was a masterpiece, one of the best works by Bendis along with Daredevil and Scarlet. Unfortunately, this one feels like a stupid cash grab. Where Alias was a deeply personal and disturbing story of Jessica's past, JJ: Uncaged is an unnecessary and heavy-handed commentary on the state of the Marvel Universe right now. And yes, the original series was in-continuity, too, but it didn't depend on it. Here, we have everything from Captain Marvel and her Civil War 2 role, to Hydra & SHIELD, to The Spot, to Luke Cage & Iron Fist hanging out, and the next arc even promises something about the secrets of Maria Hill (yawn). But nothing about Jessica. Even the intriguing start of the series was a dud and had nothing to do with her personal life.
The series may look like the real deal, thanks to Michael Gaydos and Matt Hollingsworth's artwork and David Mack's gorgeous covers. But it doesn't feel like a Jessica Jones comic, because Bendis is not the great writer he used to be, and he doesn't have anything new to add to Jessica's complex story. So if, like me, you're a huge fan of the character, prepare to be disappointed.
The series may look like the real deal, thanks to Michael Gaydos and Matt Hollingsworth's artwork and David Mack's gorgeous covers. But it doesn't feel like a Jessica Jones comic, because Bendis is not the great writer he used to be, and he doesn't have anything new to add to Jessica's complex story. So if, like me, you're a huge fan of the character, prepare to be disappointed.
August 15, 2017
The original creative team from Alias is back with a new Jessica Jones book. Unfortunately it's not as good. Jessica has just gotten out of jail and hidden her daughter from Luke. We don't really find out what's going on for half the book and we don't ever find out what happened between Jessica and Luke in the first place. The rest of the book has to do with Civil War II and Secret Wars.
The Good: Anytime Bendis writes Jessica Jones is a good thing.
The Bad: I don't like this right turn into the heavy hitter piece of the Marvel Universe. Alias worked best when it flirted around the edges on the MU. The fact that we never found out what happened before the beginning of the book that blew up Jessica's life was ridiculously frustrated.
The Ugly: Someone in editorial screwed up either here or over in the Power Man and Iron Fist book. Luke and Jessica had 2 kids in the Sweet Christmas special. I had wondered when they had the 2nd kid.
The Good: Anytime Bendis writes Jessica Jones is a good thing.
The Bad: I don't like this right turn into the heavy hitter piece of the Marvel Universe. Alias worked best when it flirted around the edges on the MU. The fact that we never found out what happened before the beginning of the book that blew up Jessica's life was ridiculously frustrated.
The Ugly: Someone in editorial screwed up either here or over in the Power Man and Iron Fist book. Luke and Jessica had 2 kids in the Sweet Christmas special. I had wondered when they had the 2nd kid.
October 21, 2021
5.8/10
A lot of things going on here, some work and some not so much.
It keeps you interested while you reading it but doesn't make you want to ask for more.
A lot of things going on here, some work and some not so much.
It keeps you interested while you reading it but doesn't make you want to ask for more.
June 9, 2017
Jessica Jones is back! The original team is on board! Woot woot! This has to be amazing right? Well it's been years, and Bendis has written many many MANY comics over the years. Some not loved by the comic community (X-men in particular) but I've always been a fan of most of his work. Even at his worst I still say he's decent. However I read Alias last year and LOVED it so I decided to give this a try? Results? mixed!
What I liked: Love the original's artwork returning. Loved the fact they want mature rating, and didn't feel the need to have as many curses. I love being inside Jessica's head again and her panels of interrogation and such were great. I also was intrigued with the storyline of Luke Cage.
What I didn't like: Why can't we stick to smaller cases. Why is this BIG case Jones has to do. She's a detective yet we're making her have cases that can change the world completely? I wish they went way smaller case. Also they try to build mystery behind why Jones is fighting with Luke but it feels a bit forced IMO.
Overall I enjoyed the return of Jessica Jones. I do love her as a character. I like the stories she usually does. I hope next one we have smaller cases but have a feeling they're going to go even BIGGER and I dunno how I feel about that. Still, this was fun, and I'm going stick with a 3 out of 5. A solid return but not a great one.
What I liked: Love the original's artwork returning. Loved the fact they want mature rating, and didn't feel the need to have as many curses. I love being inside Jessica's head again and her panels of interrogation and such were great. I also was intrigued with the storyline of Luke Cage.
What I didn't like: Why can't we stick to smaller cases. Why is this BIG case Jones has to do. She's a detective yet we're making her have cases that can change the world completely? I wish they went way smaller case. Also they try to build mystery behind why Jones is fighting with Luke but it feels a bit forced IMO.
Overall I enjoyed the return of Jessica Jones. I do love her as a character. I like the stories she usually does. I hope next one we have smaller cases but have a feeling they're going to go even BIGGER and I dunno how I feel about that. Still, this was fun, and I'm going stick with a 3 out of 5. A solid return but not a great one.
May 1, 2018
I'm so glad Jessica Jones is back in action, having really enjoyed reading her excellent four-volume Alias private eye series (which featured the same writing / artist team) back in December 2017.
However, Uncaged was not quite on the same level as those earlier books. There were some prior developments in her usually-messy personal life which were not particularly well-explained, and her investigation in this volume did not take center stage and seemed like an afterthought.
There were two brief but well-written scenes, though, that struck me as worth mentioning -- laconic Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich giving an angry Luke 'Power Man' Cage some fatherly advice, in the midst of his relationship problems, about 'the court of public opinion' and social media; and then a police officer (appearing intentionally to resemble character actor Giancarlo Esposito, lately known from TV's Breaking Bad) sincerely asking Jones if she was a victim of domestic violence - given her battered appearance and rumors on social media - and offering assistance.
However, Uncaged was not quite on the same level as those earlier books. There were some prior developments in her usually-messy personal life which were not particularly well-explained, and her investigation in this volume did not take center stage and seemed like an afterthought.
There were two brief but well-written scenes, though, that struck me as worth mentioning -- laconic Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich giving an angry Luke 'Power Man' Cage some fatherly advice, in the midst of his relationship problems, about 'the court of public opinion' and social media; and then a police officer (appearing intentionally to resemble character actor Giancarlo Esposito, lately known from TV's Breaking Bad) sincerely asking Jones if she was a victim of domestic violence - given her battered appearance and rumors on social media - and offering assistance.
May 30, 2017
Not quite as good as Alias had been, and I'm not sure I'm totally into the direction the story is going. But still a bit more than merely decent.
July 8, 2018
3,4/5
I genuinely didn’t expect to enjoy being with Jessica Jones again so much. Especially the art (after reading The Powers for months) is really nice . I must admit that I’m a bit disappointed that she’s not with Nick anymore, I think they are really good for each other ,but I’m intrigued about what happened with the two of them.
I genuinely didn’t expect to enjoy being with Jessica Jones again so much. Especially the art (after reading The Powers for months) is really nice . I must admit that I’m a bit disappointed that she’s not with Nick anymore, I think they are really good for each other ,but I’m intrigued about what happened with the two of them.
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July 13, 2024two stars ∗
August 1, 2017
I'm not a huge marvel fan but after watching the Jessica Jones Tv show I knew this character was interesting, much like The Punisher. This story is quite good but the underlining investigation is the one we really want to know about. The problem with jumping into a series is the holes that are everywhere, I have no idea what went on before. I liked the tone Bendis set and while the artwork was good, it tried way too hard to have that distinct noir style. I will continue with this series and hopefully the arc will be fleshed out a little better.
March 14, 2017
It's not great, and it's confusing to someone who hasn't read Civil War II (which I haven't). But it's nice. It's snarky and depressed Jessica and it's total Bechdel-passing. I'm glad it's here. I'll keep reading.
January 31, 2022
Bendis, along with the rest of the original creative team, returns to the character of Jessica Jones, which if you were a fan of the first iteration, is an exciting prospect.
The difference between this volume and the older volume is that the older volume lightly touched upon the superhero aspects of the Marvel Universe, in that Jessica Jones was a part of it, and yeah she has powers, and yeah she is married to Luke Cage, but the story was more personal. It was about Jessica herself and her turmoil. Here, we have that to a lesser degree, but we have a very much a Jessica that is engrained into the antics of the Marvel U. Don't get me wrong, half of the story is very personal and very much about Jessica's unstable lifestyle, but the other half is about how huge events influenced every corner of the Marvel U. The main antagonist is And that is interesting to see... but its a bit outlandish. For survivors of these events to go so askew rang a little false. But I see where Bendis is taking the story, and why he did what he did.
Overall, the plot seems a bit more forced this time around, but still an entertaining story nonetheless. I'd recommend this for fans of the tv series more and for people that wanted Jessica to get a little less personal.
The difference between this volume and the older volume is that the older volume lightly touched upon the superhero aspects of the Marvel Universe, in that Jessica Jones was a part of it, and yeah she has powers, and yeah she is married to Luke Cage, but the story was more personal. It was about Jessica herself and her turmoil. Here, we have that to a lesser degree, but we have a very much a Jessica that is engrained into the antics of the Marvel U. Don't get me wrong, half of the story is very personal and very much about Jessica's unstable lifestyle, but the other half is about how huge events influenced every corner of the Marvel U. The main antagonist is And that is interesting to see... but its a bit outlandish. For survivors of these events to go so askew rang a little false. But I see where Bendis is taking the story, and why he did what he did.
Overall, the plot seems a bit more forced this time around, but still an entertaining story nonetheless. I'd recommend this for fans of the tv series more and for people that wanted Jessica to get a little less personal.
March 25, 2018
If, like me, you start reading this thinking it will be anything like the netflix series, you’d be wrong. Although it is a good story and the art is good, you need to follow the universe involved to truly appreciate it. Unfortunately, I’m behind and therefore got lost a few times. 🤷🏼♀️ A bit of background refresher would have been useful.
February 21, 2019
If you’ve been living in a proverbial cave (or, like me, you don’t have Netflix), you’ve been apparently missing out on a lot of excellent TV shows. Thankfully, there’s this thing called a library---almost every city in the country has one---where one can get free books, movies, CDs, and other stuff. (Seriously, it’s an absolute boon for people who are trying to tighten their financial belts.)
My wife and I don’t watch a lot of TV shows when they actually air. We have a 5-year-old, which means that our TV is pretty much always playing Disney movies. This week, it’s “Frozen”, for the 186th time. Adult programming is relegated to that digital wasteland known as DVR, where most of the stuff that we think we want to watch ends up getting erased anyway.
We’ve found that renting TV shows on DVD occasionally works. Mainly because it’s a fun challenge to see if we can watch 20 or so episodes in the three weeks before I have to return them, which means we have a short window every night to watch two or three episodes once we’ve put the munchkin to bed and before we are both passed out cold on the couch.
I’ll be honest: I’ve become pretty damn picky with my shows. They have to really wow me out of the gate for me to continue with a series. My wife’s the same way. This is why we tend to give up after about six to seven episodes on really good shows like “Orange is the New Black” and “House of Cards” and even (you may gasp now) “Game of Thrones”. I think we only got through two episodes of that. My wife hated it. I didn’t hate it, but I’ll admit I was kinda bored.
I think, in the past three years, we have only seen about five TV shows all the way through the season: “Stranger Things”, “The Goldbergs”, “Westworld”, “Jessica Jones”, and “Luke Cage”.
The latter two, especially, were surprisingly excellent shows. My wife, who watches TV while surfing the Internet or playing solitaire on her iPad, actually put the device down a couple times during those shows. They’re that good.
Prior to watching “Jessica Jones”, I had never read a JJ comic book. In fact, I had never heard of her character at all. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos in 2001 for a series called Alias, JJ was targeted toward a more “mature” audience, whatever that is. (If you must know, characters can say “fuck” occasionally, and there’s some very PG-13 sex and nudity. ‘Cause, you know: that stuff’s mature and shit...)
In a nutshell, JJ was a former Avenger who quit the team and opened up a private eye office in downtown New York City. She’s essentially a wise-cracking gumshoe with super powers.
Having never read a JJ comic book, I decided to pick up a more recent compilation (2017) entitled “Jessica Jones: Uncaged!”, which was probably not the best choice only because I was unfamiliar with her back-story and only knew her from the TV show. Imagine my surprise to find that she’s married to Luke Cage and has a kid with him. Talk about a spoiler alert!
That said, the story wasn’t too difficult to follow, although some parts were confusing only if you haven’t read the last eighteen years of her series. I won’t even go into the plot here, so don’t worry.
Bendis is an excellent writer, and it’s probably a testament to how good based on the fact that even having never read a single JJ comic book prior to this, I was still able to follow the storyline and intuitively gather info from context.
While I liked Gaydos’s artwork, my one complaint is that his panels are too dark. There’s not a lot of color in this, and what color there is tends to be mostly earth tones. That, and a lot of black. I get it: it’s supposed to be very noir, but can we occasionally turn on a fucking light? Or maybe have a conversation on a sunny day rather than at dusk?
The one thing I really enjoyed about Gaydos’s artwork, though, is that he used celebrities as models for some of the characters. Spider Woman, for example, makes a cameo, and she’s clearly modeled after Jennifer Connelly. The villain in the story is clearly Carla Gugino. There are quite a few more characters like that. It’s like watching a movie that hasn’t been made yet.
Overall, if you liked the TV show, you’ll pretty much dig the comic book. I have since reserved every single back issue of Alias from the library, and I hope to get them soon.
My wife and I don’t watch a lot of TV shows when they actually air. We have a 5-year-old, which means that our TV is pretty much always playing Disney movies. This week, it’s “Frozen”, for the 186th time. Adult programming is relegated to that digital wasteland known as DVR, where most of the stuff that we think we want to watch ends up getting erased anyway.
We’ve found that renting TV shows on DVD occasionally works. Mainly because it’s a fun challenge to see if we can watch 20 or so episodes in the three weeks before I have to return them, which means we have a short window every night to watch two or three episodes once we’ve put the munchkin to bed and before we are both passed out cold on the couch.
I’ll be honest: I’ve become pretty damn picky with my shows. They have to really wow me out of the gate for me to continue with a series. My wife’s the same way. This is why we tend to give up after about six to seven episodes on really good shows like “Orange is the New Black” and “House of Cards” and even (you may gasp now) “Game of Thrones”. I think we only got through two episodes of that. My wife hated it. I didn’t hate it, but I’ll admit I was kinda bored.
I think, in the past three years, we have only seen about five TV shows all the way through the season: “Stranger Things”, “The Goldbergs”, “Westworld”, “Jessica Jones”, and “Luke Cage”.
The latter two, especially, were surprisingly excellent shows. My wife, who watches TV while surfing the Internet or playing solitaire on her iPad, actually put the device down a couple times during those shows. They’re that good.
Prior to watching “Jessica Jones”, I had never read a JJ comic book. In fact, I had never heard of her character at all. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos in 2001 for a series called Alias, JJ was targeted toward a more “mature” audience, whatever that is. (If you must know, characters can say “fuck” occasionally, and there’s some very PG-13 sex and nudity. ‘Cause, you know: that stuff’s mature and shit...)
In a nutshell, JJ was a former Avenger who quit the team and opened up a private eye office in downtown New York City. She’s essentially a wise-cracking gumshoe with super powers.
Having never read a JJ comic book, I decided to pick up a more recent compilation (2017) entitled “Jessica Jones: Uncaged!”, which was probably not the best choice only because I was unfamiliar with her back-story and only knew her from the TV show. Imagine my surprise to find that she’s married to Luke Cage and has a kid with him. Talk about a spoiler alert!
That said, the story wasn’t too difficult to follow, although some parts were confusing only if you haven’t read the last eighteen years of her series. I won’t even go into the plot here, so don’t worry.
Bendis is an excellent writer, and it’s probably a testament to how good based on the fact that even having never read a single JJ comic book prior to this, I was still able to follow the storyline and intuitively gather info from context.
While I liked Gaydos’s artwork, my one complaint is that his panels are too dark. There’s not a lot of color in this, and what color there is tends to be mostly earth tones. That, and a lot of black. I get it: it’s supposed to be very noir, but can we occasionally turn on a fucking light? Or maybe have a conversation on a sunny day rather than at dusk?
The one thing I really enjoyed about Gaydos’s artwork, though, is that he used celebrities as models for some of the characters. Spider Woman, for example, makes a cameo, and she’s clearly modeled after Jennifer Connelly. The villain in the story is clearly Carla Gugino. There are quite a few more characters like that. It’s like watching a movie that hasn’t been made yet.
Overall, if you liked the TV show, you’ll pretty much dig the comic book. I have since reserved every single back issue of Alias from the library, and I hope to get them soon.
October 2, 2017
This tried to capture the look at feel of the original mini, but it was just okay. If you do not keep up with the events of the Marvel U...you may be lost trying to guess what is going on in this.
September 17, 2020
As a huge fan of the shows, this wasn't half bad.
I loved that the Avengers were in this, especially Captain Marvel. Apparently our girls are best friends forever, through thick, thin and richer and poorer, locked up and freed... you get the idea.
It's interesting to see a superhero with a child too. I look forward to seeing more of that.
I loved that the Avengers were in this, especially Captain Marvel. Apparently our girls are best friends forever, through thick, thin and richer and poorer, locked up and freed... you get the idea.
It's interesting to see a superhero with a child too. I look forward to seeing more of that.
March 17, 2017
4.5****
Wow. This is so much more complex than I thought it would be. I finally find a story that delves into the human side of these heroes. It shows the effects of their actions, their family issues and the truth.
The covers are really stunning and if the story keeps heading the way I think it is, Bendis is doing one hell of a job.
Wow. This is so much more complex than I thought it would be. I finally find a story that delves into the human side of these heroes. It shows the effects of their actions, their family issues and the truth.
The covers are really stunning and if the story keeps heading the way I think it is, Bendis is doing one hell of a job.
December 17, 2016
Was pretty ok love the art work, the original series is better although the cameos this time round are better.
June 9, 2017
Four stars not because it wasn't a great, well-told volume, but because the end is just so damn sad. C'mon, Marvel, can't Jessica Jones catch a break? Just once? Maybe in volume two... sigh.
February 4, 2018
Jones is apparently an ex-superhero now working as a private eye in a world at the fringes of superherodom. More comic book than graphic novel. Story got lost somewhere along the line. Bottom line: didn't work for me.
June 18, 2017
The creators of Jessica Jones return to the heroine after several years and bring her back to her hardscrabble roots in Uncaged.
At the outset, Jessica is close to rock bottom. She’s languishing in a high security jail. She’s had a rupture with husband Luke Cage and has stashed their infant daughter somewhere Luke can’t find her. Jessica’s unexpected release has her back plying her trade as a low rent private investigator. She tackles a case of a woman whose husband claims to be extradimensional. That scenario turns tragic, just as Jessica’s motives in blowing up her life come to a dramatic, and dangerous, head.
Jessica Jones: Uncaged heralds the return of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos to their popular heroine. In the years since fans met Jessica in Alias, she’s come a long way. Indeed, during the New Avengers era, she was at the forefront of some of Marvel’s biggest events. She’s been less prominent the past few years, but the success of the Jessica Jones Netflix series has raised her profile and encouraged Marvel to both spotlight the character and return her to her grittier origins.
This is some of the most engaging work Bendis has done in awhile. No surprise there, Jessica has always brought out the best in the writer and Bendis has a real gift for teasing out the darker corners of the Marvel Universe in compelling, often surprising, ways. Uncaged uses Jessica as the pivot for a tense confluence of characters and story points. Cage and Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers play key roles in the series, while stalwarts like Misty Knight, Jessica Drew, Iron Fist, Sharon Carter and Ben Urich factor into the action, too. Bendis plays with the notion that all of Luke’s friends have been merely humoring his relationship with Jessica all these years and aren’t sad to be rid of her. But the Jessica/Luke relationship remains compelling, even in a badly compromised state, and Bendis makes the Jessica/Carol friendship realistically messy and layered.
Bendis uses Uncaged to follow up on some lingering plot threads from both Civil War II and Secret Wars, making Jessica Jones uniquely steeped in major Marvel events while bringing an outsider’s perspective to them. It’s a neat trick and the Civil War II thread especially is far more compelling here than it was in the original, overheated story. Bendis truly shines in the murkier parts of the MU and enjoys the comparative freedom of this more mature series (the book carries a parental advisory, mostly for language).
Gaydos is equally important in the project of bringing Jessica Jones back to the character’s roots. Later artists indulged the impulse to glam up Jessica and make her more of a traditional comic book female type. Gaydos rewinds all that, bringing Jessica back to the lo-fi, grunge aesthetic that made her stand out in the first place. His Jessica is very expressive, her tangle of complex emotions simmering beneath a surface snarl that occasionally gives way to some moments of genuine pathos. Gaydos doesn’t get tricky with layouts, using a straight-forward approach that serves the narrative. His gritty, lived-in approach creates a tense, constricting atmosphere and goes a long way toward removing Jessica from the shinier environs she’d inhabited for the last several years. Ace colorist Matt Hollingsworth is the perfect choice for this assignment, using a muted palette and careful use of certain color schemes (greens, blues and violets) to suffuse sequences with drama and to create mood and tension.
Jessica Jones: Uncaged is a smart, canny way to push a character forward by going back to basics. It’s a compelling read that both long-time fans and newcomers can appreciate.
At the outset, Jessica is close to rock bottom. She’s languishing in a high security jail. She’s had a rupture with husband Luke Cage and has stashed their infant daughter somewhere Luke can’t find her. Jessica’s unexpected release has her back plying her trade as a low rent private investigator. She tackles a case of a woman whose husband claims to be extradimensional. That scenario turns tragic, just as Jessica’s motives in blowing up her life come to a dramatic, and dangerous, head.
Jessica Jones: Uncaged heralds the return of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos to their popular heroine. In the years since fans met Jessica in Alias, she’s come a long way. Indeed, during the New Avengers era, she was at the forefront of some of Marvel’s biggest events. She’s been less prominent the past few years, but the success of the Jessica Jones Netflix series has raised her profile and encouraged Marvel to both spotlight the character and return her to her grittier origins.
This is some of the most engaging work Bendis has done in awhile. No surprise there, Jessica has always brought out the best in the writer and Bendis has a real gift for teasing out the darker corners of the Marvel Universe in compelling, often surprising, ways. Uncaged uses Jessica as the pivot for a tense confluence of characters and story points. Cage and Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers play key roles in the series, while stalwarts like Misty Knight, Jessica Drew, Iron Fist, Sharon Carter and Ben Urich factor into the action, too. Bendis plays with the notion that all of Luke’s friends have been merely humoring his relationship with Jessica all these years and aren’t sad to be rid of her. But the Jessica/Luke relationship remains compelling, even in a badly compromised state, and Bendis makes the Jessica/Carol friendship realistically messy and layered.
Bendis uses Uncaged to follow up on some lingering plot threads from both Civil War II and Secret Wars, making Jessica Jones uniquely steeped in major Marvel events while bringing an outsider’s perspective to them. It’s a neat trick and the Civil War II thread especially is far more compelling here than it was in the original, overheated story. Bendis truly shines in the murkier parts of the MU and enjoys the comparative freedom of this more mature series (the book carries a parental advisory, mostly for language).
Gaydos is equally important in the project of bringing Jessica Jones back to the character’s roots. Later artists indulged the impulse to glam up Jessica and make her more of a traditional comic book female type. Gaydos rewinds all that, bringing Jessica back to the lo-fi, grunge aesthetic that made her stand out in the first place. His Jessica is very expressive, her tangle of complex emotions simmering beneath a surface snarl that occasionally gives way to some moments of genuine pathos. Gaydos doesn’t get tricky with layouts, using a straight-forward approach that serves the narrative. His gritty, lived-in approach creates a tense, constricting atmosphere and goes a long way toward removing Jessica from the shinier environs she’d inhabited for the last several years. Ace colorist Matt Hollingsworth is the perfect choice for this assignment, using a muted palette and careful use of certain color schemes (greens, blues and violets) to suffuse sequences with drama and to create mood and tension.
Jessica Jones: Uncaged is a smart, canny way to push a character forward by going back to basics. It’s a compelling read that both long-time fans and newcomers can appreciate.
May 22, 2017
The original creative team of Bendis and Gaydos return their original baby, Alias, resurrecting it in the wake of the popular Netflix series under the protagonist's name, Jessica Jones.
I'd dare say that both Gaydos and Bendis have improved in their art and writing respectively since the days of Alias. In that old series, Jessica Jones was a former superhero who'd hung up her tights to work as a private investigator as she battled her own demons of post-trauma and addiction. It was a fabulous four volumes that created an excellent arc for the character. The tone was captured pretty well in the the first season Netflix series that bears her name.
In this one, many years later, after Jones has "recovered" as she basically did during the Alias run, she is nevertheless back to private investigation, once again down-and-out, and apparently split from her husband, Luke Cage. Mysteries abound, and answers are rationed and at a premium in this new story. The reader is kept in the dark over much of what is happening in the main plot until near the end. The team pulls it off very well. I enjoyed the ride.
Still, it was a little hard to accept Jones back in this role after everything she's experienced. The full plot in this volume gives us reasons for her return, but I didn't quite buy it. This really isn't the same Jessica as she was in Alias, and for Alias to work, she kind of needed to be.
I'm glad to see the team back. I did enjoy this book. However, for the title to work as it is now, as Jessica is now, I think it would be wise for them to lay Alias aside, and find a new and different voice and tone for this title. This very well may have been the segue to this new tone. If so, it just might work, and this might be a great new chapter for this character in issues to come. We shall see.
I'd dare say that both Gaydos and Bendis have improved in their art and writing respectively since the days of Alias. In that old series, Jessica Jones was a former superhero who'd hung up her tights to work as a private investigator as she battled her own demons of post-trauma and addiction. It was a fabulous four volumes that created an excellent arc for the character. The tone was captured pretty well in the the first season Netflix series that bears her name.
In this one, many years later, after Jones has "recovered" as she basically did during the Alias run, she is nevertheless back to private investigation, once again down-and-out, and apparently split from her husband, Luke Cage. Mysteries abound, and answers are rationed and at a premium in this new story. The reader is kept in the dark over much of what is happening in the main plot until near the end. The team pulls it off very well. I enjoyed the ride.
Still, it was a little hard to accept Jones back in this role after everything she's experienced. The full plot in this volume gives us reasons for her return, but I didn't quite buy it. This really isn't the same Jessica as she was in Alias, and for Alias to work, she kind of needed to be.
I'm glad to see the team back. I did enjoy this book. However, for the title to work as it is now, as Jessica is now, I think it would be wise for them to lay Alias aside, and find a new and different voice and tone for this title. This very well may have been the segue to this new tone. If so, it just might work, and this might be a great new chapter for this character in issues to come. We shall see.
January 3, 2021
When it comes to BMB, I have a lot of conflicting feelings. Too many of his super stories are rehashed 80's plots and it drives me up the wall. Then again, if you're writing as much as he was and carrying the entirety of the Marvel workload on your back for 15 years, you probably have to do some mining and begging, borrowing or stealing. Sigh. He blocked me on Twitter for making a comment about his 80s rewrites. Anyway...
Jessica Jones is the one thing he gets absolutely, stupidly, amazingly dead-on right. I love all of them, how messy they are, how many different personal problems can be thrown into this blender bc it feels like finally someone is always having a worse day than I am. And they person is Jessica Jones.
You want soapy drama? Superhero antics? Deadpan comedy? He delivers a little of everything, in a masterful blend that never feels hackneyed, but can walk that line sometimes, admittedly.
Art chores by Maleev are good, but not as tight as the days of Daredevil.
Grade: A
Jessica Jones is the one thing he gets absolutely, stupidly, amazingly dead-on right. I love all of them, how messy they are, how many different personal problems can be thrown into this blender bc it feels like finally someone is always having a worse day than I am. And they person is Jessica Jones.
You want soapy drama? Superhero antics? Deadpan comedy? He delivers a little of everything, in a masterful blend that never feels hackneyed, but can walk that line sometimes, admittedly.
Art chores by Maleev are good, but not as tight as the days of Daredevil.
Grade: A
January 4, 2019
I really enjoyed this and I love the coloring in this volume.
November 24, 2017
Some good points, I really do like Jessica but the main plot was kinda phony.
Released from jail for we-don't-know-what Jessica tries to get her life back. This should prove difficult since she somehow got most of the super hero community against her.
Oh, and she apparently "kidnapped" her own daughter, which Luke doesn't fare well with.
So Bendis does his thing: mysterious beginnings that unveils slooowly, long dialogues, with a knack for characters you root for. No problem with that.
But as I said above the main plot is corny as hell, seen a zillion times and the suspense points aren't suspenseful at all since you don't believe Jessica will actually do what she seems on the verge to do for one micro-second.
Contrived, phony, you name it. I know Bendis is not really a story-with-a-twist kind of guy but here he really sucks at it.
And boy, the villain is so lame it's almost painful.
But.
There's a but because Jessica is a good character, not totally original per se but one you can't help but like. With a minimal level of self-esteem and seemingly set on an auto destructive course she poorly handles her life and her family.
My kind of hard-ass likeable looser.
I'm not Michael Gaydos #1 fan but since he created the character he has a certain legitimacy in being here and weel, he's far from being the worst penciller ever so here goes.
To conclude I want to believe this first volume is a simple false start from Bendis who'll have regained his senses by volume 2. I wouldn't want to follow the series for all that is not part of the villain-of-the-week main script for too long.
Released from jail for we-don't-know-what Jessica tries to get her life back. This should prove difficult since she somehow got most of the super hero community against her.
Oh, and she apparently "kidnapped" her own daughter, which Luke doesn't fare well with.
So Bendis does his thing: mysterious beginnings that unveils slooowly, long dialogues, with a knack for characters you root for. No problem with that.
But as I said above the main plot is corny as hell, seen a zillion times and the suspense points aren't suspenseful at all since you don't believe Jessica will actually do what she seems on the verge to do for one micro-second.
Contrived, phony, you name it. I know Bendis is not really a story-with-a-twist kind of guy but here he really sucks at it.
And boy, the villain is so lame it's almost painful.
But.
There's a but because Jessica is a good character, not totally original per se but one you can't help but like. With a minimal level of self-esteem and seemingly set on an auto destructive course she poorly handles her life and her family.
My kind of hard-ass likeable looser.
I'm not Michael Gaydos #1 fan but since he created the character he has a certain legitimacy in being here and weel, he's far from being the worst penciller ever so here goes.
To conclude I want to believe this first volume is a simple false start from Bendis who'll have regained his senses by volume 2. I wouldn't want to follow the series for all that is not part of the villain-of-the-week main script for too long.
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