Jessica Jones (2016) #1 Long Review

Jessica Jones is a super-powered detective who was formally an Avenger named Jewel and has a child with the superhero, Luke Cage. This 2016 series continues the adventures of the character originally created in the Marvel Now imprint book Alias, created by Brian Michael Bendis with Michael Gaydos on pencils. The cover of the first issue of that book was also drawn by David Mack and it utilizes a beautiful watercolor style. The same style is used on the cover of Jessica Jones #1. Jessica is depicted side profile wearing her trademark blue jeans and a leather jacket. She is wearing a white scarf against a white wintery background. There is a warning in the upper left corner reading “not for kids.” 

Our story opens up with Jessica Jones imprisoned in the remodeled Ryker’s island. Dubbed The Cellar. Two guards approach her cell, calling her name loudly and she stretches her hands out of a small slot on the cell door. The guards tell her that there is no need for handcuffs as she is being let free. Jessica is shocked and asks, why? What happened? The guards tell her just to be thankful. They take her to a room where she is given all of her possessions. One pair of jeans, sunglasses, one men’s wallet, 134 dollars, three credit cards, one New York driver’s license, one private investigator license, and one Avenger’s membership card. Expired. 

Jessica gets changed and the guards show her to the helicopter pad. They expect a helicopter to be waiting for them but are surprised to see no one there to pick up Jessica Jones. Jessica asks the guards who was it that bailed her out? The guards let her know that no one gets bailed out of the cellar. Someone had to pull some strings. The guards radio their commander to find out what to do next when Jessica jumps off the helicopter platform. Into the water of the East River. Jessica swims to shore. And climbs onto land disheveled, with seaweed in her hair. Onlookers look on confused. 

Jessica finds her way back to Alias Investigative Services and Takes a shower. She ignores pending messages on her answering machine but after a while, she can’t resist the urge to check the message. As she checks the messages Misty Night the bionic Hero For Hire busts into the office shouting “Wheres the baby!” Misty and Jessica exchange heated words and Misty lashes out with a punch from her bionic arm. Jessica catches the punch and kicks Misty in the gut hard. Misty is shocked by just how strong Jessica is as she throws Misty out of her office. Jessica is sure that Misty was told to come to her office by her estranges husband Luke Cage. Fellow Hero For Hire. 

She continues to check her messages. One os from Carol Danvers her former mentor. Asking for her whereabouts. Then she hears a message from a potential client with a case. She gets a call from a woman named Sophie Brownlee. They agree to meet at a cafe. At the cafe, Sophie tells Jessica a story about her husband. That he feels like he is another person trapped in the wrong body. She believed her husband’s stories of living another life, where he has a wife and child. This detail pains Sophie as she is not able to bear children herself and at first thought her husband was being cruel. She began to believe him when she began to study conspiracy theories about other worlds and universes. And some people can move between worlds. Just then from their seats on the street outside the cafe, they see the Avengers Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man and Nova rushing to a battle. Jessica ignores this and continues to ask questions. It seems Sophie’s husband has disappeared. 

Jessica agrees to take the job. During the conversation, she looks up and sees someone watching her from the side of a building. A woman clinging like a spider. She flies to the top of the building where she saw the figure and after a rough landing is greeted by Jessica Drew, The spider woman herself. Jessica Drew came to ask Jessica Jones the whereabouts of her baby. The same as Misty Night. And she was probably also sent by Luke Cage. Jessica is offended by this and storms off. She pursues her client’s husband later on that night. 

Jessica is on a stakeout at night. Watching her clients husband with her DSLR camera. She has him firmly in the viewfinder. He looks nervous, headed somewhere. Just then Jessica hears a voice. “Hi Honey” Jessica looks around shocked to see Luke Cage standing outside her car. “Where is our daughter?” He asks. Bringing this issue to a close with a to be continued. 

This issue is a great set up to a solid story but is a little short on details for a number one issue. There is a lot of meat here that you can dive into by researching more on this character and her adventures. And this book is a great introduction to the character of Jessica Jones if Alias is not available to read, which at the time of recording this was not available on Marvel Unlimited. I’m going to give this book an A-. Keep reading issue 2 and onward to unwrap this awesome story. There is a lot more drama and a lot of sleuthing to look forward to. But as a #1 it slightly suffers from lack of backstory or details to catch up new readers. But if you keep reading it gets intense quickly. With a quarrel between Jessica and Luke Cake early in issue #2. It is very much worth a look.