Jessica Jones #15
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Michael Gaydos
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Price: $3.99
Release Date: 12/27/17
Rating: Parental Advistory
Plot: Killgrave (a.k.a. the Purple Man) finally has Jessica Jones alone. During Killgrave’s monologue, Kraven the Hunter snipes him under orders from Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers). Unfortunately Killgrave doesn’t go down easy and uses his powers to escape.
Story: The majority of this issue is Killgrave talking to Jessica Jones. During his speech, Killgrave states that he made Jessica’s life more interesting. This stood out for me because there is some truth to it. The Purple Man arc from Alias launched Jessica’s popularity. Plus the Netflix series adapted this arc as the first season’s plot. While the history between these two is very dark, Jessica overcame this and showed her strength as a character.
While this issue is just talking, the dialogue serves the story well. First off Brian Michael Bendis writes excellent dialogue. He provides his characters voices that clearly show their emotional state. For Killgrave, Bendis provides a certain smugness while talking to Jessica. For Jessica, he makes it clear that she does not want to be here. Also this dialogue filled issue goes well with the noir tone that Jessica Jones is known for.
My only problem is the story arc’s pacing. With this issue we are halfway through “The Return of the Purple Man” and we still don’t know what Killgrave wants. In the issue, he gets ready to tell Jessica until he’s shot in the chest by Kraven the Hunter. Bendis’s stories do move at a slow and steady pace. Plus this will be his final arc on Jessica Jones, a character he co-created, so it’s understandable that he’d want to finish the right way instead of rushing it. However, without a clear motivation it just feels like Killgrave re-entered Jessica’s life just to annoy her.
Art: Matt Hollingsworth makes some brilliant color choices. I like how the only purples he uses are for Killgrave. This really helps the villain stand out on the pages and pull the reader’s attention to this character. Also there’s a great double page sequence of civilians (controlled by Killgrave) attacking Jessica while Killgrave escapes. Seeing the faces of Killgrave’s controlled masses gives the reader a taste of Jessica’s perspective. Plus I liked the way Michael Gaydos and Hollingsworth drew Carol Danvers out of costume. Seeing Captain Marvel out of costume was a good way to downplay the superhero angle for this title. Also the look itself is a great civilian version of Carol’s suit, and the red helps her standout on the pages like purple for Killgrave.
Verdict: Jessica Jones #15 in another part in an interesting story. While the dialogue is great, the pacing does not help the overall arc. However since this is Bendis’s final arc for Jessica, I’m hoping it will pick up as we get closer to the end. Overall, this was an entertaining but average issue.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5