ALIAS: RED BAND #2 – Working with the Wildcard

Creative Team – Sam Humphries, Geraldo Borges, Arthur Hesli, VC’s Cory Petit, David Mack

Published by Marvel Comics

Catch up with Alias: Red Band #1!

The Story

Alias: Red Band #2 will be reviewed by Nerd Initiative’s Edalyn and yours truly, Megan!

Edalyn – When one goes into a Jessica Jones book, it may feel like one of the last things you’d expect is humor. However, its usage here by writer Sam Humphries is expertly incorporated, making Jess & Typhoid Mary the buddy cop duo we didn’t know we needed. Or, perhaps more accurately, Mary’s the Harley Quinn to Jessica’s Batman. The well-written humor brings levity to what’s otherwise a very dark premise, complete with expert pacing, usage of description to fill your brain with horrifying imagery, and flash forwards that make you question everything.

Megan – Alias: Red Band #2 is proof that the first issue wasn’t just a strong start, but an example of the high quality you can expect from this run. Typhoid Mary and Jessica Jones get deep into their investigation to find out exactly what happened with Jessica’s neighbors. The problem is that Jessica and Mary have extremely different ways of getting the answers they need.

Sam Humphries gives a perfect balance between Jessica’s seriousness and Mary’s unhinged behavior. Mary is a thorn in Jessica’s side throughout the comic, but Jessica knows she’s needed for this investigation. Along with the investigation, there’s also a whole other story between Luke and Jessica. There’s an obvious tension between the two, and it feels very fragile. Humphries expertly allows the reader to feel the tension and even feel that we are walking on eggshells while Jessica and Luke struggle.

The Art

Edalyn – With pencilling from Geraldo Borges and colors from Arthur Hesli, you know you’re in for a visual feast. Borges brings almost this old school-inspired grunge style to Jess’s world, something that feels impactful to look at and impossible to look away from. This is made ever better by Hesli’s color and shading, using reds to show Mary’s rage or using cooler colors to bring things to reality or make scenes feel cold in a great way. To add, the covers from David Mack and Jan Bazaldua are among my favorites of this year.

Megan – Geraldo Borges, Arthur Hesli, and Cory Petit knock it out of the park with the second issue. Perfectly capturing the old school investigation vibe of Jessica Jones and the seriousness of the storyline, Borges portrays the tone of the story expertly on each page. Hesli handles the colors and illustrates the emotions wonderfully, such as using cool tones when Jessica is on the phone with Luke, or when Mary pops off, and her wildness is shown in shades of red. Cory Petit creates a perfect flow of dialogue, making it easy to differentiate the different energies between Jessica and Mary throughout the comic.

Final Thoughts

Edalyn – 9/10. So far, this run is the exact comeback the “Alias” comics needed. Between the top-notch blending of humor and horrifying reality from Humphries, to the expert colors and lines from Hesli & Borges, this is something truly special.

Megan – 9/10. This is a story that any Jessica Jones fan will love. There are different layers in Jessica’s life, and she’s having to deal with all of them at the same time, which is handled beautifully by Sam Humphries.

Overall Grade – 9/10

Let us know in the comments what you thought of Alias: Red Band #2!