Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Variants #1!
Writer Gail Simone and artist Phil Noto's new Jessica Jones miniseries The Variants debuts this week, and Simone took the opportunity to show gratitude to Jessica's co-creator while promoting the new book on social media. Unlike many of Marvel's other iconic heroes, Jessica Jones is still a relatively recent addition to the Marvel Universe. This means that her introduction is still one of the most definitive takes on the character, and any new story centered on her has great potential to build on or tear apart the reasons readers have fallen for Jessica.
Though Jessica Jones already has a Captain America variant, she's actually a relatively recent addition to Marvel. Jones debuted in the 2001 Marvel MAX miniseries Alias from her co-creators Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos. Although she was introduced to readers over 20 years ago, Jessica is still a fairly recent addition to Marvel Comics 80+ years of publication history. Retroactively established to have been a schoolmate of Peter Parker, Jessica is roughly the same age as Spider-Man but she has only been around as a lead character for a third of the time he has. Further still, of the five miniseries solely led by Jessica Jones before The Variants, Bendis and Gaydos created the first three. Apprehension at diverging from or insulting the vision of Jessica's creators becomes all the more real in light of this. Any rational fears Gail Simone had in writing a new Jessica Jones mystery were quickly dispelled.
In a thread shared on Twitter this week, Simone noted that throughout the creative process, "Brian [Michael Bendis] was lovely, supportive, and kind." Simone also shared that Kelly Thompson, the writer behind the other two Jessica Jones solo books, was helpful and supportive as well. All in all, Simone wanted to take a moment out of simply promoting the book and share with readers how magical it can be working with other comics lovers.
Discussions of authorial intent and a creator's vision when it comes to collaborative media such as a shared comics universe can be challenging. Often it's easier to remember ego clashes between creators and editorial over a character's journey more than anything else. Jessica Jones has been through a lot, including dating Ant-Man, so it's easy to wonder how much of her character has changed over her many creators. Gail Simone's thread is a nice change of pace and reminds fans that there's a lot of love and teamwork in comic production that the public is not privy to.
The first issue of Jessica Jones' new series teases high stakes and an enticing mystery. The Variants #1 by Gail Simone, Phil Noto, VC's Cory Petit, and Tom Brevoort finds Jessica Jones dealing with alternate selves from across the multiverse, one of whom is a Captain America. On top of that though, she's also unraveling a long-term plot from her old abuser the Purple Man. The first issue alone sets up a fascinating story from Simone, and the readers' enjoyment can be sweetened with the knowledge that Jessica's co-creator is onboard with the character's new direction as well.
Jessica Jones' return in The Variants #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Source: Gail Simone