Published: 1987 Written by: David Michelinie Art by: Bob Hall, Bill Oakley, Ken Lopez
Marvel Comics, 64 Pages
Review:
I used to own this and I need to round up another copy. It was one of my favorite “big” stories of its time. But all of the Marvel graphic novels of the ’80s that I owned, all have a special place in my heart.
Reading it now, it was still a really engaging story that featured my favorite Avengers of the ’80s, the West Coast Avengers. It also throws in Captain America and Namor. However, Namor is initially one of the villains of the story due to his allegiance to Atlantis and his willingness to do anything to secure his homeland’s safety.
The main villain is Doctor Doom, if the title wasn’t enough of a hint. This is also one of his grandest schemes and he actually pulls it off and succeeds at becoming the Emperor of Earth. However, the Avengers do end up coming to their senses and stop Doom.
This story also features the usually underutilized Purple Man. It’s his power that Doom steals and then harnesses on a global scale, giving him control of humanity’s minds.
Under Doom, the Earth finds peace and some of its major problems are solved. However, those pesky Avengers have to muck it all up because humans should be free to make their own decisions and not be mentally enslaved by some global puppet master. I don’t think that modern Marvel writers would agree with that but hey, they’re also killing their own company.
Emperor Doom is a solid story. However, it may have benefited from more space than a 64 page graphic novel could allow. This could have been a major crossover event and maybe have been better than it was.
Still, it is a good use of its 64 pages and it was a hell of a lot of fun to revisit.
Rating: 7.5/10 Pairs well with: other Marvel graphic novels from the era.
Published: June 15th, 2011 Written by: Jeph Loeb Art by: Tim Sale
Marvel Comics, 137 Pages
Review:
I wasn’t super keen on Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s take on the Hulk, which I read before this. However, I was really impressed with this story, as it seemed much closer to what made me love this pair and that’s the Batman story The Long Halloween.
This just felt right, looked right and hit all the notes perfectly.
First off, I love that this takes Daredevil back to his early era with the yellow suit. It works really well with this story and it made for a beautiful use of colors throughout the book.
The narrative is told in the form of Daredevil writing a series of letters to the deceased Karen Page. Each issue of the six that make up this arc are fairly self-contained, even though they are all sewn together with a common thread.
In some ways, this goes through a summarized retelling of Daredevil’s early years. In that regard, this reminds me of the fantastic X-Men: Grand Design comics.
We also get all sorts of cameos in this, as it is a story told through flashback and recollection. We get to see Daredevil meet the Fantastic Four, as well as his first meetings with The Owl, the Purple Man and Electro. Plus, it is refreshing reading a Daredevil comic that isn’t centered around the ongoing war for Hell’s Kitchen between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk.
If you really loved The Long Halloween, then this is definitely something that you need to check out. This is also, I would assume, very much the type of story and style that Marvel wanted out of Loeb and Sale when they brought them on to do four projects: this, Hulk: Gray, Spider-Man: Blue and Captain America: White.
Rating: 9.5/10 Pairs well with: The other color themed books that Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale did for Marvel.
Original Run: November 20th, 2015 – current Created by: Melissa Rosenberg Directed by: various Written by: various Based on:Jessica Jones by Brian Michael Bendis Music by: Sean Callery Cast: Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, Rachael Taylor, Wil Traval, Erin Moriarty, Eka Darville, Carrie-Anne Moss, David Tennant, Leah Gibson, J.R. Ramirez, Rosario Dawson
Jessica Jones is the second series in Netflix and Marvel’s television shows about the Defenders. It is directly connected to Daredevil and sets up what will become Luke Cage’s show, which will then be followed up by a show for Iron Fist. All of these heroes will then combine into the Defenders and get their own team up miniseries. And maybe they’ll eventually end up in the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the others. But probably not.
Let me start by pointing out that I loved Daredevil. He is one of my top five superheroes of all-time and it was fantastic seeing him get a series that was on the mark, after that Ben Affleck-led dud from a dozen years ago. That being said, I like Jessica Jones, as a show, much more.
I feel like the show benefited from the character of Jessica Jones not having as rich of a history as Daredevil. She is a lesser known character, by far, but that is one of the many reasons as to why she is compelling. There is a lot more creative freedom with the character and it is ballsy on Marvel and Netflix’s part, as she is such an unknown outside of hardcore modern comic book readers.
Additionally, the villain, Kilgrave, known more prominently in the comics as the Purple Man, is barely known as well. He certainly isn’t familiar to mainstream audiences and David Tennant was able to bring him to life in his own way, which is terrifying and exhilarating, especially if you are a fan of his fun and carefree version of the Doctor from Doctor Who. Tennant deserves an Emmy nomination for this, as he proved how great he can be, which was also made apparent by his role in the spectacular Broadchurch.
Speaking of acting, Krysten Ritter was perfect as Jessica Jones. While she had darker hair and the purists will probably complain about that, her performance was solid and very organic. She was believable as the bad ass Jessica and when looking at the other actresses who were finalists for this role, I don’t think any of them could have pulled off the character in the way that Ritter does. I’ve always been a fan of hers, since Breaking Bad, and this is the best she has ever been.
When it comes to our other heroes, Mike Colter was the quintessential Luke Cage. Hell, he didn’t have to act and if he was acting, I couldn’t tell. He is Luke Cage like no other actor has owned a role as a comic book character. While he is used sparingly, as he is getting his own show in a few months, the scenes he shares with Jessica are pretty awesome. For those who don’t know, they do get married and have a child in the comic books and I can’t imagine that Netflix will alter that but it is also probably a few seasons away from going into that territory. Also, Luke Cage becomes a key member of the Avengers in the comics. I’d certainly like to see him make the roster in the films.
Rachael Taylor is really good as Trish “Patsy” Walker, Jessica’s best friend and part-time sidekick. In the comics, she becomes the hero known as Hellcat.
The show never has a boring moment and each episode gets pretty intense. There isn’t a lot of filler and every episode serves a purpose. That’s seemingly hard to accomplish in modern television but that’s probably also why shows that run for twelve or thirteen episodes a season are better than shows that do twenty-plus.
The only real negative, for me, was that the final showdown between Jones and Kilgrave, after everything that happens, felt a bit underwhelming. The outcome was satisfying but I hoped for more of a mental battle. I also would have loved to see him be able to come back, as Marvel has the habit of doing “one and done” villains. A trend I had hoped they broke with the Kingpin in Daredevil.
I am really enjoying Netflix’s attempt at making Marvel properties for more adult audiences. Not every comic book property has to be made kid friendly. Jessica Jones, like Daredevil, certainly isn’t a vehicle for toy and lunchbox sales. I hope that this paves the way for more adult comic book adaptations in the future.
Also, I would probably buy the lunchbox.
Rating: 7/10 (*adjusted after the 2nd and 3rd seasons were shit)
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Talking Pulp 
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