Comics Are Fun: Alias #10

Let's just say that #100 didn't blow me away. Don't get me wrong. I am quite sure that Wizard magazine has some pretty good reasons to list Ghost Rider #68, "The Curse of Johnny Blaze" as one of the 100 Best Single Comic Issues Since You Were Born. I just couldn't care less. Part of the problem with commercial comics in general, and superhero comics in particular, is that they seem to require a rather alarming amount of familiarity with the backstory of the comic in question to be moved by it.

What separates #99 from #100 is that the story doesn't require you to have voluminous knowledge of failed superheroine Jessica Drew to appreciate it, but there are enough wonderfully subtle elements that reward the truly knowledgeable comic book fan. Alias #10 tells the story of how famed anti-superhero adherent, Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, after insulting Jessica Drew's past attempts to be a successful hero in her own right, hires Ms. Drew to find out the secret identity of Spider-Man. And in the best comic tradition, in both senses of the word, hilarity ensues.

From the clever, and innovative paneling, to the spot on dialogue, conveyed beautifully in theatrical format, this little gem is well worth considering as a brilliant introduction to modern day comic books and how the medium could be used, effectively, to tell funny, intelligent, and recognizably human stories.

Alias #10 was written by Brian Michael Bendis, with art by Michael Gaydos.

Image comes courtesy of New Kadia.