Get Started In JESSICA JONES

Compilations  |  1st Appearance  |  Origin Story  |  Main Publication History  |  Secondary Publication History  |  Key Storylines  |  Media Source Material  |  Key Issues

by snowbi-wan, updated Jun 2019

Foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, ex-superhero, Jessica Jones, runs Alias Investigations and lives the typical life of a tough-as-nails private investigator. That's the character that Brian Michael Bendis introduced in ALIAS [2001] #1-28. Through retroactive continuity (retcon) explanations in ALIAS [2001] #22-23, Jessica Jones' origin turns out to be intricately intertwined with Peter Parker's. They both attended Midtown High School, and Jessica 'Campbell' had a crush on Peter but never told him. A traffic accident involving experimental chemicals was tragic for the rest of Jessica's family and led to her being adopted by the Jones family and to her subsequently gaining superpowers herself. Jessica's abilities are quite bland on the grand spectrum of superpowers. She has increased strength and some degree of invulnerability. She had the ability of flight which degenerated after extended disuse, but showed indications of coming back with reuse. Her introduction in her first Marvel MAX series was dark, reflecting some terrible events involving her nemesis, the Purple Man, which led to her hanging up her cape. Jessica Jones has gone by several superhero aliases throughout her career: Jewel, Knightress, and Power Woman. After ALIAS, the inappropriate Jessica slowly disappeared, and she migrated back to a less controversial mix of a standard super-hero career with a domestic life. She married Luke Cage, she joined the New Avengers at one point, and they had a daughter together. She has been a member of the Avengers extended family since. The character's overall popularity got a huge bump from her self-titled Netflix series, which is part of the Netflix arm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and explores her time as a disenfranchised private investigator. Although Jessica's powers are relatively below average, she makes up for it with strong character.

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Compilations

In modern comic publishing, it's common (and expected) for individual comic book issues to be collected into compilations of trade paperbacks and/or hardcovers, as well as other special compilations. Unlike the individual source issues, the collected editions typically stay in print for long periods and are less 'collectible.' If individual issues are out of reach or are not of interest to you or if you just need reading copies, the following collected editions of Jessica Jones comic books are the most recent in-print editions and are the perfect alternative to get started right away with Jessica Jones. The following compilations are presented in a chronologically-based suggested reading order with softcover editions before any hardcover editions (unless the only in-print editions are hardcover--these are integrated into the softcover list).

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CoverRelease MonthSeries / Number / Storyline
JESSICA JONES: ALIAS VOL 01Quick ViewSep 2015JESSICA JONES: ALIAS [2015-TPB] VOL 01
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
JESSICA JONES: ALIAS VOL 02Quick ViewOct 2015JESSICA JONES: ALIAS [2015-TPB] VOL 02
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
JESSICA JONES: ALIAS VOL 03Quick ViewNov 2015JESSICA JONES: ALIAS [2015-TPB] VOL 03
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
JESSICA JONES: ALIAS VOL 04Quick ViewDec 2015JESSICA JONES: ALIAS [2015-TPB] VOL 04
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
      
JESSICA JONES: THE PULSE--THE COMPLETE COLLECTION Quick ViewAug 2014JESSICA JONES: THE PULSE--THE COMPLETE COLLECTION [2014-TPB]
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
      
JESSICA JONES: AVENGER Quick ViewAug 2016JESSICA JONES: AVENGER [2016-TPB]
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
      
JESSICA JONES VOL 01: UNCAGED!Quick ViewMay 2017JESSICA JONES [2016-TPB] VOL 01: UNCAGED!
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
JESSICA JONES VOL 02: THE SECRETS OF MARIA HILLQuick ViewNov 2017JESSICA JONES [2016-TPB] VOL 02: THE SECRETS OF MARIA HILL
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
      
DEFENDERS VOL 01: DIAMONDS ARE FOREVERQuick ViewDec 2017DEFENDERS [2017-TPB] VOL 01: DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
DEFENDERS VOL 02: KINGPINS OF NEW YORKQuick ViewJun 2018DEFENDERS [2017-TPB] VOL 02: KINGPINS OF NEW YORK
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
      
JESSICA JONES: BLIND SPOT Quick ViewOct 2018JESSICA JONES: BLIND SPOT [2019-SC]
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon
      
JESSICA JONES: PURPLE DAUGHTER Quick ViewApr 2019JESSICA JONES: PURPLE DAUGHTER [2019-SC]
CURRENT PRINTING
  
Available on Amazon Go to Amazon

1st Appearance

The first appearance of a character in comic book form is often the most valuable issue featuring that character. It's a nice place to get started in Jessica Jones, if it's within your budget. A burnt-out Jessica Jones was introduced in ALIAS [2001] #1 after an implied rocky super-hero career. Through retroactive continuity (retcon) explanations in ALIAS [2001] #22-23, Jessica Jones' origin turns out to be intricately intertwined with Peter Parker's. They both attended Midtown High School, and Jessica 'Campbell' had a crush on Peter but never told him. A traffic accident involving experimental chemicals was tragic for the rest of Jessica's family and led to her being adopted by the Jones family and to her subsequently gaining superpowers herself. The 6-page backup story, THE BEST VERSION OF MYSELF, in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN [2003] #601 from Oct 2009 makes another retcon change by identifying the brunette in the last panel of story page 12 of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN [1963] #4 as Jessica. Retcon changes tend to be controversial, and fan acceptance tends to be subjective. When there is more than one candidate for 'first appearance,' the market usually indicates the relative importance of each book. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN [1963] #4 outvalues ALIAS [2001] #1 by a wide margin, but this is more likely because it is such a key, early Spider-Man book on its own than because it contains an unnamed Jessica Jones in one panel. All of the key books surrounding Jessica Jones' 'first appearance' are included below for completeness.

  • AMAZING SPIDER-MAN [1963] #4  (1st appearance of Jessica Jones (unnamed) (retcon))
  • ALIAS [2001] #1  (1st appearance of Jessica Jones (named))
  • AMAZING SPIDER-MAN [2003] #601  (backup story identifies unnamed ASM appearance as Jessica Jones)

Origin Story

The original presentation of an origin story or a retelling/recounting of it can be a good place to get started with a character or subject. Through retroactive continuity (retcon) explanations in ALIAS [2001] #22-23, Jessica Jones' origin turns out to be intricately intertwined with Peter Parker's. They both attended Midtown High School, and Jessica Campbell had a crush on Peter but never told him. A traffic accident involving experimental chemicals was tragic for the rest of Jessica's family and led to her being adopted by the Jones family and to her subsequently gaining superpowers herself.

  • ALIAS [2001] #22-23   (THE SECRET ORIGIN OF JESSICA JONES)
  • OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE: DAREDEVIL 2004 [2004]    (2-page character profile on Jessica Jones)

Main Publication History

Series beginnings are always great places to get started in comic books. Here is the Main Publication History for Jessica Jones comic books. Jessica Jones has headlined three of her own series. In the mid- to late-2000's, she had a host of guest appearances throughout the Marvel publishing lines, as she ramped up to her marriage to Luke Cage and a membership in the New Avengers. Since then she has appeared in many Avengers family titles. More recently she is part of the new street-level Defenders, a roster inspired by the Netflix arm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The Main Publishing History for Jessica Jones contains series where she was the focal character. See the Secondary Publishing History for other important appearances.

  • ALIAS [2001] #1-28   
  • PULSE [2004] #1-14   
  • JESSICA JONES [2016] #1-18   
  • DEFENDERS [2017] #1-10   (team member)
  • JESSICA JONES: BLIND SPOT [2019-SC]    (original graphic novel)
  • JESSICA JONES: PURPLE DAUGHTER [2019-SC]    (original graphic novel)
  • JESSICA JONES: BLIND SPOT [2020] #1-6   (reprinting original graphic novel which was itself a print version of digital first series)

Secondary Publication History

If you've already enjoyed some of the main series for Jessica Jones listed in the Main Publication History above, series from this secondary publication list are very good places to further your exploration. Jessica Jones was created by Brian Michael Bendis, and he included her in many of the series he wrote throughout the 2000's before other writers began to use her and before she gained membership with the New Avengers. As part of the Avengers family, she appears in many Avengers titles.

  • DAREDEVIL [1998] #39, 42, 43, 46-48, 59   (early appearances in Bendis' ongoing Daredevil series)
  • SECRET WAR [2004] #1-5   (part of the ensemble of heroes in another Bendis story)
  • WHAT IF JESSICA JONES HAD JOINED THE AVENGERS? [2005] #1   (out-of-continuity 'what if' story)
  • YOUNG AVENGERS [2005] #1-8, 14   (recurring appearances)
  • SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE [2006] #2, 6, 7   (appearances)
  • NEW AVENGERS [2005]    (sporadic appearances at first, leading to regular appearances throughout this series)
  • NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL [2006] #1   (wedding of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage)
  • ALIAS MGC [2010] #1   (reprints ALIAS [2001] #1)
  • NEW AVENGERS [2010] #1-34   (team member in Luke Cage's New Avengers team through almost the whole run of this series)

Selected Key Storylines

This section contains a curated list of some of the best storylines for Jessica Jones, any one of which can be a good place to get started. The inappropriate Jessica Jones slowly disappeared after the ALIAS series in favor of a more traditional super-heroine.

Key Storyline cover 1 for JESSICA JONESKey Storyline cover 2 for JESSICA JONESKey Storyline cover 3 for JESSICA JONESKey Storyline cover 4 for JESSICA JONES
2001ALIAS [2001] #1-9   (introduction to Jessica Jones and her world, appearances by Luke Cage, Daredevil, Captain America, Ms. Marvel, and Rick Jones)
2003ALIAS [2001] #22-23   (THE SECRET ORIGIN OF JESSICA JONES, origin story through retractive continuity (retcon))
2003ALIAS [2001] #24-28   (PURPLE, confronts the sickest, most reprehensible villain in the Marvel Universe for what he's done...to her)
2005YOUNG AVENGERS [2005] #1-6   (first post-Alias, straight-up super-hero adventure)
2017JESSICA JONES [2016] #13-17   (THE RETURN OF THE PURPLE MAN, Bendis' farewell arc re-introduces Jessica's nemesis)

Media Source Material

If you've enjoyed non-comic media for Jessica Jones, this section describes the comic book source material for some of the most popular non-comic media. The television series from Netflix, set in Netflix's arm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), is the first adaptation of Jessica Jones comic book material. WARNING: This section may contain spoilers!

Media source material cover for JESSICA JONES

Netflix's Jessica Jones series, Season 1 released in November of 2015, was adapted from Marvel's first Jessica Jones comic book series, ALIAS [2001]. The television series owes much of its noir-ish tone and dark subjects to the comic series, but the television series is more tightly scripted as a cohesive 13 episodes surrounding her nemesis, the Purple Man, versus the story-arc nature of the 28 comic book issues which covers several other non-related super-hero investigations by Jessica. The first episode of the Netflix series introduces us to the characters of Jeri Hogarth, Luke Cage, and Trish Walker. Netflix's Jeri Hogarth is a female version of the comic book character Jeryn Hogarth, a friend of Iron Fist's father Wendell and an attorney for the Heroes for Hire. Hogarth's first comic book appearance is IRON FIST [1975] #6. In the comic books, Luke Cage will become the most important person in Jessica's life. His first appearance in comic books is HERO FOR HIRE [1972] #1. Netflix's Trish Walker is inspired by the comic book character Hellcat (Patricia 'Patsy' Walker). This character made her debut in MISS AMERICA MAGAZINE [1944] #2 as a teen humor-heroine (the magazine was published by Timely, the precursor company to Marvel), but was later introduced into the Marvel Universe in 1976 in AVENGERS [1963] #144. Jessica's neighbor in the television series, Malcom Ducasse, is based on the comic character, Malcom Powder. His first appearance is in ALIAS [2001] #6.

Media source material cover for JESSICA JONES

Season 2 of the Jessica Jones television series from Netflix was released in March of 2018 and--plotwise--went into uncharted territory from the comic books. The season further explores the time period when Jessica is a down-and-out private detective, even though Season 1 had exhausted virtually all of the major comic book source material for that period. Also, Season 2 introduces the organization IGH and reveals that Jessica's natural mother is still alive. Neither of these developments have been introduced in the Marvel Universe proper. However, Season 2 of Jessica Jones still has a few connections to comic book source material--characterwise. In the first episode, we are introduced to another product of IGH's experimentation, the Whizzer (Robert Coleman). The Whizzer goes back to the Golden Age of Marvel Comics with his first appearance in USA COMICS [1941] #1. The comic book character's real name is Robert Frank, and his father's name is Emil Frank. Emil is the name of the television character's ferret. In comics, the Whizzer was re-introduced in the Silver Age in GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS [1974] #1. Dr. Kozlov's first comic book appearance was STRANGE TALES [1951] #83. Dr. Karl Malus' first comic book appearance was SPIDER-WOMAN [1978] #30. Aside from their names, neither of these characters bear much resemblance to their comic book counterparts. Several other new characters are introduced in Season 2 of the television show but have no comic book counterparts. The Raft is mentioned in the television series, as the only place that could hold superpowered criminals like Jessica's mother. In comics, the Raft first appeared in NEW AVENGERS [2005] #1. The Raft was shown in the MCU film, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, and the show has a couple other MCU references embedded. Kilgrave 'returns' in Season 2 of Jessica Jones, but only in Jessica's mind--as she killed him at the end of Season 1. In the comic book universe, Jessica stopped short of killing Killgrave (the Puple Man) when she beat him to a bloody pulp. He was subsequently locked up at the Raft. In Brian Michael Bendis' farewell story arc for Jessica Jones (Bendis is Jessica's comic book creator), Jessica tangles with the Purple Man a final time in JESSICA JONES [2016] #13-17. The television show was canceled before we had a chance to see if Kilgrave would return to torment Jessica's mind in future seasons as well.

Key Issues

A key issue can be an acceptable place to get started with Jessica Jones, but they are more of a collector's checklist, as they can carry high price tags.

Key Issue cover 1 for JESSICA JONESKey Issue cover 2 for JESSICA JONESKey Issue cover 3 for JESSICA JONESKey Issue cover 4 for JESSICA JONES

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  • AMAZING SPIDER-MAN [1963] #4   (1st appearance of Jessica Jones (unnamed) (retcon))
  • ALIAS [2001] #1   (1st appearance of Jessica Jones (named))
  • PULSE [2004] #13   (birth of Jessica's and Luke's daughter, Danielle Jones-Cage)
  • NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL [2006] #1   (wedding of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage)
  • AMAZING SPIDER-MAN [2003] #601   (backup story identifies unnamed ASM appearance as Jessica Jones)