ABC has announced yet another Marvel title will be heading to television soon. Variety is reporting that Brian Michael Bendis’ AKA Jessica Jones is headed to the small screen, and will likely hit the fall season lineup for 2011.
Part of Marvel’s Max line of more mature comicbook titles, the character is a superhero (“Jewel”) who winds up with post-traumatic stress disorder and gets out of that biz.
Jessica, now in her early 30s, decides to keep far away from others gifted with superpowers and to open her own detective agency. But once she settles down, she realizes she still has a drive to help people — and finds herself assisting other superheroes.
Bendis will serve as a consultant, while Jeph Loeb, Joe Quesada, Alan Fine, Howard Klein and Melissa Rosenberg will serve as the executive producers. Rosenberg is writing the series.
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Potentially, it could be a good drama with a strong female lead. That would be something comic book adaptations could use.
Jeph Loeb? Really?
Is Marvel so lacking strong female characters that they have no choice but to give a Bendis ret-con character a TV show?
Whatever. Good luck to the producers and the fans that are waiting for this show.
Have you ever read ALIAS? It is one of the best comics ever written and illustrated.
I have, and no it really isn’t
I disagree..as one of the posters below pointed out, Jessica DREW would have been a better choice. She has more name recognition as Spider-Woman then Jessica Jones does. Despite all the crap that came later, her original origin is fairly simple. She can do both spy stories or detective stroies depending on which part of her backstory they want to emphasize. Plus, while she’s been around for awhile, she isnt heavily tied to the Marvel Universe proper. Jones (much to my dismay)has been so woven into the Avengers history, that its going to be extremely dfficult to focus exclusively on her while retaining the characer from the comic book.
Sorry I have to answer you here instead of below there was no reply icon.
Anyhoo – aside from Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman – most female heroes in the Marvel Universe have a “and” conjuction before their names.
Jessica reminds me of that Dr. Kim Biggs character from Scrubs who was ‘always there’ but we (and JD) never paid attention to her. Jessica was there when Peter got bit by the radioactive spider, she was later ostracized by Flash Thompson, beaten by the Purple Man, she was Jewel then Knightress (sigh), as a PI many of her cases dealt with superheroes and on and on and on.
Let’s be honest: None of this will be adapted into the TV series making her into a “Human Target” like character where aside from the name – almost nothing will be the same. Again, not going to state for sure but her being be different from her comic origins is almost a sucker’s bet.
So whatever is left over or scraped away IF that still is appealing to the Jessica Jones purist and the word of mouth is good – she might have a chance. But – again being honest – it ain’t gonna be easy.
So whatever is left over or scraped away IF that still is appealing to the Jessica Jones purist and the word of mouth is good – she might have a chance. But – again being honest – it ain’t gonna be easy.
If it’s going to be a successful show, it’ll take a hell of a lot more viewers than Jessica has fans. I think the accessibility factor is going to be our key here. Can they make this story interesting enough for the general public?
To each his/her own – cause you (and others) like it doesn’t make it *really* the best comic ever written and illustrated. And still doesn’t change the fact that she’s getting a series over more established female Marvel characters and she’s a Bendis ret-con.
As I said, “Whatever. Good luck to the producers and the fans that are waiting for this show.”
Well, Jessica Jones is a concept that should translate quite well to TV. Cannot say the same for many other Marvel female characters. Very few of them are solo characters for one.
Black Widow and the like should be good too, but she already appeared in Iron Man. She’s not really a superhero either, more like a spy.
You raise a point that I must agree with. I’m almost sure that if we were to make a list, a majority of female characters in the Marvel universe are mainly part of an ensemble and not ‘solo’ characters like a ‘Wonder Woman’.
IMHO I think that Jessica Jones – a Bendis ret-con shoehorned into Avengers history and mother to Luke Cage’s kid – will have a hard time making it as a TV series without major changes because many of the things (her interaction with Marvel characters) that make her Jessica Jones can not be used.
For me, that’s already a serious handicap because she doesn’t enjoy great name recognition by the general public (viewers she MUST win over – aside from ALIAS fans) and if she’s too different from her comic origins, she might just alienate the same fans who knew her from the printed page.
I find the decision to make a TV series with her ALMOST a gamble akin to the CW’s choice of RAVEN for a TV series. But what do I know. I don’t have a standard formula for success. Raven and Jones? Success or failure? Ultimately, it will be what it will be.
And seriously ..not being snarky… but the truth remains unchanged and I fall back to my statement – Whatever. Good luck to the producers and the fans that are waiting for this show.
I disagree..as one of the posters below pointed out, Jessica DREW would have been a better choice. She has more name recognition as Spider-Woman then Jessica Jones does. Despite all the crap that came later, her original origin is fairly simple. She can do both spy stories or detective stroies depending on which part of her backstory they want to emphasize. Plus, while she’s been around for awhile, she isnt heavily tied to the Marvel Universe proper. Jones (much to my dismay)has been so woven into the Avengers history, that its going to be extremely dfficult to focus exclusively on her while retaining the characer from the comic book.
If they can do what ALIAS did and guest star good portions of the Marvel Universe this might not be bad, but as for a Jessic Jones/Jewell TV show standing on her own, it is suck worse than The Pulse.
That’s the problem: guest stars, I doubt they’ll have any big names (at least not for the 1st 4/5 seasons if it runs that long) and I hate those tv series/movies about heroes that only have the title character been part of that universe.
Wish it was Jessica DREW/Spider-Woman… *sigh*
Nah, she’s too interesting and actually has fans, why would they give her a tv-series?
Nah, she’s too interesting and actually has fans, why would they give her a tv-series?
I whole-heartedly disagree… Before Jess became nothing but the shrieking harpy in the Avengers house, she had a pretty interesting run on “Alias,” one of the few books where Bendis never jumped the shark. If they had to adapt something from comics, they could have done far worse…
Good point but I think (to do the character justice) TPTB should’ve gone for an animation (mature, Cable certainly) adaptation. Realistically speaking? I’d almost put down money her show will ultimately end up being less a “Castle” and more like a “Human Target” kind of show.
Strange to see so many negative comments since ALIAS is one of those comics that would translate to tv extremely well
Man… Tough crowd in here.
I think Marvel (TV) should use the same anthology formula Universal Television Action Pack used – call the show “Marvel Spotlight” and to save money – use different leads but the same supporting cast (in different roles), spotlight six or seven two hour movies with all the Marvel street masked vigilantes (Moon Knight, Nightwing Restorations, Powerman and Iron Fist, etc.) and let ratings decide who gets the green light for an ongoing series.
Apart from the positives and negatives of making a successful (or not-so-successful) TV series out of a successful comic, I guess the real question is “I wonder what they’ll call it?” Since I’m going to assume that “Alias” is going to be off-the-table for obvious reasons.
I read it was going to be called AKA Jessica Jones.
I don’t think a Spider-Woman series would go well on TV, just because of her “supposed” association with Spider-Man 9don’t worry…I know both characters…). You and I know they are nothing alike, but to the general public, this would seem like a Spider-Man rip-off, and after probably a strong start (people a curious…), once people see there is nothing looking like Spider-Man in there, it would crash miserably. The non-initiated would not be able, in my opinion, to dissociate the two.
So…that is why I think that, while it may still crash and burn, Jessica Jones could still make for an interesting show. Better than Spider-Woman. Because of this accursed arachnid!!! J.J. J. is right!!! He is a menace…
…I’m gonna go take my medication, now…