The film reviews are certainly coming hard and fast for you but I’m clearly slacking on the comic book reviews. That being said, I have the next few novels lined up, I’ve just yet to read them, haha! But I did manage to return to a series that I thought I had finished, but it turns out there’s another novel, and so I present to you the last novel in Vol 2 of Jessica Jones!
‘Return Of The Purple Man’ starts with Jessica learning that the Purple Man has escaped the prison in which he was trapped. She immediately panics and contacts her best friend, Carol Danvers, aka, Captain Marvel. Jessica explains that she needs everyone close to her to stay away, including her husband, Luke Cage and their daughter. Despite Luke’s protests, he agrees to fly off with Danny Rand, aka, Iron Fist somewhere far away from New York. Despite these efforts, the Purple Man is able to take control of Jessica and Luke’s daughter, Danielle. Naturally Jessica loses her temper but is forced to hear him out. He states that he wants to talk to her in person as she’s the only person that truly knows him. Despite her gut feeling she agrees and whilst they are talking, it seems that a task force has assembled to take him down. Their unsuccessful attempt to assassinate him reveals something far more sinister. He’s immortal?!? Jessica must now deal with this indefatigable sycophant once and for all. The last story in the novel is clearly a one shot and sees Jessica being approached with a woman who is in love with a villain named “The Armadillo”. Despite this woman’s best efforts to find him she can’t and pays Jessica to do it for her. Can Jessica stop her arch nemesis? And can she find his C-Class villain?
This novel has taken me ages to read and then to review. It has nothing to do with what I thought, it’s just that sometimes Marvel novels really struggle to pull you in. I had previously stated that this series was a little bland and I was expecting something big for the finale. Although there were certainly some surprising moments, for the most part I felt a little let down by this novel. Given Jessica’s powerset I might have expected more action, but in the end it felt like the Purple Man was not really defeated by Jessica at all. Read the novel and you’ll understand what I mean!
The artwork was definitely my least favourite thing about this novel. The whole style was sort of boxy and then the covers didn’t really come in and save it. Overall, this series was a disappointment. Jessica Jones is an intrepid and fascinating character who was reduced to a rather boring detective in this run! Hopefully there will be others!
Favourite Panel:
I mean third most wanted villain? I’ve always said that the Purple Man was underrated!
Favourite Character:
I mean there was barely any choice here, but I think Jessica takes it. I liked the MCU version but the comic book version shows more character!
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★½
Character Development: ★★★½
Artwork: ★★
Enjoyability: ★★★
Re-readability: ★★
Level: Intermediate