Jessica Jones, Vol. 2: The Secrets of Maria Hill

Jessica Jones (2016)

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Michael Gaydos (Artist)

Jessica Jones is back where she belongs - in her own comic, and taking on cases as Alias Investigations! But as the most dangerous book on the stands digs even deeper into the new mysteries of the Marvel Universe, Jessica has uncovered a truly startling secret. Is this case too hot for even her? Will it shatter everything she has built for herself? Can she put the pieces of her life back together...or is it already too late?

COLLECTING: JESSICA JONES 7-12

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Fiction, Comic Book, Mystery

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone, did I say someone? No, it's almost everyone trying to kill disgraced former SHIELD boss Maria Hill. She needs help. Who would be the last person people think she'd ask for help. Yep Jessica jumping Jones.

More Bendis Marvel Universe greatness! The slow and beautiful unravelling of an unlikely truth, the making up or not with Luke Cage, and an humdinger of an ending! Whoosh. Above almost every other Marvel creator Bendis truly gets that at heart Marvel is about the person behind the superhero uniform, and his work on Jessica Jones exemplifies this. 9 out of 12, funky Four Stars :)

2019 read

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone’s tryna off Maria Hill, former head honcho of SHIELD - but who?! Jessica Jones is on the case.

This second book in Bendis/Gaydos’ second Jessica Jones run is a marked improvement on the first yawner but I still wouldn’t call it a great book.

The reveal of who’s targeting Maria Hill and why was unimpressive. The Life Model Decoys trope was way overplayed and, even if it was for yuks, it wasn’t very funny. I still don’t care about the ups and downs of Jess and Luke’s relationship, and the kid stuff was too cutesy-poo by half. I’m also not a fan of Michael Gaydos’ art and, as always with Bendis, there was a bit too much waffle, even though excessive dialogue is a particular feature of his Alias/Jessica Jones comics.

That said, the main story of Jess’s Mariah Hill investigation was pretty entertaining and there was just enough action and mystery to make up for the lacklustre family drama aspects. I also liked Javier Pulido’s artwork for the flashbacks.

It’s a mixed bag but, unlike a lot of Bendis’ last books at Marvel, Jessica Jones, Volume 2: The Secrets of Maria Hill wasn’t bad and, in short bursts, shows off Bendis’ storytelling skills well.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, despite its faults. I thought the Maria Hill storyline was pretty good and loved the Steranko-style flashback sequences drawn by Javier Pulido.

Still not overly keen on the regular art on this book, though. When all the backgrounds are just Photoshopped photographs and the only thing he's actually drawing are the people, it must take him all of a day to draw each issue... I wouldn't go so far as to say it's 'cheating', exactly, but it's not particularly impressive either.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time Brian Bendis (primarily a superhero writer) is creating a series about Jessica Jones. Call it a hiatus? The first time was through the terrific Alias, all too short, but way promising, and now more than a decade later and after a successful Netflix series, he is working on a Jessica Jones series again. And it is great, with a fully realized and interesting and deeply flawed and wholly likeable character who was once a superhero and messed up, and is now a private detective.

This mash-up of the noir mystery/detective story with superheroes is not completely new, of course, and has a great model in Ed Brubaker’s work (Daredevil, for one), but it really works for Bendis as a way of giving the whole Shazam! aspect of superheroes a flawed, screwed-up dark feel. Both Jones and Maria Hill are, in this series, in line for some redemption. Maybe they will get it, but a lot of people have given up on them, and for good reasons.

Luke Cage is one that Jones needs to reconnect with. They have this baby that needs co-parenting, among other things. And Hill? Well, everyone seems to have reasons to kill her, including Jones, but Jones needs the money, so agrees to try to find out who is trying to kill Hill and why. And besides, Jones understands that need to be understood and maybe forgiven. There’s something in the works about one or both of them being possibly reintegrated (or not!) into the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. universe, too.

The story is great and I have come to appreciate the artwork of Michael Gaydos on this series, something several years ago I hadn’t understood or liked. Now it seems wedded to Bendis’s storytelling, perfect for helping us connect to these two women. Not glossy mass-produced superhero art. And David Mack’s experimental covers! Pretty amazing contribution to the series. A great team for a pretty outsider view of a superhero world.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where Bendis always shines is his character moments. The relationship between Luke and Jessica is fantastic. Luke is understandably still pissed after the events of the last arc. After all, Jess hid their baby girl from him. The book works best when Maria Hill is nowhere near this book.

Maria Hill's story and Jess's investigation is boring and pointless. Some of it doesn't even make any sense, like why a Maria Hill LMD tries to kill Jessica. Even Jessica can't get an explanation. Halfway through I was ready to just flip through and skip all that nonsense. All my friends here seemed to really like the flashback sequence by Javier Pulido. I think he draws like a little kid. His art is highly overrated and it drives me bonkers. I honestly don't know why Jessica doesn't beat the snot out of Maria Hill by the end of this book.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

JJ's new series finally evokes some Alias-like luster with The Secrets of Maria Hill. In this edition Jones is still trying to untangle in her chaotic personal life (motherhood, Luke Cage, . . . prison?) while also digging into a lucrative case by request of ousted SHIELD director Hill. Any bets that Jones' investigation rolls smoothly like a marble on a sheet of glass? Riiiight - just bring the usual pain.

A highlight was a Steranko-inspired retro-flashback (with an old-school Nick Fury cameo) called "The Break-Out!," showing Hill in action during her field agent days and the messy aftermath of a mission. Humorously, HYRDA agents have all the sharpshooting ability of Imperial Stormtroopers.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was pretty great, practically on par with the original run.



Too bad we never got to see Krysten Ritter and Cobie Smulders mix it up onscreen like this. Disney's loss, I suppose.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica Jones doing what she does best!

[winnie ₊ ⊹]

two stars ∗

[Artemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume of Benids’s unnecessary return of Jessica Jones is slightly better than the first, but only slightly.

The book, as evidenced by the title, is focused on Maria Hill and her greatest secret. Does it have anything to do with Jessica and her ongoing quest of becoming a little bit less of a hot mess? Nope. Absolutely nothing. Honestly, the entire Maria Hill storyline in this volume is extremely dull and disposable, and I didn’t care about it for a second. And really, does anybody give a shit about Maria Hill at all? She’s barely a character.

What‘s good about this volume, though, is the focus on Jessica and her interactions with her daughter and Luke Cage. I still think that Luke is acting like a dick towards Jessica, considering she really didn’t do anything that would justify treating her the way he does. But when those two aren’t being insufferable towards each other, it’s actually really sweet, and Bendis manages to write their relationship like they are a real and complicated couple. I liked that a lot. That, and the dialogue is really good throughout the entire volume, almost as good as it was in Alias (minus all the hardcore swearing — Marvel wouldn’t allow that shit in such a mainstream-appealing book).

The art by Michael Gaydos is good as always (if you’re into it), and the book also features a couple of flashbacks to Maria Hill’s past as a SHIELD spy that were drawn by Javier Pulido — always great to see his artwork, and it works really well for the story, even if the story itself isn’t that good.

Jessica’s character arc was pretty much completed by Bendis in Pulse, so this series didn’t need to exist in the first place. But since it does, I guess it could have been worse. While Bendis resorts to storylines that don’t have anything to do with Jessica’s character, he still tries to evolve her a little bit, drawing at least some character development from the fact that she is now a mother. Overall, it‘s an okay read, but I would only recommend this series to die-hard Jessica Jones fans.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]
Maria Hill needs help. SHIELD has been disbanded, and now everyone she's ever annoyed (so, literally everyone) is out to kill her. Or are they? Enter Jessica Jones, disgruntled private investigator.

This book is soooooo slooooooow. I expect reading it in single issues is probably not the way to go, with the collected edition giving a more complete experience, but I'd know this was a Bendis book without even looking because it takes bloody ages to get anywhere. The 'secret' of Maria Hill isn't even on the table until the penultimate issue of the story, with the rest of it a dangerous game of cat and mouse between Jess, Maria, and the people out to kill both of them.

The character work between Jess and Luke is a highlight however, as are the flashback sequences by Javier Pulido that look like they're pulled from an old 60s SHIELD comic. But it's been 12 issues and Jess has solved exactly two cases, I feel like we need a bit more oomph. Luckily the Legacy storyline that comes next looks to be more up my alley, but this one is a little hard going at times.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis' second coming of Jessica Jones continues to be great. In fact, this is stronger than the first volume, because we don't get Jessica's really questionable pretend betrayal.

We do get great character development of both Jessica and Luke.

We get a nice plot, that has at its heart an interesting mystery that Jessica investigates over the course of the volume.

Finally, we get great details on Maria Hill, which may be more than we've ever learned about her in all the years that she's been knocking around the Marvel universe.

So overall, an intriguing volume, and then a really scary setup for what comes next!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still love Jessica and will keep reading this probably no matter what. Sometimes it’s really good, but sometimes Bendis’s idea of what makes something “adult” is like.....really? There are legit 2 full pages about peeing in a cup. Like...??

That said, it’s cool and interesting and kind of retro to get deep into SHIELD past/life model decoy shit and a sort of twisty turny case.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Jessica Jones: The Secrets of Maria Hill”, written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Michael Gaydos, pits Jessica against the iron might of S.H.I.E.L.D. as former director, Maria Hill, hires Jessica to find out who is trying to kill her.

There’s a lot of good stuff in this, and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read some of the other titles and storylines that are referenced. (I feel like I’ve missed a few episodes in a long-running series in which a lot of big stuff happened.) As someone who only knows what’s going on in the MCU based on the movies, not the comics, I was a bit confused by some things, but Bendis does a decent job of letting the reader pick stuff up in context and/or letting us know that the backstory isn’t super-relevant to enjoying the present story.

It was nice to read more about Hill (a character played by Cobie Smulders in the films), who I didn’t know much about beyond her wise-cracking, leather-clad bad-assery and glorified sidekick status for Nick Fury. Apparently, in the comics, she became director of S.H.I.E.L.D. after Fury retired. She was replaced as Director by Sharon Carter (played in the films by Emily VanCamp), who, in the comics, seems like kind of a bitch.

While I dig blondes, I’m partial to brunettes, so I was rooting for Hill in this one.

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time to go on a Bendis bender! (#1 of 8)

This book exemplifies everything I like about Bendis' writing.
* Characters whose only traits are sarcasm and coolness.
* Clever dialogue and Tarantinoesque asides (about the multiplication of Spider-People in this case).
* Plots that are filled with action, twists, and cliffhangers that don't really amount to much except short filler between the many delightful pages of talking heads.
* A playful dissection of his characters, the Marvel Universe and comic books.

Seven books to go. I hope I didn't peak early on this bender.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone wants to kill Maria Hill. Hey, who can blame 'em, right?
Anyway Maria hires Jessica, of all people, to find out who.

Since it's a Bendis book it takes like forever to get to the point. A rather anticlimactic point for that matter but original in a way. Before that pages of silent pages, pages of good punchlines, pages of... not much really.

Still I'm fond of Jessica. She's a cool hard-ass character. It's not like I've never seen her type before but let's face it, Bendis writes her real well.

Can that be all? Dunno. Six issues per volume, half of them treading water, can certainly be boring after a while. I like Jessica but Bendis should really shift gear before everybody loses interest in her.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bendis really seems to enjoy kicking the shit out of his favourite girls. Jessica continues to take it in the teeth (like last volume wasn’t enough) but Bendis reserves his full wrath for Maria and the sins of her past.

No way around it: not likeable, not really earning our respect, except by way of their own self-destructive (and at a distance, entertaining as hell) nature.

Dialogue is as good as Bendis has ever done - like writing Jessica and Luke wakes Bendis out of his mid-life fog, ready with a sharp-as kitten-claws sentence.

Thank the dogs he did this before bailing completely. Washes the taste of most of his recent wet farts out of my nose.

[Trike · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s cool to get back into Jessica’s gritty, messy, snarky life. This is a cool story focusing on Maria Hill, former director of SHIELD, the kind of story Marvel used to do about supporting characters that helps fill in the world.

The art by Gaydos feels sketchier this time around, but it does the job it needs to do, and it’s an excellent complement to the grimy story filled with shady characters with dirty secrets,

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved The Secrets of Maria Hill a lot! Jessica and Maria had an interesting dynamic and I was intrigued by the S.H.I.E.L.D. machinations and how it all played out for Maria.

[jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending was *chef’s kiss* and I still ADORE the art style of these Jessica Jones comics. Excited to read part three soon! ❤️

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depois de ter lido dois encadernados dessa nova fase de Jessica Jones, eu estou desconfiando que ela seja melhor que a primeira. Não sei, tem alguma coisa que se perde na tradução das histórias da Jessica pelo Bendis e que não é problema dos tradutores. É algo na forma como a história e a personagem são construídas, tão diferentes daquelas outras mulheres dos quadrinhos de super-heróis que costumamos ver. E sempre é ótimos vermos mulheres diferentes serem mostradas nos quadrinhos. Neste eu reparei um pouco da experiência pessoal de Bendis, que também tem uma filha de "raças mistas" (odeio essa expressão), pois sua mulher é negra. Na parte em que Jessica e Luke se reconciliam por causa da filha é algo bonito de se ver. Mas vejo também que os enredos de Bendis estão mais maduros, lidando com temas mais importantes, e a própria construção da história, se comparada com ALIAS está melhor. Jessica Jones tomou novas dimensões, para além das múltiplas que ela já tinha - ao menos se comparada com as demais super-heroínas Marvel ou DC Comics. Jessica Jones é um paradoxo, mas na verdade todos escritores, desenhistas e editores, leitores, produtores de conteúdo, enfim, pessoas ligadas aos quadrinhos, a deviam ter como um paradigma.

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book continues to be an adventure. The fall-out from the events of Marvel Comics start getting close to home for Jessica with the arrival of Maria Hill. I can't say more than that, but this brings the crime-noir world of Jessica Jones to the espionage, cloak-and-dagger world of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The art by Gaydos (and David Mack on the covers) is still fire and the writing is some of the best by Bendis this year.

[Todd Glaeser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica Jones is the character that Bendis should write and explore the Marvel universe with. So much of this book is incredible.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great stuff!

Recommended for fans of good solid writing!

Great artwork as well!

[Scott Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read more than a few reviews that show Bendis (and this series) taking some major blowback of late, but I still love the guy, and I enjoyed this book as well.

Jessica has been thoroughly tied into the mainstream Marvel Universe since the original Alias mini-series, and there's really no realistic chance of putting that genie back in the bottle--I get that this changes the tone and experience of the book quite a bit, but I'm okay with it. In fact, I prefer it to some lame excuse that would return her to where she was. The one they used in book one where they had her walk out on Luke etc. out of loyalty to Carol and a desire to help children was enough of a stretch...at least the helping abandoned children thing was reasonably believable as motivation.

In this volume Jessica takes on a case for Maria Hill--yes that Maria Hill and with typical bumps and scams along way she eventually figures things out. I have been unimpressed with the expansion of S.H.I.E.L.D. into every nook and cranny of the MU over the past twenty years or so, and I'm not a huge Maria Hill fan. The Jessica bits of the story, including her interactions with Hill all make perfect sense to me. I enjoyed those. The S.H.I.E.L.D.y bits where Maria's all convoluted and screwed up and somehow thinks her behavior is justified? Not so into that. Thankfully those bits are of limited extension and are mostly delivered in a P.O.V. that clearly doesn't believe Hill's BS.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve already gone on about personal thoughts on Jessica Jones, comic and tv series differences, etc. in the review of the first book of this limited series and I don’t want to be redundant, so suffice it to say, this book was more of the same, albeit it now I was more used to the art and the narrative style. Jessica Jones’s prison stint has been explained and she is now back to working as a private investigator. Specifically, setting aside personal animosities to solve the case for a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. There’s tons (too much for my liking) of interagencies’ intrigue and something like killer clones. And honestly I didn’t enjoy any of it as much as I did Jessica’s character herself, her relationship with Luke, her general sort of unflappable sardonic self. Now let’s finish this series. On to book three.

[Basmaish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica Jones is one of those superheroes I just really love even though she's sometimes a jerk and is a lousy person when it comes to relationships and friendships (not talking only about the Jessica Jones interpretation in this comic). I love how more and more comics are starting to showcase motherhood and how one can be a badass superhero saving the world while also being a mother, and sometimes a single mother. I'm all for superheroes having other sides than just fighting crimes and saving the world.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this second volume Jessica Jones gets drawn into the chaos following the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. while trying to patch up her marriage and manage some semblance of a normal life. This one is less focused and coherent than the first volume but should still be a fun and rewarding read for most fans.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool, intriguing, self-contained story with lots of Jessica being Jessica. ❤

[Nea Poulain · Rating 2 out of 5]

El problema es que me caga María Hill y me importa un rábano si se rompe la nuca. Y yo quiero que Jessica brille en su comic, no bullshit.