Jessica Jones Reading Order, From Alias to the Defenders

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You probably have heard of Jessica Jones. You know, the one with a Netflix show. I didn’t watch it, but I know it exists. There’s that. Well, if you’re reading comics, Jessica Jones started as a PI with an avenger past. For more, let’s go into the details with a mildly spoilery reading order, as always.

Who Is Jessica Jones?

Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos, Jessica Jones first appeared in Alias #1 (November 2001), a Max imprint – which means adult content and language.

Bendis introduced her as a former superhero who becomes a private investigator, working for her own agency, Alias Private Investigations. She was retconned in the Marvel universe, becoming a student who was in school with Peter Parker and an ex-avenger.

Jessica Jones acquired her powers by coming in contact with experimental chemicals. She then spent time in a coma and woke with superhuman abilities. She possesses superhuman strength, has the ability to flight, and was given a degree of psionic protection by Jean Grey after being attacked by the Purple Man.

This article will not be updated anymore. Since we have launched a blog dedicated to comic book reading orders, you can find an up-to-date version of this Jessica Jones Reading Order here.

Jessica Jones Reading Order:

Unlike a lot of characters, Jessica Jones started a career with her own ongoing series. Later on, she’ll appear in Avengers series and pop up here and there like a normal Marvel superhero.

I. Alias

Previously known as just ‘Alias’, this is the first solo series of Jessica Jones. Published between 2001 and 2004, this is what you need to read to familiarize yourself with the character.

1. Jessica Jones: Alias Vol. 1 – Collects Alias #1-9
2. Jessica Jones: Alias Vol. 2 – Collects Alias #11-15
3. Jessica Jones: Alias Vol. 3 – Collects Alias #16-21
4. Jessica Jones: Alias Vol. 4 – Collects Alias #22-28

There’s also an Alias omnibus.

If you want to know What if Jessica Jones Had Joined The Avengers?, the question has been answered with this one shot.

II. The Pulse & Young Avengers

After Alias, Jessica Jones came back in The Pulse. This series follows her as she is working for the Daily Bugle’s new superhero section, The Pulse! During that time, she slowly shifts from investigation work to proper superhero action. She also had a baby and started a family with Luke Cage. In the middle, there’s some House of M, a bit of Daredevil, and mostly Young Avengers stories.

1. The Pulse: Thin Air – Collect issues #1-5.
   Daredevil (vol.2 ) #59 – This issue is optional, but Jessica Jones confronts Matt Murdock about his secret identity or, to be precise, the fact that he didn’t tell her about it when he was paying her to protect him.
2. Young Avengers Vol. 1: Sidekicks – Collect issues #1-6: Here, Jessica Jones is not the main characters, but she play a substantial part in the story.
3. The Pulse: Secret War – Collect issues #6-9. The Title is pretty explicit, this is a tie-in to the Secret War event. You need to read Secret War #1-3 before The Pulse #6.
4. Young Avengers Special: After some minor cameos in issues #7 through 9, there a special issue in which Jessica Jones interviews the team.
5. The Pulse: Fear & Finale
6. New Avengers Annual 1: Collected with The Pulse. This is the marriage issue.

There’s also a The Pulse omnibus and, to be honest, that’s pretty much the only important thing to read in this section.

III. The New Avengers

Now, Jessica Jones is happily married with a baby. Luke Cage is in New Avengers. It’s not the easiest read if you only want to track important Jessica Jones appearances. It’s pretty spotty but I tried to list what’s a minimum pertinent. Overall, this part is pretty optional except for the one TPB Jessica Jones: Avenger.

1. You can read all of New Avengers, and from the perspective of enjoying and following the Marvel Universe in the 2000s, I recommend that you do. That said, issue #22 is a Jessica Jones and Luke Cage Civil War Tie-In. New Avengers #22 – let’s start with a Civil War Tie-In about Jessica and Cage .
2. New Avengers #28 to #35 – During that period, Jessica Jones pops up here and there. She got some cameos and even a bit more in issue #34. It was collected in Volume 6: Revolution and Volume 7: The Trust.
3. New Avengers #36 + Annual #2 – That’s the issues you need to read. Jessica Jones is forced to register in order to protect her baby.
4. Jessica Jones: Avenger – This TPB collects important issues for Jessica Jones, New Avengers #38 and #47. Between this two, you can read the Secret Invasion (reading order to come, one day).
5. New Avengers #48-49 : The Secret Invasion: Dark Reign stuff.
6. Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #2 – a short adventure with Luke Cage, collected in New Avengers: Luke Cage.
7. New Avengers #51/Amazing Spider-Man #601: When Jessica Jones discovered the true identity of Spider-Man/Peter Parker.
8. New Avengers #51 to the Finale : As usual, Jessica Jones is not the primary character here, but she is present during that time. Collected in Volume 11: Search for the Sorcerer Supreme, Volume 12: Powerloss and Volume 13: Siege.

IV. Jessica Jones, mother and superhero

With the Siege event, things change a bit. Jessica Jones ends up with more interesting thing, doing more superhero stuff. We are in 2010 and a new volume of New Avengers began. It was called “Heroic Age” and the new team consisted of Luke Cage, Victoria Hand, Iron Fist, Mockingbird, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, The Thing, Wolverine, and of course Jessica Jones.

1. New Avengers, volume 1 – collects issues New Avengers (vol. 2) #1-6
2. New Avengers, volume 2 – collects issues New Avengers (vol. 2) #7-12 and 12.1
3. Avengers: Fear Itself – collects issues Avengers Vol. 4 #13-17 and New Avengers (vol. 2) #14-16.
4. New Avengers, volume 3 – collects issues New Avengers (vol. 2) #16.1 and 17-23
5. New Avengers, volume 4 – collects issues New Avengers (vol. 2) #24-30
6. New Avengers, volume 5 – collects issues New Avengers (vol. 2) #31-34

V. Mighty Avengers

As you might know, after the Avengers vs X-Men event, Marvel relaunched almost every superhero books. Jessica Jones went back to being just a supportive character and she mostly appeared occasionally with Luke Cage in Mighty Avengers.

It’s even more optional than her first New Avenger era, because with the exception of a few pages, she’s mostly in the background. Let’s pass to the next era.

VI. The New Jessica Jones Solo Series

We’ll skip the All-New All-Different Marvel, because it’s mostly like the Mighty Avengers era. Let’s focus on what’s really interesting: there’s a new Jessica Jones solo series.

With the help of the TV Show, Jessica Jones is really back in action. She’s got her own series and will be part of the new Defenders one.

1. Jessica Jones Vol. 1: Uncaged!
2. Jessica Jones Vol. 2: The Secrets of Maria Hill
3. Bonus: Jessica did a short storyline in the New Hawkeye series.
4. Jessica Jones Vol. 3: Return of the Purple Man

VII. Jessica Jones by Kelly Thompson

Brian Michael Bendis left Marvel to work on Superman at DC Comics. He will not wrote more Jessica Jones in a near future. It’s time for a change and Kelly Thompson is ready to write the series, especially after the really cool Hawkeye/Jessica Jones story.

1. Jessica Jones: Blind Spot – Collects Jessica Jones: MDO Digital Comic #1-3.
2. Jessica Jones: Purple Daughter – Collects Jessica Jones: MDO Digital Comic #4-6.