Jessica Jones: Purple Daughter No. 2 review: The worst happens

Jessica Jones is on the hunt for Killgrave in order to figure out why her daughter has been turned purple. To do so, she turns to an unlikely ally in Emma Frost.

The first couple of chapters of Jessica Jones: Purple Daughter were absolutely enthralling to read. It was a mystery that was both incredibly intriguing, but also so emotionally resonant that you’d be hard-pressed not to get caught up in the emotional turmoil that Jessica and Luke were going through. Whereas those chapters very much more focused on the mystery, the second installment of Purple Daughter focused even more on the emotional turmoil that Jessica is going through and it’s honestly has some of the most heart-breaking moments in the character’s history.

It’s been pretty apparent that Kelly Thompson is the absolute perfect person to be writing Jessica Jones right now. She nails the character in every conceivable way. From the humor to the trauma to the dialogue to the general mindscape of Jessica Jones, she gets it. Just because she understands Jessica though, that doesn’t mean she won’t do the worst things imaginable to her.

Image by Marvel Comics/Art by Mattia de Iluis

Thompson is currently one of the best writers who uses the idea of “What’s the worst thing that can happen to your character? Do it,” because she does it in a way that is not simply a physical threat, but much more of an emotional one. This helps make you connect to the characters even more so than you would otherwise because you see these superheroes as what they are, people. Thompson uses Jessica Jones to showcase a side of superhero comics that often isn’t explored as fully as it probably could be, with very few series not written by Tom King will do what Thompson is doing with this book.

There’s also a surprising amount of humor in these chapters as well, mainly with the back and forth of Jessica and Emma Frost. Humor is something that Thompson is pretty well-known for with Hawkeye and West Coast Avengers (#JefftheLandSharkForever), but she does it in such a different way here. The humor is very cynical and dark with a couple of quips thrown in as well. The humor made these chapters not feel quite as heavy, which is a good thing because they are immensely heavy and dark.

The art in this issue is phenomenal as well. Mattia de Iluis is an incredible artist and he shows it with every issue of Jessica Jones. This issue in particular may have the highlight of his run on the character so far, where Jessica is eavesdropping on Luke and Danny Rand and begins to cry. It’s a heartbreaking scene that is simply elevated by the absolutely stunning art that makes it go from heartbreaking to tear-jerking. Simply put, the entire issue, whether it be fight scenes or the emotional moments, are all just that good in this issue. He elevates the already fantastic script to an even higher level.

9.8/10 

Jessica Jones: Purple Daughter continues with another fantastic issue that paves the way for a truly horrific finale.