Gail Simone and Phil Noto Tackle Jessica Jones and the Multiverse in The Variants (Exclusive)

The multiverse is a hot topic at the moment, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Comics dive headfirst into alternate Earths and universes. From Loki, What If…?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, to Avengers, Avengers Forever, the return of What If…? (the comics version), and Gwenverse, there’s a ton of storytelling opportunities available for creators. One hero who is about to find herself in a multiverse adventure is Jessica Jones, as the private investigator looks into a case that brings her face-to-face with her variants.

Comicbook.com can exclusively reveal The Variants, a five-issue miniseries debuting in June from writer Gail Simone and artist Phil Noto. A simple investigation results in Jessica meeting many of her variants from the multiverse, which leads her to question if she can even work well with other versions of herself, or if she’ll want to kill them instead.

Gail Simone spoke to Comicbook.com to discuss getting offered the project, some of the counterparts Jessica will get to meet in The Variants, clues on the investigation that sends her into the multiverse, and what other Marvel characters might be making an appearance throughout the five issues.

Researching Jessica Jones

“First, let me get this out…when Tom Brevoort offered me this project, I went and re-read all the Jessica Jones stories, from the classic, groundbreaking Bendis stories to the more recent and fantastically good Kelly Thompson stories (that you definitely should read!), and they’re just exciting, compelling reads. There isn’t another comics character like her. That was immensely exciting,” Simone said.

“But even apart from that, it’s being drawn by the impossibly brilliant Phil Noto, a bucket-list artist for me. Even the COVERS are mind-melting. So this is a joy from start to finish. Incredible. Hope people love it!”

Jessica Jones Variants

Comicbook.com: Variants and the multiverse are hot topics at the moment, with their ability to introduce new takes on familiar characters. What kind of Jessica Jones variants can fans look forward to meeting in this new series?

Gail Simone: You can expect several versions of Jessica that have been shown or hinted at, but even more excitingly, I think, we have several WHAT IF versions that are really going to stretch the concept of what a Marvel character can be. I’m going to leave it to your imaginations to figure out what THAT might mean. Or maybe they aren’t Marvel characters at all…?

The Investigation

What details can you reveal about the investigation that sends Jessica Jones on this multiversal adventure?

That would be telling. But Jessica puts some innocent people in danger, and has to change her whole life to make it right.  It’s thrilling to see her risk it all like this.

Other Marvel Heroes

Will any other familiar faces from the Marvel Universe make an appearance in The Variants?

I can’t give too much away, but we are showing Jessica kicking a bit more ass than she usually does…she has a damn good reason to be angry in this case, and pulls out the stomping boots. We also see a side of Luke that I think is just thrilling. There’s guest stars galore…all my favorite Marvel characters from the A-list to the sub Z-list, including a couple people have been asking me to write for YEARS. It’s a party, it’s just that there’s also private eye work and maybe an asskicking or three.

I have been working on Hollywood stuff mostly for the past little bit, this is my first big comics project in a while and I’m putting my whole heart into it. Jessica and her readers deserve the best we can give them. But seriously, wait until you see Phil’s art. It’s just an impossible showpiece for one of the best artists comics has ever had.

I can’t wait!

The Variants #1 Cover and Solicit

THE VARIANTS #1 (OF 5)

Gail Simone (W) • PHIL NOTO (A/C)

Variant cover by Ben Caldwell

What would it really be like to meet an alternate version of yourself, another you who had made different choices and lived a completely different life as a result? That’s the question facing Jessica Jones, as what seemed like a routine investigation instead has her encountering other incarnations of herself from across the Multiverse. Can Jessica get along with herself? Will she want to kill her other selves? And will seeing the lives she could have led drive her into a self-destructive spiral? This is what happens when you meet…the Variants!