Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
Serial Box delivers premium audio and reading entertainment for an on-the-go audience that loves immersive storytelling and has recently expanded their titles in partnership with Marvel, featuring Marvel’s Thor: Metal Gods and Marvel’s Black Widow: Bad Blood. Now, the platform is bringing Jessica Jones to audiences with Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Playing with Fire, a 16-episode story narrated by Fryda Wolff and written by a team of accomplished writers: Lauren Beukes, Elsa Sjunneson, Zoe Quinn, Vita Ayala, and Sam Beckbessinger. From comics, novels, and TV, this creative team is here to bring a new life to Jessica Jones.
Last week, we got the chance to speak with Ayala on their work on the Serial Box title, their love of the titular character, how they brought Jessica’s relationships with others to life, and the differences they’ve experienced in writing comics, prose, and stories for narration. As Ayala explains, what makes this Jessica Jones story different than others is that Jessica is seeking ways to confront her super-powered trauma. For Ayala, the way mental illness and therapy are spoken about in 2020 is one of the reasons why Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Playing with Fire is able to show Jessica seeing a therapist, finding healthier coping mechanisms, and working toward not wanting to punch things all the time.
But while this is a different kind of storytelling for the character, her noir core remains. Drawn to the character because of their love for mystery and noir, Ayala explains the freedom of writing a gumshoe character and how it allows them and the rest of the writing team to write mysteriously and not lean on heavy exposition to reexplain the character to new audiences.
But don’t worry, Ayala makes it clear that Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Playing with Fire is written for both existing fans and new ones. As a writer who already loves the character, they explain that the one thing they want new audiences to take away from the title is to fall in love with Jessica, the same way they did.
To hear the full interview with Vita Ayala, click play on the audio player above. The first three episodes will launch on Thursday, May 28th, with new episodes releasing in weekly installments thereafter. The full season will be available for $9.99 exclusively on the Serial Box apps available on Google Play and the Apple App Store, and through the Serial Box website.
Follow Vita Ayala on Twitter to keep up with their current works on Quarter Killer for ComiXology, Marvel’s 2020 Ironheart, and more.
