Rodi offers up an interesting idea here. What if an assassin, mistress of her own body, which has been honed as a perfect weapon, suddenly discovered that her body had turned against her? It's a notion that humanizes the usually stoic and mysterious title character, but the execution here leaves a lot to be desired. This title is also in desperate need a more cohesive, consistent look. It keeps changing artists, creating a visual impression of a lack of direction. I thoroughly enjoyed Rodi's earlier issues of Elektra, but it seems as though the book has lost its energy and edge.
Elektra returns from her mission in the tiny island of Naou, looking forward to some downtime in her Manhattan apartment. A well-timed phone call, though, offers her a chance for a working weekend in New Jersey, and she accepts the contract. What the assassin doesn't realize is that she didn't return from her trip abroad alone, and what she doesn't know can definitely hurt her. Meanwhile, the Ivy League-educated son of a crimelord is frustrated that his father pays no attention to his ideas for the future of the family's corrupt enterprises.
Cummings work here reminds me a bit of the style of Jeff (Way of the Rat) Johnson's, but the penciller seems to bring too soft a look to the title character. Elektra is meant to be feminine, even seductive at times, yes, but she's also meant to be mysterious and dangerous. She exudes nothing of those qualities in this issue. There's nothing intimidating about the way the character looks in this issue, and the visual storytelling as a whole is far too bright.
The softness found in the art is mirrored in the script as well. Rodi has Elektra behaving rather routinely throughout this issue. Her mode of speech is far more casual and grounded. Perhaps he's trying to bring the character down to earth, but it's just not consistent with what we've seen before. Furthermore, the conflict between the father and son mobsters comes off as rather cliched, and I think Rodi may be telegraphing the a violent end to that conflict. The plotting is far too transparent, though I hope my assumptions about the direction in which the writer is headed prove to be in error.
What makes the script interesting, though, is Rodi's effort to tap into the topical link between disease control problems and international travel. Rodi's "fever," in this case, is clearly meant to elicit memories of the SARS problems of 2003 in Asia and Canada, and the fears it sparked all over the world. It's an excellent plot development and relevant subject matter, but the exploration here is definitely awkward and obvious.
