I've enjoyed Sean Chen's artwork on such titles as Iron Man and Wolverine in the past, so I decided to give his debut on
Elektra a look. To my surprise, I found an intense and riveting story of a corrupt but desperate man whose sins have come back to haunt him. While Greg Rucka explored the title character's more vulnerable, human side, new writer Robert Rodi explores what she is rather than who she is. It makes for a chilling and entertaining read, and employs some unconventional storytelling tricks that expands the context of the tale.
This guy -- a man named Prebble -- is wealthy beyond anyone's dreams, with every one's of life's luxuries laid out before him. He's risen to that station on the backs -- and sometimes, the blood -- of others, and someone has decided the time has come for him to pay for his sins. An assassin has been dispatched to eliminate him, and his repeated efforts to stave off her vicious and bloody infiltrations into his various homes have proven fruitless. The assassin: Elektra, and she's returned for one final pass at her assignment.
My favorite aspect of the artwork is probably something Rodi scripted, but it's the inclusion of narrow panels featuring photographs of characters referred to in the dialogue. We get a glimpse of the people mentioned ever so casually by Prebble and his bodyguard/security expert. Those brief moments -- split-second vignettes -- drives home the fact that this target and his hired hand have impacted on the lives of others, and not just in negative ways. We see friends, victims and lovers, and those faces add some more grounded elements to this unimaginable and tense scenario.
Chen captures Prebble's fear, acceptance of his fate and sense of defeat quite clearly, and Palmer's inks bring an appropriately gritty tone to Chen's clean linework. The title character's intensity and determination was plain to see in the book's climactic scene as well. The artists drench the characters and scenery in shadows that further enhance the quiet but tense mood, and the colors add to it even more.
Rodi's descriptions of Prebble's experts' security precautions struck me as particularly believable. I was reminded of bodyguard Atticus Kodiak's preparations and concerns as described by Greg Rucka in his series of novels. Rodi crafts a believable character in Prebble through the dialogue. One is struck by the sense that he's tired of running... scared, sure, but more than that, the effort of running has sapped his will to live. He's come to accept that he's not hunted by a person, but something more akin to a force of nature. It makes for a fascinating script, and a strong start for the title's new creative team.
