I don't care for period pieces, and martial-arts stories about honor and vengeance rarely hold my interest. The writer here is an unknown to me, and save for stories written by a couple of writers whose work I always follow, Elektra tales aren't ones I tend to seek out. Needless to say, this book had a lot going against it even before I turned a single page, but that I enjoyed this opening issue, the story of innocence lost, is a testament to the script. I don't know if the full limited series will hold my interest, but I was pleasantly surprised by this first step. I also enjoyed getting a chance to sample a much-lauded artist's work in a different style.
After the death of her father but before she became a world-class assassin, Elektra Natchios was in training with the Hand, an ancient ninja society. As she glimpses the most diastonishing manifestation of the ninjas' power, she learns the origin of the mysterious organization of killers. The story dates back to the late 16th century and a simple boy growing up in Japan. His father long dead, the boy's mother is forced to make awful sacrifices to provide for her son, but when a foreigner threatens her honor and her life, blood is spilled, and the mother makes another sacrifice for her child.
The most intriguing thing about this comic book is that it features the art of Team Red Star captain Christian Gossett... without the computer enhancements and contributions of his close collaborators. One can see Gossett's style here, but there's a radically different tone at play. There's a sketchier look to his linework and the level of detail is far removed from his Red Star work. But it works. The sketchier look reinforces the legendary and historic feel of the story, and the sparse backgrounds captures the simplicity of the remote and exotic setting. I have to admit, though, that I enjoyed Jim Cheung's pencil art in the opening framework sequence. The crispness of style that made his work such a pleasure on CrossGen's Scion for more than three years is still intact, and I look forward to him taking on another regular assignment in the future (courtesy Marvel Comics).
Yoshida's script is surprisingly grounded, given the almost alien nature of the ancient backdrop. He has managed to make these characters sound like real people without resorting to modern Western colloquialisms. It's difficult to relate to the boy's circumstances, but the dialogue makes it easy to relate to his anger. The tenderness of his mother's words is almost hypnotic, even if what she's about to say is predictable.
The story here is a familiar one, but what's engrossing is that the reader knows that the story must end badly. Given the corrupt nature of the hand, we have to assume the boy fails in his bid to become a hero. This is the story of how a good person begins a journey toward villainy. We're shown how the vicious ninja clan earned its name, and it's a strong and compelling visual.
