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ELEKTRA #7
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights imprint
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Chuck Austen
Colors: Nathan Eyring
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Stuart Moore
Price: $2.99 US/$4.50 CAN |
I've become quite disenchanted with Austen's artwork on this title, and I've never been that big of a fan of Elektra. However, I have rarely been disappointed by Greg Rucka, and even with two strikes against him, he delivers again, with a fascinating potential job for Elektra and an interesting set of supporting characters. Though the basics of the story and characters are well-established, there are still plenty of mysteries to keep the reader interested, and Rucka's experience writing the gray morality worlds of assassins and spies serves him well in his work on Elektra.
Though I join many of the
fans in being underwhelmed with Austen's artwork on this title, this story seems
to play to his strengths, with clear storytelling and a strange set of
characters fitting nicely into his rough-edged looking style. There's still
plenty of stiffness, a real shame when Elektra needs to be shown in action, but
the basic storytelling is kept clear, and the art serves mostly as a backdrop
for the more interesting dialogue.
Leaving aside the various
baggage she comes with from her origins, Elektra is basically an assassin, and
that presents plenty of opportunities for interesting stories. Rucka has
presented an intriguing set of targets and an employer, and he also gives a
perfect rationale for why someone would go to the trouble of contacting the
elusive Elektra rather than another assassin. There's an element of the unusual
in the employer, a woman surrounded by women on a Greek island, which fits
nicely into Elektra's own past.
Though it's easy to guess why
Katamides is so nervous around men, the details of what happened to her, as well
as the unusual circumstances she lives in, provides plenty of mystery. Though
she may be something as mundane as a crime lord or simply a wealthy woman, her
home and the way she carries herself links her in the mind to the fantastic,
such as the Amazons of DC continuity. I'm intrigued, and I definitely want to
know more, about who she is, what happened to her and what she plans to do about
it.
Rucka captures the same
important details about Elektra that Bendis did, keeping us mostly outside her
head and letting us know her by reputation and action. The fear that Olson has,
which is justified later in the issue, speaks volumes about who Elektra is while
still keeping her a mystery, and the elaborate precautions taking in getting her
to take a job are impressively ornate.
There's an interesting
balance struck this issue between mystery and revelation. Though the story is
easy to follow, the motivations clear and the plot equally clear, there are
plenty of unanswered questions left to keep the reader coming back.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
