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ELEKTRA #1
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights imprint
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Chuck Austen
Colors: Nathan Eyring
Letters: Comicraft
Editors: Stuart Moore & Nanci Dakesian
Price: $3.50 US/$5.25 CAN |
You could write an entire
review strictly about the controversies that surround this book. The use of
Frank Miller's Elektra character when he's generally seemed unhappy about
Marvel's continuing use, the computer-assisted artwork of Chuck Austen, the "bad
girls for fanboys" comments that surrounded the book's announcement or the
questions leveled at Marvel's decision to drop the code and apply warnings, such
as the "Violent Content" on the cover are all fertile areas for discussion. But
from my point of view, the important question is, is it any good?
Well, yeah it is, actually. Bendis has rarely
steered me wrong, and he's captured what made Elektra so intriguing, the thing
that most writers post-Miller have missed: Her enigmatic style. Elektra doesn't
feel like a cipher, but neither does she feel completely human. Her emotions are
wired differently due to the tragedy in her past and her training, and her
skills and occupation make her simultaneously more and less than human. Her
sense of humor comes through in playful smiles rather than verbal quips, her
ability to blend in and disappear is shown to us rather than having her tell us
she's "the best she is at what she does" and her martial prowess is demonstrated
in silent and effective fight scenes. When she does speak, it's creepy, as with
her speech about the sai that was quoted in the many ads. I can say
unequivocally that Bendis is writing an Elektra that I'm interested in reading.
While Bendis was a known quantity and a pretty safe bet, Chuck Austen was somebody new, and I have the same nervousness about heavily computer-assisted artwork that most comic fans do. However, Austen's work is gorgeous and clear, more like the digitally inked panels in Ultimate X-Men than the foggy mess to be found in X-Treme X-Men. There is occasional stiffness, as with
some of Elektra's fight scenes that look posed, but it comes across more as
freeze-frame slow motion than distracting bitmapped artwork. And I'm thoroughly
impressed by the way Austen and colorist Eyring have worked together to create a
soft and realistic lighting that sets the whole thing in broad daylight and
makes Elektra's stealth abilities even more impressive.
I'm a sucker for crime books, and a fan of
espionage books, and this seems to be a good blend of both. SHIELD is treated as
just a bit dirtier than it has been for the most part, and I appreciate this
from a global espionage agency, and Elektra's career as an assassin isn't
whitewashed at all. This is a lady who kills people for money and doesn't seem
to have much remorse about it. While it may be difficult to humanize her without
losing what makes her interesting, so far Bendis and Austen are walking that
fine line well.
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Randy
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