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Title: Elektra: The Scorpion Key (Marvel Knights) by Brian Michael Bendis, Chuck Austen ISBN: 0-7851-0843-2 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: March, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.29 (7 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Good, but something's wrong
Comment: This is a little bit of a departure for the character, as I suspect will be for the rest of the series. And to be quite honest, I'm not sure if she is the right character under the supposed description. Elektra kills, yes, but with good reason. According to Locke and the other characters that surround her, she kills relentlessly even if the person is not the intended target. That's not the Elektra Frank Miller created and crafted. Certainly not the Elektra Brian Michael Bendis provided depth for. This is also part of the problem towards the end of the story when Elektra makes a major confrontation with Locke.
I found this characterization of Elektra to be quite out of character. First time readers probably won't understand this as they have not read any of the previous stories from Miller and the story Bendis wrote that kicked off the Marvel Knights portion of the series. They will think of her the way the characters throughout describe her. And to be quite honest, that's not fair.
Aside from the characterization problem I had, Rucka provides some nice action at the mid point when Elektra is left in a desert and then picks off mercenaries who want to kill her. For those who don't know, Rucka has a martial arts background and uses some of that knowledge to make this scene wonderfully awesome. The illustrations by Carlo Pagulayan improve a little bit from how Chuck Austen illustrated under Bendis' writing. However, it would have been so much better had cover painter Greg Horn create the interiors. Oh well, at least Carlo did a nice job.
This edition includes a story from an issue of Marvel Knights: Double-Shot called "Trust". Rucka does much better with this story and the interiors are painted by Horn. If anything, this was a pleasure to read through and showed exactly the kind of hired assassin Elektra is. Stealthy and creative, using a murder weapon that no one would ever think of. Perhaps Rucka should look back on this story and milk the characterizations as opposed to the Elektra he used in the main story.
"Introspect" is a fine read, but I just can't get over the major characterization change that really doesn't fit her. I'm not sure if long time fans of the character will agree, but I will stand by my decision on this. First time readers will probably not understand what I'm talking about unless they read Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 and the first six issues of the Marvel Knights edition of Elektra as written by Brian Michael Bendis. I have faith that the Rucka stories further down are better, but he appears to be off on a rather questionable start.
Rating: 4
Summary: Solid work from Greg Rucka
Comment: I'm a big fan of Greg Rucka. I read virtually everything he writes. The introspective and attentive nature of his works appeals to me. That being said, I found this Elektra trade to be extremely entertaining, although not as good as his work on Whiteout or Queen and Country. I was somewhat let down by the inconsistent art, but in the world of serial comics, you can't always do anything about that. Those who dismiss the work as trite or "out of character", in only my humble opinion, only want characters to "be" a certain way, and don't allow for the changes and doubts that people, and characters, go through. The idea that someone, at a low point in their life, would begin to question their actions or purpose, is a concept almost all can relate to.
Rucka's writing is excellent. The art is also good, if somewhat inconsistent. 4 stars.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good writing, horrid art
Comment: Brain Michael Bendis is one of today's greats.
His work on Alias, Ultimate Spider-man, Daredevil, Powers, Ultimate X-Men - not to mention his past works (Jinx, Goldfish, Sam & Twitch, etc. etc.) - is fantastic. He's a constant main-stay at the top of the charts AND he's a fan-favorite.
I was very excited when he was put on to bring back the Elektra title, especially on "Marvel Knights," with it's slightly harder edge.
I don't want to give away the story, but it basically gives insight into Elektra, an assassin-for-hire and an the interesting tale of the scorpion key. Her character has Daredevil roots, but you won't find daredevil as a character in this story. This is about her, and her post-mortem journey (she was killed with her own sai, and yet came back...). The story starts off pretty nicely, but later on, you get disconnected from Elektra's character. Overall, it's a good story - one that I would give four stars.
This is a graphic novel, a collection of comic books - a visual medium with equal importance to art as writing. The story is good. The art however, is absolutely horrid. Chuck Austen is currently the writer on many books, including Uncanny X-Men, Captain America, Superman: Metropolis, The Eternal, etc. He's known as a mediocre writer, with occasionally good stories. Personally, I like some of his stories, while hating others (i.e. - Endangered Species). However, he does the art on Elektra (as he did on U.S. War Machine - except this time with Colors), and his art (if you can call it that) is disgusting. Think Ugly, misshapen Barbie dolls. There is no passion, no emotion in his pencils and his inability to draw (even with computer assistance) at the calibre one comes to expect from professionals takes away from the book, especially considering how beautiful Greg Horn's covers are. The art gets two stars (with a BIG bump from the covers... Austen alone would barely deserve half a star).
So this book overall gets 3 stars. If you really want to get to know Elektra a little bit, maybe check out some of Frank Miller's work first, he's done a couple of quintessential Elektra stories. This book is good and worth buying only if you can get over the art.
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Title: Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra by Greg Rucka, Salvador Larrocca, David Mack, Joe Quesada, Salvador Larroca ISBN: 0785110763 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: February, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.99 |
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Title: Daredevil: The Man Without Fear: Lowlife by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev ISBN: 0785111050 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.99 |
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Title: Daredevil/Elektra: Love and War by Frank Miller, Bill Sienkiewicz ISBN: 0785110321 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
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Title: Elektra & Wolverine: The Redeemer by Greg Rucka, Yoshitaka Amano ISBN: 0785109110 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 10 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: New X-Men: Assault on Weapon Plus (New X-Men, Book 5) by Grant Morrison, Chris Bachalo, Phil Jimenez ISBN: 0785111190 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: December, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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