Elektra

Television, Movies Games and Books Comics
#1

I’m a DC boy and don’t know the first thing about Marvel stuff. Which is not exactly true, I’ve read Daredevil “Born Again” and that was really good stuff, but Daredevil doesn’t entice me as much as Batman does. And as far as I can see, he’s the closest thing to Batman that Marvel has to offer? Right? Oh, and I’m also reading a compilation of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, stories by Jim Steranko, so I now know a tiny bit about the Marvel universe.

But is about Elektra, I think she’s a character of the Marvelverse that I could enjoy a lot, a) because she’s hot and b) because she’s seems like a dark character to me, right?

Anyway, I tried to get into Assassin, which is my first Elektra story ever, and I have to say - I hate it. :eek::(:o
Now you’ll ask why and I’ll have to say a) because the story is absolutely confusing, which might or might not be a result of my ignorance about the character’s backstory and b) because I hate the art, I absolutely definitely totally hate it, I don’t know what to make of it. I know Miller didn’t do the art himself, but it’s kinda reminiscent of Ronin and I hated the art in Ronin just as much.

So, I’ll give Elektra one more by chance, I think, by checking out the TPB volumes (I think I’ll read Introspect and go on from there.) I’m really a sucker for modern, photo-realistic art styles and I hope to find that there.

Can anybody offer any thoughts?

#2

Elektra is one of the oddest characters in the Marvel Universe. She was obviously created to die, Frank Miller has gone on record as saying that. She was very popular so Marvel brought her back. Assassin is pretty much out of coninuity (The Bill Sienkiewicz art is VERY impressionistic, I love it though)

As a general rule of thumb though, if Frank Miller didn’t write it, it doesn’t count.

#3

Hm. I’ll just try it out then, see what happens. I’m getting more and more disappointed about Marvel, I also think that the quality of their printing isn’t as good as DC’s. But then again, I haven’t dipped into Marvel’s other big titles yet, like Spiderman (not really a fan), X-Men (don’t know anything about it), Fantastic Four/Silver Surfer (completely clueless)

#4

as far as similarity to Batman, i’d say your best bet in the Marvel Universe is the Punisher. both men were driven to fight crime in a brutal fashion after witnessing their families being murdered in cold blood. both men rely exclusively on weaponry, gadgetry, and physical ability - no superhuman abilities, mutations, magic, alien organ implants, the Force, or any of that. sure, Frank Castle is more of a ::ahem:: serial killer, but he and Bruce Wayne have similar origins and motivations, as well as a similarly pitiless attitude towards criminals.
Spider-man = the best. i’ve just always loved him, but i don’t have an intellectual argument as to why. the Back in Black arc, which follows the events of Civil War, shows the ol’ Webhead taking a much darker, (dare i say Bat-like?) path. personally i’m not as much of a fan of the FF or Silver Surfer, so i can’t make any recommendations there, although i got a kick out of the Surfer’s cameo in Planet Hulk.
if it’s X-Men you want, it’d probably be a good idea to check out Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, since, you know, Whedon. however, if i were to recommend a really fascinating, thought-provoking, and truly emotionally gripping story, it would be the Civil War arc, specifically the Captain America and New Avengers books within that story. i credit/blame that arc for getting me back into superhero books for the first time since middle school.

also, count me as a fan of Sienkiewicz. his work in the Delirium chapter of Gaiman’s Endless Nights is my absolute favorite. his style works perfectly for the feel of Sandman, but i don’t know how i’d like it in a superhero comic.

#5

The Punisher. Hm. Yeah I though about reading the Welcome Back book when it comes out.