Graphic SF Reader A really popular character such as Elektra, especially one who has done the horizontal ninja mambo with Matt Murdoch is not too likely to stay dead permanently.
At leas they gave Miller a crack at it when bringing her back, but still, not as good as before.
Vigilante opus, Modern Greek tragedy and Irish Catholic morality play Daredevil and his immortal love get the Frank Miller (and Lynn Varley)'s Dark Knight treatment. It larger than life, surreal and quite violent. But at the heart of it is Matt Murdoch's love for the fiery greek warrior that refuses to die or be tamed. Even if you only see the red devil outfit for a few small panels, you don't miss it. You know DD is all over these bleeding, tear filled and wonderfully suffering pages. As always, you have to feel for poor Matt Murdoch. Also, Bullseye is there, as no DD-Elektra tale can be complete without getting him into the action in a very meaningful way. A visceral, visual experiernce, somewhat disjointed (in a good kind of way, a la Blade Runner). Gives deep meaning to the term "graphic novel".
A thrilling adventure This Elektra TPB is well written and drawn.
The story seems like it is out of continuty and also the art seems really dream like and surreal.
I recommend this to any Elektra enthusiast. And read this so you can be informed for the Elektra movie.
Miller Just Misses Frank Miller, often considered one of the great modern comic storytellers, is best known for his Batman epic "The Dark Knight Returns" However, Miller returns to his roots by doing some work on Elektra and Daredevil, where he first got started in the comic industry. Everyone knows that Elektra is dead. She was murdered by the deadly Bullseye, impaled upon her own sai (You can see the awesome battle in Miller's 'Daredevil Visionaries: Volume 2'). When Matt Murdock, Elektra's college boyfriend and the blind superhero known as Daredevil, begins to have eerie dreams of her rising from her grave, he becomes unnerved. Is Elektra back? And why? He discovers that one of his old enemies may be revived, deadlier than ever... I enjoyed this book mostly because it was written out of the comics continuity, so you don't have to get bogged down in the chronology to understand it. The story is told from Matt Murdock/Daredevil's point of view, which is good to see, because I don't remember many of Miller's older Daredevil works being told from this perspective. This book only gets 4 stars because I was hoping for a lot more (The book is oversized and is just 75 pages long). It seems as though Miller could have written a lot more, but chose instead to make this book more 'choppy' for a more psychological effect. It didn't really work too well. In summation, 'Elektra Lives Again' is a good book, and Frank Miller is still one of the best in the industry, but it isn't as good as his early run on Daredevil. The art is impressive and the plot interesting, but Miller fails to capitalize on what could have been an immaculate triumph of a story. Instead, he leaves many blank spots and tries to let you fill in the rest. If you're a big Daredevil or Elektra fan, you'll want to read this, but be forewarned - you may be let down.
A non-continuity exercise in self-indulgence. I don't know if Miller intended this as a story in which Elektra would actually be revived--if he did, he mucked with Marvel continuity way too much to make it work.
For me, the book gets 3 stars because of Miller's excellent draftsmanship and storytelling, and Varley's dynamic colors. Miller's work didn't look this good again until 300 was released.
But the story is just not there, for me. Miller indulges himself in a personal exploration of isolation and despair with Matt Murdock (Daredevil) spending an enormous amount of time watching and waiting for an outside force (Elektra) to show up and make him whole again.
Now while I've always liked Murdock's particular flavor of angst--more than anyone in the Marvel Universe, the blind guy in the too-loud world should be entitled to brood--he just comes off as thoroughly helpless in this story. Maybe that's what Miller wanted, that sort of flailing desperation, but it didn't play for me. I've read the story a number of times, hoping to "get it," but it always comes up short for me.
04/22/02 - I just reread this yesterday, and my opinion is unchanged. The last 20+ seem to lose track of what the first 40+ pages are about. The action is striking, but only the most obvious of story's questions are answered. Ths story yearns to be substantial but ends up superficial, and some of us prefer SOLID chocolate bunnies at Easter.
This one's good for Miller completists, but if you want a really ripping Frank Miller Elektra story, I recommend Elektra: Assassin, his brilliant, funny collaboration with Bill Sienkiewicz.