COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Elektra: Bloodlines
By The Masked Medic
So whilst I’m attempting to read DC novels from their New 52 series and Marvel novels from their All-New, All-Different series, I thought that I would try to once in a while read older novels from previous volumes to get a better understanding of the character. I was conflicted about which character I wanted to start with, but when I looked over the series that I had already read, I saw that one character’s adventures only had one novel in the volume I was reading. So I wanted to go back in time!
‘Bloodlines’ is the first novel in Volume 4 of Elektra comics. The story starts with Elektra Natchios, an infamous assassin evaluating her life and where it has been. Realizing that she has too often been a part of someone else’s story, she seeks to reclaim control. Thus, returning to her roots, Elektra decides to return to her assassinating ways. She meets up with “The Matchmaker”, an elusive character, who surprise, surprise, is responsible for hiring assassins for particular contracts. She gives Elektra a contract to eliminate another assassin named “Cape Crow”. Crow was once one of the best in the world until a hit was put out on him. He disappeared after disarming Taskmaster, Sabretooth, Bullseye and Scalphunter, never to be seen again. Elektra is dubious but takes the contract. Her first stop takes her to Monster Island, where Scalphunter and Lady Bullseye are closing in on Crow. After taking them down, she finds that the man in Crow’s uniform is his son, who had put out a second contract to help bring in his father alive. Elektra agrees, but on their tail is a mysterious assassin named “Bloody Lips”, who has the ability to absorb the memories and abilities of anyone he eats. After consuming parts of Bullseye, Scalphunter and several different animals, this Australian madman sets his eyes on both the bounty of the contract but also Elektra. As Elektra and Kento, Crow’s son, close down on him, Bloody Lips stays hot on their trail. Can the two find Cape Crow? Can they save him from a painful fate? And just what will Elektra do once this is over?
So what I find really intriguing is that there are some characters out there who are inherently violent, e.g The Punisher, Deathstroke and Elektra. But whereas I can’t stand the Punisher, I think Elektra is fantastic. I haven’t yet figured out if that’s because she’s incredible or because I have weird taste in women that I fancy. Either way, this novel was a good one. You could tell that they were trying to bring Elektra back to her roots of being an assassin and a damn good one. They kept the plot simple but effective and the inclusion of other characters was really good. The villain, Bloody Lips, was terrifying. I don’t know if we’ll see him again, but I think he could be an excellent adversary to any of the street-level heroes, eg Daredevil, Iron Fist, etc. There was probably less character development than there could have been, but as the first novel in a series, this was good!
The artwork was very different. Under normal circumstances, I’m not sure I would have appreciated it, but I think some of the scenes, especially the fighting ones, the flow of the panels was quite visually expressive and effective. The covers were good, but this one above was my favourite! Overall, I’m glad I enjoyed this novel, and really excited for the novels to come!
Favourite Panel:
Never underestimate the value of good technology
Favourite Character:
Elektra. Easy. She’s very attractive and very deadly.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★½
Character Development: ★★★
Artwork: ★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★★
Re-readability: ★★★
Level: Beginner