Elektra #10

The Good

Another month, another issue that proves just how great this creative team is at pulling us into Elektra's crazy world. Firstly, W. Haden Blackman once again goes way out there and fills this story with so much imagination. We're talking about an issue that has you literally leaping into someone's psyche and then watching an over-the-top and totally ridiculous fight. Seriously, it's something you never thought you'd see and there's about a zero percent chance you'll guess what kind of obstacle she faces. And that just goes to show how clever this series has been. In different hands, Elektra would be slaughtering generic fodder -- you know, ninjas and armed goons -- but here, she's facing all kinds of challenges. I mean, we just saw her riding a dragon, didn't we? Blackman's done so much work to expand her world and make sure this doesn't feel like just another "out for revenge!" story. I mean, that's exactly what it is, but it doesn't feel that way since it has been such an inspired ride.

I would have preferred a longer trip into Bullseye's head because of the history between these two, but it gets the job done and it's a somewhat subtle way of telling you everything you need to know about the guy. All that matters in his life are his kills and the ones he wants to make. It's direct yet not blatantly told to us. The conclusion is also one that's going to make you wish the next issue was yours to read right away. But that's to be expected with this series, isn't it? The immediate response will be one of excitement. "Oh man, I can't wait to see what happens!" Then, you'll realize that's going to be the final issue, and a feeling of disappointment will wash over you. Hopefully Marvel will do the smart thing and release this run in one collection. It's just 11 issues and I'm sure many of us would be more than happy to throw our money at it.

How can I continue to praise Michael Del Mundo and Marco D'Alfonso's pages without sounding like a broken record at this point? Issue after issue, they've unleashed absolutely brilliant visuals. Everything from the gorgeous handling of the city (it fit the captions perfectly) to the shockingly detailed character work and immersive angles, it should come as no surprise whatsoever that ELEKTRA #10 is an amazing visual journey. I just can't get enough of these pages and they're always finding new ways to impress my eyes.

The Bad

The story's developments feel pretty rushed in this one. Now, this has always been a fast-paced series, but it feels like we barely get to know what's going on behind the scenes before we're thrown back into more craziness. I can't help but feel like -- if the book's ending due to sales -- this story would be told more effectively if they had extra room to flesh things out. I can see this creative team wanting to spend more time in Bullseye's mind and the rest of the issue spent with the new character and doing more to explain who they are and why they want what they want. Instead, it races forward to make sure a certain someone is back and ready to fight before the final page. Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond thrilled to see what'll happen, but it definitely seems like things moved way too quickly and it didn't give us a chance to properly appreciate or fully understand everything that's going on. I can see that leading to some noticeable exposition in the next issue, but I'd rather not jump to conclusions and wait and see how it's handled. That said, Bullseye's one of my favorite villains, so I can't help but get ridiculously excited for the next issue.

Minor criticism: the handling of the colors changes for just one part of a page. It still looks good, but it's a very odd contrast to the rest of the work.

The Verdict

Since this is the penultimate issue and there's a fair amount of ground to cover (e.g. going inside Bullseye's mind, finding out who's behind the Assassins Guild and seeking them out), this chapter feels like it moves things along a little too quickly. Despite that, this is still another chapter of ELEKTRA that had me completely absorbed and wanting to spend so much more time in her world. Blackman continues to fill this comic with imagination and Del Mundo (along with D'Alfonso) continues to create jaw-dropping visuals. The creative team has made this series such a phenomenal adventure, so it's incredibly disappointing this series will end with the next issue. At least the cliffhanger implies it's going to leave on quite an exciting note!

Elektra can't survive without Daredevil!!!

Nice

Still love this series sad to see it go in two issues

Somehow it doesn't make sense this series has been canceled!

This is more than just a comic book... it's a piece of art!

Every once in a while it would be really nice to see the big companies not care about their sales quota for a moment. How come smaller publishers can afford keeping ongoing series running selling less than 5k per issue but Marvel already gets nervous when one of their comics drop slightly below 20k? Yes, they all want to make money and maximize their profits but then, again, it's a fudging piece of art and not just visually. Blackman's narrative and story-telling is superb, too, but sometimes it's like they're not even reading their own books. At least, they could have given the creative team some extra issues to end their run and story smoothly. Well, perhaps they didn't want to waste their time and save some trees.

Oh man, this isn't even the final issue yet. Next time around I'll be crying!

Great issue again. Too bad most fans are buying the events instead of issues like this.

I actually felt bad for Bullseye in this issue. I am so scared for the next issue because I have wanted Bullseye back for so so so so long, and I don't want Elektra to take this away from me. >.<

Tears are streaming down my face. I am so grateful for this run, I can't breathe.

I know what's going to happen next. I haven't dreaded a final comic issue so much in my life.

Were those the creepiest monkey children anyone has ever seen or what ...

I was thinking the same thing as the first paragraph of the review--the great thing about this comic is that it's so creatively unpredictable. Who could've guessed what kind of craziness happened in this issue ahead of time? Or last issue? Or the issues before that? It's just great to have such wonderful surprises month after month. Such a pity to lose this.

My one thing I am less excited about is the final showdown implied by the last pages. (Although it is unpredictable, so who knows! But I feel like we've seen enough Bullseye and Elektra battles. I just feel like there's only so much to mine out of that relationship. I like Bullseye, but their mutual obsession is just kind of boring to me somehow. I'd rather she found some other newer chief adversary, someone who wasn't just a physical rival, but had some other advantage she had to try to overcome. Someone who would then force her to show off other strengths in addition to her combat expertise. For instance, Joker is Batman's archenemy, but not due to his physical prowess. Cap has physical rivals, but some of his main bad guys are guys like Red Skull (who, OK, can fight, but that's not the point). And so on. But other than his brief time in a coffin, Bullseye is basically just a fighter. It would be nice to give her a long-standing tactical adversary, or someone whose powers make him/her beyond her fighting skills. Anyway, the last issue will be great I'm sure. I was just hoping to get through this without it being about Bullseye again.

So I guess Kingpin isn't majority shareholder of the Assassin's Guild and part owner of the Hand, anymore? Am I missing something? @k4tzm4n

@nimamindtricks: I'm totally out of loop about Kingpin and The Hand. Good question.

@wheatstalker: So unexpected, right?

I've had a heads up about Bullseye for a while now, which lessened the blow. I agree with everything you said.

@ms-lola: Kingpin has had investments in the Hand for a while now but his ownership of the Assassin's Guild happened last year in Scarlet Spider. That's kind of why I've been waiting on the edge of my seat for him to appear. Who knows, maybe that's been overlooked or retconned now. I really hope the final issue is "bonus size" but do to it's smaller audience of readers, I doubt it will be :(

@nimamindtricks: I need to finish reading Scarlet Spider's last run. I wish it would be a bonus sized issue as well, but that would be hoping for too much. This book ending is a travesty.

@nimamindtricks: Isn't Kingpin in hiding since SSM?

@eamon542000: i doubt that matters besides that doesn't change the fact he runs both organizations