Reviewer: Tim Byrne
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Mike Carey
Penciled by: Salvador Larroca
Inked by: Crimelab Studios
Colored by: Liquid’s Aron Lusen
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Welcome to the first review column under my own name!
As the resident Australian comic reviewer, I look upon it as my aim to provide an interesting, yet tasty slant on several comics every week.
Onto a fairly inauspicious topic, being the third issue of the Ultimate Elektra series, a mini which loosely follows on from the Ultimate Daredevil / Elektra series a couple of years ago.
Elektra’s father has been *ahem* persuaded to involve himself with his shady cousins, and is now up to his proverbial neck in trouble.
This issue sees Bullseye taking the necessary steps to take out one of the players in the drama, and also tangling with Elektra.
Bullseye is noticeably grounded in this issue, using a gun and shuriken rather than any ‘weird’ objects. His attempts and sardonic one-liners fall rather flat, and he doesn’t yet come across as the foreboding nemesis of 616 Marvel.
Elektra is both the spunky youth and the kick-ass ninja, although her transition from the student at the end of the last mini hasn’t really been explained.
If it seems that I’m not spending too much time on the actual plot, that’s because its not grabbing me like it should. Sure, its good to have a grounded plot with more to it than guys in weird outfits, but all the sleazy lawyers, accountants and gangsters do tend to blur together after a while.
The art is certainly not to my taste, with several of Elektra’s expressions bordering on the comical, and the facial lines and definition not succeeding at all.
So far, nothing in this story ties into Ultimate continuity, particularly when you consider an (older) Elektra’s involvement in the Black Cat arc of Ultimate Spidey.
For Daredevil completists only.
