Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #138090 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 268 pages

Customer Reviews

Powerful, strange, fascinating and mindbendingly surreal
I first read Elektra Assassin over 10 years ago - it was a Christmas present from a more than usually enlightened uncle. It was the second comic I ever read (the first being Alan Moore's wonderful "Watchmen") As another reader has said, I didn't like it the first time I read it.

It hooked me though. I read it again and again and again. I think I must have read it about eight times in as many months - lingering over the strange, twisted sometimes ugly artwork, wondering what was going on in between the panels, getting to grips with the story.

Finally, I decided that Elektra Assassin is a great story - it remains one of my favourites and is powerful enough to stand the frequent re-reading. There's a lot going on here. It is rich and strange, it will challenge you. It is hard work, but it really is worth it. Read it. Read it again... persist. You'll get to like it.

If you do - then get hold of Peter Milligan's "Enigma", Frank Miller's "Dark Knight Returns" the aforementioned "Watchmen" - oh and give Neil Gaiman a try. If you're really brave, you could risk Peter Milligan's "Shade the Changing Man" (DC Comics) - I don't know about availability of back issues and they've never printed these collected - but for sheer surreal and twisted adventure, it won't be beat.

Enjoy.

Marvel Comics on acid: the 2001 of Superhero Comics
During the mid to late 80's Frank Miller was at his prolific best, pushing back the boundaries of what comics could be with the likes of Ronin, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Hard Boiled, and Daredevil: Born Again. These were all good, old-fashioned, fast-paced action/adventure stories bursting with crackling dialogue, gripping drama and oh-so dry humour, told in a new and innovative way. Elektra: Assassin is different from these other comics.

There are no likeable characters, the first chapter won't make any sense and the dumb-witted hero looks like an ugly porn star from the seventies. Also, it doesn't help when Elektra, the heroine of the piece only has about two lines of dialogue to utter throughout the entire length of the book. You won't like it the first time you read it. It doesn't care if you like it or not.

It is however, one of the most incredible comic books that you will ever read. Totally surreal in its' intent, this is Marvel comics on acid. Its' remarkable illustrator Bill Sienkiewicz uses everything in his considerable armoury ranging from traditional fine art painting methods to Crayola crayons in order to tell a very intricately crafted, yet effortlessly beautiful story. In truth it is more his book than it is Frank Miller's.

While reading, you can feel the raw energy as the two creators; both on the top of their game spark off each other and propel themselves onto a higher plane of creativity.

This comic book truly does push back the boundaries further than they have ever been pushed before or since.

Also included: Telepathic Ninjas, Homicidal Androids, Demons from hell, flying blue dwarves and Nuclear War.

A masterpiece
First a bit about myself. I'm 30 and I've had a dabbling interest in comics my whole life. I've travelled the world a bit and everytime that I find a comic store I enter it with one thing on my mind. Do they have a copy of Elektra Assassin? You see I used to own a copy. I made the mistake of lending it to someone who did not return it and I was staggered to learn that it is now out of print. The story line was one of the darkest that I'd read at the time, absolutely compelling. Sienkiewicz manages to draw Elektra in an, at the same time, erotic yet ugly perspective that I've yet to see equalled. His artwork complements Miller's story perfectly, a true marraige of styles. It is suprerior to Dark Knight Returns in this respect and that is saying a lot. So, I'm overjoyed that this work is being re-released, it's way overdue. For those of you that are about to read this for the first time, you have my envy. As for me and others like me who have read it before, I'll snap up a copy as soon as it becomes available and not lend it to anybody. When that happens, I guess I'll have to find another excuse to go into comic shops ;)