Elektra: Assassin by Frank MillerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Was thrilled to see this on the shelf at my library, since I've been wanting to read it for a while. Mostly enjoyed it, although there were some unpalatable aspects. A good dose of sex and violence cocktail. I am not a big fan of that combo. You may say a duh to that, since Elektra is a sexy assassin. I think it's all in the execution.
Elektra was depicted as a whole lot of crazy in this book. It occurs after her death and is about her resurrection by the Hand. She becomes a killer designated in service of the Hand, indirectly the Beast (yeah that one). However, she slowly becomes aware of a conspiracy of the Beast to end the world through the use of political puppets and dedicates her exceedingly expert kills in the art of death-bringing to eliminate all involved. She leaves quite a body trail behind her.
The artwork is innovative and very stylish, with a use of multiple media to convey the visual message of and along with the narrative in this book. Elektra doesn't speak much. She retains this mystique that adds to her allure. Most of her narrative was thought processes conveyed on the page. Honestly, I found her psychopathic in some ways. I wasn't quite sure if what she was experiencing wasn't a psychopathic break, and didn't get clarity until the end.
I wasn't quite in love with the storyline. It was way more political than I would have liked. I think I would have preferred a more intimate storyline. I certainly didn't like some of the venues and the secondary players in this novel. Wasn't that in love with Garrett's character or his ex-partner who turns out to be all kinds of icktastic.
Would you like this one? It depends. If you like Sin City (by the same writer), then probably. If you find some aspects of Sin City repellent, you might be like me, where I do like some aspects and others not so much. Yes, you know you're in for violence and lots of it with Elektra. I think I was hoping for something a little different in the execution. However, I can't give it less than four stars, because it's quite a work of art overall, the parts that were a turnoff, not withstanding.
At the end of the day, I am still a big fan of Elektra. A guilty pleasure of mine (since at heart I am not a fan of unnecessary or gratuitous violence). Yes on one level, I know that's probably wrong of me, but she's a bad@$$ female Ninja assassin who knows her way around a katana and sais (any edged weapon although her whole body is lethal), and can wreak all kinds of havoc in unimaginable ways. And I have to love her for that!
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