Advance Review: Elektra #100

One of Marvel most famous, if not the most famous, femme fatales, reaches the heady number of 100 issues to feature her name. A tenuous celebration for sure, especially for a character who as been pretty damn fantastic in her Daredevil roles.

This book is set a few weeks ago and looks to answer who is the baddest woman in the Daredevil universe. In the red corner we have the “zombie” assassin Elektra and in the other red corner, we have the missus Kingpin to be Typhoid Mary! That’s right its a fight issue!

Ann Nocenti is no stranger to either character, having written both along with spending time on Catwoman for DC. Perhaps a name from the past, looking to deliver a tale from same past could be a descriptor for this book. That would a harsh way to go for sure. Nocenti gets to bring all the drama of these two women’s previous existence and their respective impacts. Nocenti also brings up their respective beau’s and how they about their fight and outcomes. For all the missteps of Nocenti’s Catwoman; she isn’t the only writer to swing and miss with that character in recent years, you can’t really knock the tenseness of her writing when it comes to the world of Daredevil.

The art is provided by Sid Kotian with a style that is dramastically different to the regular art style of Marvel books. Kotian utilises smaller body frames in a manner that is reminiscent of Mark Bagley without all the square jaws. There are also an abundance of heavy inks which again can contrast against Marvels house style. The fights scenes are pacy, with homage pieces thrown in for good measure to appease the Ol’ Timers amongst you. The number of panels per pages give the book claustrophobic feel that adds to tenseness of the script. The colors from Edgar Delgado use a darker hue, building on the darkness within both characters. I suppose that the combination of heavy inks and darker colors, along with compressed panels match the tone and vibe that Nocenti is aiming for. VC’s Clayton Cowles’ font is a tad more traditional than you may expect, though he does work hard to ensure that the condensed panel do not affect the font, be it inner monologue or dialogue.

Set a few weeks ago, I am at a bit of a loss with this book; as the setting doesn’t have any real impact or ramifications, it does feel much a do about nothing. But hey, Elektra has a ton of fans; so this may may sate their love of a sai wielding zombie ninja assassin!

Writing – 3 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Written by; Ann Nocenti
Art by; Sid Kotian
Colors by; Edgar Delgado
Letters by; VC’s Clayton Cowles
Published by Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network