Rating: 
Summary: Marvel Comics on acid: the 2001 of Superhero Comics
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed but artistically compelling graphic novel
Review: Elektra Assassin As stated elsewhere, there are certain achievements in the comic-book industry that are unique to their particular field. These could not be successfully replicated in other artistic mediums; the power and presence of the book would be diluted if not totally lost. Elektra Assassin is one such accomplishment. The plot is nothing original or even exemplary: just a mishmash of conspiracy theory and pulp-noir with eastern mysticism and cold-war paranoia thrown in for good measure (this was written in the mid '80's, after all, the era of Reaganomics and Chernobyl). As an author, Frank Miller is renown for his ability to reshape the standard clichés of the pulp genre with a fresh and inventive approach; Sin City et al worked precisely because although he stayed true to the style, Miller injected a much needed dose of personal passion in the process... breathing life into a decades-dead corpse. As far as this story goes, however, Elektra feels more like a training session than the professional end result, Miller "getting his feet wet" before launching into his darker and more successful works. But then, story is only half the appeal of the comic format, and Bill Sienkiewicz's mixed-media art is what elevates Elektra to the graphic-novel pantheon, not quite attaining the crown glory of Watchmen or the Dark Knight but coming very close. Using paints, heavy inks, pencils, photo-manipulation and a host of other tricks, Sienkiewicz forges Elektra into a visual feast. The skewed 'surrealistic' perspective offers many delights to the jaded eye--the picture of the cherubs totting pistols and mac-10's alone had me in stitches. The art saves this collaborated effort, turning mediocrity into a near masterpiece. In the end, is Elektra Assassin worth the price? Considering that Sienkiewicz's efforts (other than New Mutants, another worthy buy) are incredible difficult and expensive to obtain, I'd say yes. But if you are more story-oriented and new to Frank Miller's work, one should first start at Dark Knight Returns and the early Sin City. For hardcore enthusiasts, this should not be passed up. The art is unlike anything else out there and Miller's creation of Garrett could be considered the hardboiled prototype for Marv and Dwight (from Sin City fame). Art, five stars. Story, three. Round it out and that's what you see...
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of the Medium
Review: Elektra is a character originating from the Daredevil comic series who has been killed off and resurrected several times, and the government agency S.H.E.I.L.D. also has a long history in Marvel, but don't let this discourage you. Fortunately this series stands on its own and all you need to know is in this collection, so if you generally dislike Marvel comics this is not an issue. This was published during Epic comics' woefully short height when they truly published comics for adults instead of just more violent Marvel comics. I must admit that the plot of this story is not exactly one of great literature. A popular politician running for President is possessed by the antichrist who wants to destroy the world with nuclear anihilation and only Elektra who is out to assassinate him knows this and she has just escaped from an insane asylum. Meanwhile, ultra-advanced government agencies as well as the minions of the antichrist are out to stop her. But Miller and Sienkiewicz elevate the work over its pulp plot. The painted artwork by Sienkiewicz is simply stunning and, other than Stray Toasters, is his largest and most self-contained work (Big Numbers having been aborted, and his work on the New Mutants, etc, being only partial stories). For this alone, the collection is worthwhile. However, it is also a masterpiece of the graphic novel genre. The artwork meshes perfectly with the writing creating an experience unique to comics as opposed to an illustrated novel. The artwork helps create a psychological depth and abstractions not possible in the narrative alone in a vocabulary unique to comics and not as possible in movies or books. Thus, just as it is impossible to fully recreate the experience of music in the written word, Elektra cannot be accurately translated to any other medium. While there have been better comics, few match Elektra: Assassin in its ability to explore the storytelling potential of the graphic novel and still maintain a story that is more than mere surrealism (Sienkiewicz's Stray Toasters, which also accomplishes this is superior, but less available). More work like Elektra is needed as an injection to wake up a medium that is now largely dominated by movies set to paper (e.g. Ennis' Preacher).
Rating:
Summary: Before you see the Jan 05 movie, read this.
Review: Elektra Natchios, daughter of Greek Diplomat Hugo Natchios and his wife, Christina, has been a gymnast, martial artist, ninja, and assassin. Though she was a black belt by age twelve, trained in the lethal arts of Ninjitsu, and was renowned as the world's deadliest assassin, she is dead. Or is she really? A strange woman has washed ashore off the coast of South America. No one can identify her. She does not have any finger prints to even help. When people, high in politics, begin dying it is clear that Elektra did NOT die after all. She has returned. But is she sane? ***** The story begins while Elektra is still in her mother's womb. Once born, the story is told mainly from Elektra's point-of-view. None of it makes much sense to the reader. Soon Special Agent John Garrett helps Elektra narrate. The reader then sees things happen from the point-of-view of Elektra and Garrett. Things still make little sense to the reader; however, a pattern begins to form and the reader can now piece a few things together. Half way through this comic novel (over sized paperback), more characters begin to help narrate. Yet only one of the newer characters play a major role in clearing the air for the reader. That character is Agent Chastity McBryde, who seems almost as insane as Elektra. By the ending, the reader fully understands it all and is left utterly speechless! If you plan to watch the January 2005 movie release "Elektra", read this first! Elektra is NOT a "super hero" and the movie does not try to portray her as one. Quit thinking "Dare Devil", "Spider Man", and/or "Batman". Elektra is totally unique. Even after reading this book I cannot say for sure whether Elektra is really sane! If you miss out on reading this comic novel, you miss out on most of who Elektra really is. ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: 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 ;)
Rating:
Summary: Highly entertaining, beautifully illustrated
Review: First off, Sienkiewicz' illustrations really sell this great mix of super-spy, doomsday, conspiracy, satire, martial arts, and action. Miller could not have achieved this without him--the artwork makes Dark Night look sloppy and colorless. But the writing is better too, as Miller revels in the weirdos, psychopaths, and chuckleheads who heavily intersperse the pages. Despite its lack of artistic "heft" (something comics consistently fail at when they try for it) it's probably the best graphic novel to date, simply because the material is such a blast and the whole thing works better than a movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best, not the worst...
Review: Frank Miller is by far the best writer in comics (e.g., The Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil: Born Again), but he can also be the worst (e.g., The Dark Knight Strikes Again). This book shows both ends of the spectrum - it's style versus substance. His strength is his gritty realism and noir-esque moods and themes, yet this falters as he tries to tell a supernatural crime story from the psycho's point of view. Miller clearly wanted to push the edge a little farther and have some fun (and he did) with the characters and subject matter, but combining the story with the "from the psycho's point of view" elements makes the story a bit hard to understand. If Miller had focused on either just the plot or on just the style, this may have joined the comics canon of required readings. Instead, it's just a fun, chaotic and puzzling experiment that didn't fulfill its potential. I can also safely say that although I'm not a huge fan of his art, Bill Sienkiewicz was the perfect illustrator for the style of story. If anyone can make you see the world through a psychotic's eyes, it's him!
Rating:
Summary: Not the best, not the worst...
Review: Frank Miller is by far the best writer in comics (e.g., The Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil: Born Again), but he can also be the worst (e.g., The Dark Knight Strikes Again). This book shows both ends of the spectrum - it's style versus substance. His strength is his gritty realism and noir-esque moods and themes, yet this falters as he tries to tell a supernatural crime story from the psycho's point of view. Miller clearly wanted to push the edge a little farther and have some fun (and he did) with the characters and subject matter, but combining the story with the "from the psycho's point of view" elements makes the story a bit hard to understand. If Miller had focused on either just the plot or on just the style, this may have joined the comics canon of required readings. Instead, it's just a fun, chaotic and puzzling experiment that didn't fulfill its potential. I can also safely say that although I'm not a huge fan of his art, Bill Sienkiewicz was the perfect illustrator for the style of story. If anyone can make you see the world through a psychotic's eyes, it's him!
Rating: 
Summary: "...a tale...full of sound and fury, signifying..." what?
Review: Hate to be the nay-sayer of the bunch, but here goes. When I first received the Elektra: Assassin trade paperback as a Valentine's Day gift from my wife, I was really excited. I had missed the original Frank Miller/Bill Sienkiewicz mini-series when it was released in the 80s, and was looking forward to reading a collaboration by two of my favorite comics creators. Boy, was I disappointed. So what's the problem? Well, it certainly isn't any lack of talent on the creators' part. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the history of comics, Frank Miller was among the handful of creators responsible for the complete revitialization of the medium in the 1980s. His work on the Daredevil title for Marvel and his Batman mini-series (The Dark Knight Returns and Year One) for DC, along with Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, set standards of excellence in the superhero genre which have yet to be surpassed. Sienkiewicz, though not as well known, is an equally formidable talent. Incorperating the mixed-media techniques of Robert Rauschenberg and the bizarre caricatures of Ralph Steadman into his work, Sienkiewicz broke ground in comics illustration that other artists (Dave McKean and David Mack, outstanding artists themselves) ended up getting most of the credit for. So a collaboration between Miller and Sienkiewicz should be great, right? Well, yeah, and it has been - those of you who have not already purchased their 1986 graphic novel Daredevil: Love And War are advised to do so immediately. So, again, what's the problem? Lack of ideas? Well... let's see what we got here: ninjas, cyborgs, espionage, possesion (demonic and otherwise), Biblical prophesy, stream of consciousness monologues, fractured narrative, photomontage... JEEZ! No, if any comics series ever created suffers from a lack of ideas (there are several - trust me) - buddy, this ain't it. So... what's the PROBLEM? Well, the problem has a lot to do with the creators biting off a bit more than they can chew. Any one of the aforementioned ideas or techniques could be developed into an interesting mini-series. Trying to deal with a dozen of them at once just creates a muddled, pretentious mess. And then there's the small problem of character development. Elektra, who I assumed would be the protagonist here, winds up being sidelined in her own mini-series. Instead, John Garrett, one of Miller's least interesting hard-boiled anti-heroes, takes center stage. Also, there's the issue of theme. Call me old-fashioned, but I kind of expect my stories to have a point. The central theme of Elektra: Assassin is... what? That politicians are simply tabulae rasae, upon which we project whatever we like? That the Democrats are just as screwed up as the Republicans? C'mon guys -you can do better than that. In conclusion, I don't mean to totally slam this work - there's certainly a lot more creativity here than in the latest X-Men rip-off, and there are some beautiful moments here, both visual & verbal. But would I seriously recommend that you slap down 25 bucks for this puppy? Nope - not unless you've got a lot more bread than I do.
Rating:
Summary: Good: Cocky and Strange
Review: Hunter/Steadman inflected treatment of Nixon's 21st century sick-media America being invaded by a resurrected muse/ninja/cyborg/palimpsest killer in a long red thong. Her character is conflicted and messy-weird but the story is that of another man, a proto-macho cigar-chomping positive-slant on the good-old-American-rebel guy. The art is a treat, the story is cocky and strange. Good comic.
| 
