Daredevil 8, Elektra 6

Daredevil 8

Matt and Kirsten take in the town on a vigilante-free date when Kirsten reveals that she recently got a call from her somewhat estranged father, who lives in the Bay Area and invited Kirsten and Matt out on his boat. They accept and it goes rather well for a bit, up until Kirsten's father, a publisher, reveals that he wants Matt to write an autobiography, which annoys Kirsten. They head home with Matt sort of thinking about it (he calls it a flattering offer, which Kirsten points out is his kryptonite). Meanwhile, the Purple Man is back on the scene and collecting his illegitimate children, who have the same powers he has but who he hopes will be immune to his own powers and will therefore love him for who he is and not for an ulterior reason. Unfortunately for Purple Man, they don't love him for ripping them out of their homes and killing their mothers and they use their considerable combined powers to send Purple Man walking in front of an oncoming bus before preparing to tour the town.

The Purple Children are already proving themselves to be formidable and terrifying foes for Daredevil to go up against in short time and Mark Waid does a good job to illustrate these kids right off the bat while Chris Samnee and new colorist Matt Wilson do a phenomenal job showing just how creepy they are. Another thing I don't think I've talked about enough with this series is that Waid is doing a really nice job with Kirsten McDuffie. Obviously Daredevil is one of those characters who tends to make an impact with women and has both a slew of long-lasting relationships and one-night-stands on his resume. By and large though, I tend not to like the women writers bring in (obviously excluding ones who I do like from the larger Marvel Universe but still may not like in context of him dating, like Black Widow, Elektra kind of, and Black Cat) and Kirsten marks the first love interest since probably Echo that I've found myself liking and who doesn't seem to play the typical superhero love interest. Of course, that probably means Waid is ready to kill her off.

Total Score: 5/5


Elektra 6

Elektra has led Cape Crow, Kento, and Matchmaker from safe house to safe house, only to be attacked every step of the way by mercenaries and assassins looking to bring in the sizable fee on all of their heads. Elektra has met every challenge but finds herself worn out and running out of safe places. They reach Cape Crow's last safe house only to be attacked by the Serpent Squad. Elektra sends Cape Crow (no longer a killer) and Kento running for the house only to realize a moment too late that the Serpent Squad is a distraction and that sending Cape Crow into the house is exactly what whoever is behind this trap wants. She disposes of the Squad and rushes for the house with Matchmaker, who discovers Cape Crow's helmet torn apart by a sword before she herself is stabbed through the back by the culprit: a healed and monumentally more powerful Lady Bullseye out for revenge on Elektra.

About half of this book is a recap of their recent days interspersed with information about the assassin's guild and their extensive fees and health care plan, which Lady Bullseye utilizes. It's an effective storytelling technique as we stay with our main characters and learn a bit about them through dialogue and through their interactions with one another but also get key plot points, like the experimental and probably fatal procedure Lady Bullseye agreed to undertake to wipe out her debts to the guild and save her life temporarily, giving her a chance to go after Elektra. Though I think the art is pretty good here, it's hard to go from Del Mundo to anyone else and my love of this issue suffers a little as a result (not to mention that Matchmaker has ditched the amazing aviator cap and goggles for a more Alex-in-A-Clockwork-Orange outfit, which is a super bummer, you guys). Also, I'll be pretty upset if they kill off Matchmaker, I think she's phenomenal and I simultaneously want to learn everything about her and be given no explanation for her. It's complicated. Really like that cover, too.

Total Score: 4/5

Daredevil 7, Elektra 5

Daredevil 7
Waid (w) and J. Rodriguez (p and c) and A. Lopez (i) and Caramagna (l)

Daredevil hitches a ride with SHIELD to Wakanda, which SHIELD isn't willing to fly over because they're not entirely stupid. DD drops down into the most technologically advanced nation on Earth and is quickly captured, which, of course, turns out to be part of his plan. Instead of hoping to fight his way through Queen Shuri and the rest of Wakanda, he aims to lawyer the nuns out of jail, which he does by revealing that he's brought the corrupt army general to Wakanda and made his disappearance known, which will certainly get people looking and checking into his background and likely lead them to Wakanda. Shuri's only option is to release the nuns and separate herself from the general before things start to look ugly for them, which she does. On the way home, Maggie explains to her son that she had severe postpartum depression and it caused her to attack her husband and, nearly, her infant son, which led her to leaving the house and the family and taking up with God to protect her loved ones. With Jack proven innocent and a relationship with Maggie rekindled, Daredevil gets to return home happy.

I'm fairly pleased that this didn't end up being a "I have daddy issues" sort of revelation. Instead, it's far more nuanced and a bit more interesting as we learn a good deal about the rarely seen Maggie and get to see Daredevil spend some meaningful time with his family, who were misunderstood and not abusive after all. This one, as opposed to, say, ORIGINAL SIN: HULK VS IRON MAN, paints someone as a villain then reveals them to be a hero...but I found it interesting as opposed to somewhat predictable and boring. Javier Rodriguez does pretty phenomenal work here. I'll certainly miss his contributions on the book, though I look forward to colorist extraordinaire Matt Wilson's take on Samnee's art starting next issue.

Total Score: 4/5


Elektra 5
W.H. Blackman (w) and Del Mundo (a) and Del Mundo w/D'Alfonso (c) and Cowles (l)

Cape Crow fights with Elektra and reveals that he was able to beat all of his previous attackers because he has extremely limited pre-cognition. It's maybe only half a second, but it's enough for him to use his instincts and win each fight. Elektra, armed with this knowledge, manages to clear her head and fight on pure instinct, defeating him in a close fight. With Cape Crow down and his helmet removed, she learns that he is, in fact, her dead father. But not really, that's just some psychic image put there by Kento, who has some amount of psychic power. She's super mad but agrees to continue to help them assuming Kento never does that again and that they still pay her. Bad news, though, Bloody Lips has arrived, still desperate to eat Elektra. Having a pretty tough day already, Elektra cuts herself and drips blood onto Bloody Lips' lips, giving him a full range of her memories and experiences, which breaks him and he stumbles off a cliff. So long, Bloody Lips! Anyway, Lady Bullseye is back and vows revenge on Elektra.

Lots of really great stuff here, including Elektra's bio-signature-based sai (nice try using them against her, Cape Crow), a great taste of her fighting prowess and strategies, the demise of Bloody Lips after a really impressive and very cool if mildly horrific double page spread detailing Elektra's memories, the promise of more assassin fights, and the promise of more Matchmaker, who, if I haven't said it enough, is the best. I really like this book and I think Blackman has plenty of ideas for this book and Del Mundo is an unbelievable artist who really brings this book alive. Just really fun stuff with lots of upside.

Total Score: 5/5

Elektra 4, Ms. Marvel 6

Elektra 4
W.H. Blackman (w) and Del Mundo (a) and Del Mundo w/D'Alfonso (c) and Cowles (l)

Elektra sees a vision of her mother through the veil, lecturing her about how she became a killer and giving her a glimpse of what her life would have been with the support of her mother throughout, while Bloody Lips sees his wife again, insisting he kill himself for the pain that he's caused. Elektra's mother invokes the innocents she's murdered and Elektra says that she's never killed someone who could be called innocent, showing no remorse even in the face of a disappointed mother and eventually realizing that it's not truly her mother as she asks Elektra what her father would think about her choices. She fights her way out of the area though she catches a glimpse of Bloody Lips in her mind, forcing him to reveal his name. She grabs Kento and the two emerge out of the water for Matchmaker to retrieve them. Kento knows that they have to go north to find his father and they escape in Matchmaker's plane, but Bloody Lips is hot on their trail, using Scalphunter's ship to trail them. Elektra dives out of Matchmaker's ship and manages to take down Bloody Lips' but she's forced down too, wearing wings to glide safely but still lost in the Arctic, where she comes upon a gun-toting Cape Crow.

With my new habitat of doing a leftovers post wherein I quickly summarize and give impressions of the books I didn't do bigger reviews for, I end up in a place where I can sort of cherry-pick the books for which I want to write a longer review (aside from the ones I deem "important" or "have AVENGERS in the title"). ELEKTRA and MS. MARVEL jumped out at me this week (though props to NOVA, MAGNETO, and THUNDERBOLTS for putting in the effort) as ones I really wanted to shine a light on. I've really enjoyed this book so far and this issue is no exception. The beginning gives a great look at Elektra's mentality (as well as Bloody Lips', which is, you know, pretty much the darkest thing you could imagine), which buckles for a moment in the face of her mother but never really falters, never backs down or asks forgiveness. Instead, she seems, if anything, more resolute about what she does. Really great stuff. And Matchmaker, you guys, she's the best. Real Amelia Earhart, fearless flier up there. Still excellent art from Del Mundo and still a great little series.

Total Score: 5/5


Ms. Marvel 6
G.W. Wilson (w) and Wyatt (a) and Herring (c) and Caramagna (l)

The Inventor has been sending bots out into the city to both annoy and try to find Ms. Marvel, who has done a good job so far of staying undetected or breaking said bots. Her father sets up a meeting with Sheikh Abdullah for her, which she doesn't wish to attend but ends up going, particularly as she's not in the best of books with her parents at current. She ends up getting really good advice from him and they both leave the meeting happy. Reinvigorated and looking for, under the advice of the Sheikh, someone from whom she might learn more about helping people, she dives into a giant suspicious pothole-turned-path-to-the-sewer, where she discovers Thomas Edison, the Inventor's clone of the real Edison combined with his own pet parakeet. Edison is conducting experiments to learn whether he can change an animal's nature, in this case teaching an alligator not to kill. Ms. Marvel prepares to fight him but is startled to find Wolverine entering the fight before she can get a punch off. Thrilled, Kamala relates to him how excited she is and how she couldn't have found a better team-up, to his dismay. Still, the two get along pretty well, helping each other out and trying to track the escaped Inventor or Edison in the tunnels. Unfortunately, they fall right into a trap and Kamala, with Wolverine rather injured, will have to fight her way out of it.

Another really strong issue as Ms. Marvel finally gets her first taste of the greater Marvel Universe through every teenage girl's dad Wolverine. He came to the sewers looking for a runaway from the Jean Grey School and now the two of them are pals. The writing between the pair is very fun and extraordinarily strong, particularly the way Wilson characterizes the well-known Wolverine on top of her own created Kamala. The book reads pretty quickly, though it does get a little confusing as Edison enters the scene, and the conversation between Kamala and Sheikh Abdullah is very strong but the draw here really is the chemistry between Kamala and Wolverine, which is equal parts adorable and fun on both ends.

Total Score: 5/5

Daredevil 2, Elektra 1

Daredevil 2
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and J. Rodriguez (c) and Caramagna (l)

Matt Murdock's arrival in San Francisco, particularly an arrival that brought him out as Daredevil, has gained some attention from the wrong people, including San Francisco's own vigilante, the Shroud. Though the Shroud has often worked on the side of the law in his own way, he's certainly gone crazy on more than one occasion and seeing a new and well-liked superhero on his turf doesn't really thrill him. Just as Matt and Kirsten are meeting with deputy mayor Charlotte Hastert (from the first issue!) about the problems facing San Francisco, including the emergence of old Daredevil foe the Owl, Shroud turns up on the roof to threaten Daredevil off. When Daredevil overpowers him, Shroud offers to take DD to the newest crime boss in town, only to bring him directly to his own hideout where he has four men from the different crime families tied up and beaten.

Story
Matt's transition to San Francisco continues to be an interesting one and one fraught with its own perils and problems. Shroud dreams up a news report that conflates Daredevil's and his own origins in order to make it seem like he's jealous or annoyed by the amount of attention and respect Daredevil's already getting, which is all probably true but adds weight to the idea that Matt's facing an all-new sort of scrutiny when it comes to his superheroing (I'm surprised this book isn't called ALL-NEW DAREDEVIL). On top of that, we have seeds about the Owl and a new story with the Shroud that will prove interesting. 5/5

Character
All the characters come across excellently here as we get a good sense of Matt finding his bearings here (and really seemingly to enjoy himself in his new and more open life) and Kirsten's strength as she deals with Matt and Charlotte and everything else but, as we see through Samnee's extraordinary art, worries about the state of everything. The Shroud too gets instant characterization with the aforementioned dream sequence and with the way he interacts with Matt, who fights energetically with quips abound. Plenty to like here and plenty to do with these guys going forward. 5/5

Writing
Matt's new life is fun and exciting and the writing is matching that. There are a lot of light moments and moments that actually made me laugh out loud (GUYS, I'm not bragging but I don't laugh out loud TERRIBLY often, I tend to think things are funny and KEEP IT TO MYSELF, like a GENTLEMAN), though it's balanced nicely by more tense moments and a powerful story. This is never going to be a funny book in the same sort of way that something like SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN is; it's more akin to the humor of HAWKEYE but the humor isn't usually at the expense of our protagonist so it's not as dark as HAWKEYE can sometimes get. Still, it's carved out a great tone for itself and MAN, I THOUGHT THIS LITTLE SECTION WAS GOING TO BE SMALLER TODAY. 5/5

Art
Samnee's art and Rodriguez's colors continue to be absolutely amazing and to work so fluidly together that it remains one of the most easy-to-read books out on the market. Everything is so well-covered from emotion to action to tone to scenery to atmosphere. Just everything, you guys. I also particularly love a nice large panel where Daredevil and Shroud are leaping forward together in a dark blue and a vibrant red team-up. It's stunning, you guys. 5/5

Miscellaneous
What are you gonna do, not give this a 5/5?

Total score: 5/5


Elektra 1
Blackman (w) and Del Mundo (a) and Del Mundo w/D'Alfonso (c) and Cowles (l)

Elektra, tired of being defined by her past and by those who would seek to define her, returns to her roots as an assassin, visiting the Matchmaker, a woman who gives her and other assassins contracts when they want them. The Matchmaker has a special contract for Elektra, putting her on the trail of another assassin, a phantom-like hitman named Cape Crow who had turned from killing high-profile targets to killing other assassins to take their contracts. There's a big enough reward that many other assassins have gotten in on the game, apparently including a rather crazy one named Bloody Lips (who we get some rather crazy narrative from in this issue as well as he hunts down Bullseye to steal a piece of him, as per directions from a voice in his head called the Serpent), but Elektra has been tasked by the Matchmaker to bring Cape Crow in alive for an enormous bounty. Elektra takes the job, simply wanting to get out of New York, and is quickly transported to Monster Island, home of a safe house of Cape Crow's.

Story
Certainly a compelling enough story to kick things off here for Elektra's solo title as Elektra gets back to her roots as an assassin and instantly gets embroiled in something of an assassin-off (is that something that happens in the world of assassins? I sure hope so) which, as my parenthetical's just showcased, is a really engaging story. 5/5

Character
Elektra is, I would assume, a fairly easy character to write on a short term basis (she's cold and she's brutal; it means a lack of colorful language and an efficiency to her that makes her a worthy adversary and a hard-to-trust ally) but a very difficult character to write long term. Her book, then, sort of mirrors BLACK WIDOW in the "not too hard to write for a one-shot or with a team but hard to write as a driving vehicle." Still, Blackman does a phenomenal job here matching the character we know with a bit more personality, though clearly still held pretty tight to the chest, and a story that fits her well. Del Mundo does an equally great job characterizing her through the art with her movement and her expressions but we'll talk about that LATER guys. 5/5

Writing
The character and story all come together well in this first issue, one of the stronger first issues we've seen lately, and it's thanks in large part to the writing of this book, including the dark/grey tone of the book so far. I have a feeling I'll be comparing this one to BLACK WIDOW somewhat often but that's not a bad comparison to make. These two characters are more alike than they are different and their struggles in finding a rhythm in a solo title are also not so different. If this book keeps up like this, though, and if BLACK WIDOW keeps up like it's kicked off, it's hard to imagine that either of these books won't enjoy a long run. 5/5

Art
The art in this book is outstanding and it's hard to ignore that. There are times where art like this, free-flowing art with numerous double-page spreads and ink and color running from page to page, can feel like it's distinctly trying too hard. You can often see when an artist isn't particularly comfortable with that sort of style but knows how well it would match the book so they give it their all. Here, Del Mundo knocks it out of the park so that it doesn't look at all forced, it just looks spectacular. The style isn't that far from Phil Noto's (I'M SORRY, I really like BLACK WIDOW and I think these books are similar and, frankly, should be) and it's working out really well. 5/5

Miscellaneous
Really solid opening for ELEKTRA. Great cover too. Like I kind of danced around before, she's a great character to write for a one-shot but it's far harder to write her for an extended time and particularly for an extended time when she's the sole protagonist. I have high hopes for this series but we are just one issue in. We'll have to see how it plays out.

Total score: 5/5