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

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