Comments on: Comics You Should Own - Elektra: Assassin

By: Anthony

Anthony — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:05:59 +0000

I just bought all eight issues, originally to resell on eBay, but now I may just keep them and read them.

By: simon

simon — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:12:29 +0000

Hi
any one have any info about how bill goes about his painting??
cant find much on the net
please email me
cheers
simon

By: Aled

Aled — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:27:23 +0000

This HAS to be one of the best graphic novels EVER.
Having read The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, V for Vendetta etc I really thought that I would not be able to find anything better but this is right there with them.
If you have not got a copy ...GET ONE!

By: Les

Les — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 00:38:39 +0000

they definitely should've based the movie on this. but you know Marvel, hey its Hollywood..LETS MAKE IT SUCK!

By: stephanie

stephanie — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 14:07:14 +0000

you have one very bad websit but it is funny my friend thot that the head pot off

By: DanCJ

DanCJ — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:11:29 +0000

And here was me thinking Ken Wind's face was a photo of JFK

I had that first TPB (the one I spent loads of money on) but when I saw the opportunity to sell that and my copy of Daredevil: Love and War and get the oversized hardcover reprinting them both and make a small profit I took it. I'm still not sure if that was the right decision or not...

By: Punch

Punch — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:58:30 +0000

One of the most underrated books ever. Also one of the comics that blew my mind.
I have to say the only edition for me is what I believe is the first trade paperback edition.The cover has Elektra shooting a balloon(with the face of Ken Wind on it) with a bow and arrow while standing on the shoulders of Garrett, who is riding a tricycle.
No other cover was able to capture the tone of the book so well.

By: Danny Wind

Danny Wind — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:01:38 +0000

I remember reading an interview with Sienkiewicz where he said that the images he used for Ken Wind's face were actually two pictures of himself. That adds some interesting layers to it...

Probably my favorite comic ever, not least because it gave me something to say when people asked how my last name was pronounced.

By: Jack Potts

Jack Potts — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 16:09:03 +0000

When Nextwave came out, I immediately thought that Dirk Anger was an homage to the over the top, ultra-violent, bombastic Nick Fury as he was portrayed in Elektra: Assassin, complete with the shot of him sitting astride the giant handgun.

From what I understand, Ellis actually wanted the Dirk Anger character to actually be Nick Fury, but Marvel balked at the notion.

By: DanCJ

DanCJ — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:52:31 +0000

Great series. I canâ€™t believe Marvel hasnâ€™t reprinted this, it really is a brilliant creative team both at the top of their game.

They have. It's still available at Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/Elektra-Assassin-Frank-Miller/dp/0871353091/sr=1-1/qid=1169553060/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6070912-7584762?ie=UTF8&s=books

That said it was out of print for years and I wound up using a book finding website and paying Â£25 for my copy.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 07:12:03 +0000

Mike, reading your little tidbit about the Miller interview finally gave me some insight into what the hell was going on with the second issue.

Great series. I can't believe Marvel hasn't reprinted this, it really is a brilliant creative team both at the top of their game.

By: Annoyed Grunt

Annoyed Grunt — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 21:32:43 +0000

I remember the ads for the TPB had a quote from somebody saying "I don't understand what's going on, but I think this is something we need to protect our children from." or something to that effect. I don't know if it's in contuniuty, but it was alluded to in Ennis' Punisher run when Elektra made an appearance.

By: The Cosh

The Cosh — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 16:56:00 +0000

I find it hard to believe that Miller is deliberately ridiculing the grittiness and ultra-violence, rather than seriously taking them to such an extreme that they become absurd. Either way, Elektra: Assassin is worth buying twice over for the art alone. The first three pages - with words and pictures combined in such a bewildering array of ways - are a masterclass in graphic storytelling techniques.

By: Ryan Dunlavey

Ryan Dunlavey — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 16:19:03 +0000

Elektra: Assasin is the best thing Marvel has EVER published, no contest. Fucking genius stuff from start to finish - I read it once a year and always find something new. Of course it came out when I was an angry little 15 years old punk eager to soak up what crazy f-ed up shit I could find, so I may be biased.

Great critique Greg.

By: Mike Loughlin

Mike Loughlin — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 14:03:33 +0000

I read an interview (years ago) in which Miller stated that he would get the pages from Sienkiewicz, then arrange them on the floor in different ways until he felt they made sense. Maybe Urban Legends could check that story out.

Elektra Assasin is one of my favorite comics, and it made me a lifelong Sienkiewicz fan. Anyone who likes his art should find Voodoo Child: the Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix. The imagery (some of which is painted from iconic Hendrix photos and footage) is stunning, even if the biography (written by someone else) is slight.

By: Graeme Burk

Graeme Burk — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:05:13 +0000

I've always believed that with Frank Miller in the 80s and early 90s there were projects that are clearly the work of Miller the writer--works that are meant to stretch the creative muscles of a writer and the effect he's trying to achieve is more of a literary one. Daredevil: Born Again is a key example, so is Dark Knight. The Martha Washington stories would be a good example of one with another artist. Then there are the projects that are clearly the work of Miller the artist--works that are more trying to stretch the creative muscles of an artist, and the toeffect is more about the power of the images than anything. Ronin is a good example of that. And Elektra: Assassin is a good example of one with another artist. I'm amazed Greg managed to come up with such a lucid critique and analysis of it, because for me the story is so slight. It's about Sienkiewicz's images more than anything-- it's a visceral comic, more about the mood and impact the images have than any coherent plot. As such, at the time I read it I found it disturbing and put me completely off balance. It's great stuff. Oh, issue 4 where a lonely spinster's fantasy world takes over Elektra's mind is utterly brilliant.

By: DanCJ

DanCJ — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:46:26 +0000

Elektra Assassin is great. TBH I'm completely lost for the first two issues, but from that point onwards it's fantastic. One of the funniest books I own!

By: david brothers

david brothers — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 07:29:54 +0000

Garrett shows up briefly in Miller and Varley's Elektra Lives Again, too. Look for the scene in the prison when Matt is going up the stairs as Elektra descends (I believe). It's just after Elektra enters the building and a man is trying to explain to her that he has no idea why the metal detectors went off when she passed through. Garrett is the guy ranting about being a SHIELD agent.

By: The Dane

The Dane — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 06:47:42 +0000

I have this in the oversized hardcover that Marvel put out a few years back that contains Daredevil: Love and War and Elektra: Assassin and for one reason or another, it's been sitting on my to-be-read shelf since I got it a couple years back. I got it, being a huge fan of Sienkiewicz, and read teh first collection in it, Love and War but haven't gotten around to reading your recommendation here. Consider me properly admonished. I shall begin tonight.

By: Omar Karindu

Omar Karindu — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 06:27:48 +0000

1st off...sadly, it has been dragged into continuity, though the ending was retconned. D.G. Chichester dragged Garrett into his Daredevil run, but explanined that Elektra and/or SHIELD had merely plunged him into a fantasy world where he believed he'd gotten Wind's body.

2nd...Miller was really at his best at this point, gleefully aware of the absurdfity of his own and others' notions of politics, and saying the hell wth all of it in a refreshingly direct fashion. But at some point he started to become a true believer, after which it all went downhill.