Written By: W. Haden Blackman
Art By: Michael Del Mundo
Published By: Marvel
I have such a hard time trying to review this issue because it does a lot of things right but it also does a lot of things wrong.
The first half of the issue is remarkable. After the events of issue 3, issue 4 starts off with Elektra and the psychopath Bloody Lips essentially being locked inside their own minds, talking with important people from their respective pasts regarding their choices in life and the events that shaped them. It’s nothing new by any means, but Mike Del Mundo’s artwork is at it’s best here. His style is a perfect fit for the scene, especially when he takes a nice approach by having half a panel focus on Elektra and the other half on Bloody Lips. These scenes clue us in nicely to both Elektra’s personality and new character Bloody Lips.
The problem with this issue is that this is all there really is to it. While the series is supposedly about Elektra, it seems to want to focus way too heavily on Bloody Lips. It does so to the point that it’s easy to forget that there’s anything going on besides problems stemming from him, which means that it ultimately gets lost in cheap thrills and tired tropes. I’m all for taking the time to set up the major conflict but Elektra’s problem is that the build up seems essentially nonexistent to the major plot at hand. Perhaps if Bloody Lips was the main evil at hand, but he’s not.
Del Mundo’s artwork is by far the high point of the series. I really hope that the story pans out to compliment it. It’s absolutely gorgeous and the somewhat more abstract approach is nice to see in a series about a deadly assassin, where one would expect dark and gritty art. It also does wonders in giving Elektra a little bit more of a character as some of her more painful expressions suddenly become a lot more tender. Add this to the aforementioned beginning panels and Elektra is getting a lot more fleshed out as a character, which is wonderful to see.
Ultimately, Elektra 4 is a slow and plodding read that I’d argue isn’t worth your time past the beginning panels involving Elektra and Bloody Lips. The last half is just a painful read of “Hey this vehicle is crashing” and “But I thought he was dead?” It’s nonsense that we really shouldn’t tolerate this far into a series. A new title needs to grab us from the beginning and so far it’s been a largely slow and boring series. This may be one of the better issues if you enjoy back story and learning more about Elektra herself, but everyone else can skip it.
