Elektra By Greg Rucka Ultimate Collection [Paperback]

I got one look at that cover and I was immediately intrigued. A photo-realistic version of Electra, written by Greg Rucka. Then I looked up the covers for all the issues inside, also very intriguing. Greg Rucka has his own hit book, Queen and Country, and he has some good stints on Batman and Wonder Woman. What could possibly go wrong?

Holy crap, this book is terrible.

Let's go over this issue by issue. Issues 7&8 are the biggest bait and switch I've ever encountered in comics. The issues are done by Chuck Austen, and they are butt-ugly. All the character look like barbie dolls, like they're floating and don't bend at the knees or elbows. It looks like terrible CG. How do you make a 2D image look like terrible CG? When this issue hit the newsstands, people must have complained. It's like you go in expecting a supermodel, and they give you a plastic blowup doll.

I guess enough people complained, because he got ditched for someone with talent in issues 8&9, Joe Bennet. He draws characters a bit tall and muscular, but he's decent. He didn't do enough to complain.

Then we get, a special issue called "Trust," from Marvel Knights Double Shot #3, by the cover artist, Greg Horn. You think it be something really great, but it's a little weird to see the photo-realistic style used in a full story. Greg Horn aint Alex Ross. I couldn't take a whole miniseries if it looked like this. It's like it was put together on photoshop using other photos, so the work looks very fake.

Issues 11-15 are handled by Carlos Pagulayan, and he does a good job with what he has to work with. Also, here is where the main story starts, Elektra is an assassin for hire, so when she goes without a job for a long time she gets restless, and even starts to have a mental breakdown. It's an interesting premise, but it quickly gets pretty dull.

Joe Bennet steps back in for issues 16 & 17. Now that the story started to bore me, I started to notice how very bland Joe Bennet's art is. Maybe it was the colors, but the characters look like they lack personality.

Issue 18 goes back to Carlos Pagulayan, and he continues a good job.

However, issues 19 & 20 are handled by Carlos Megalia, who uses a cartoony style that is very distracting. Normally, changing art styles is reserved for when the storyline changes, but this has all been one plot since Issue 11.

Then it goes back to Carlos Pagulyan for issues 21 & 22.

What makes it worse is the boring plot. After hitting rock bottom in issue 11, Elektra eventually decides to stop killing people, while another group is trying to kill her. It's a very standard killer seeking redemption story. While she makes some progress, in the end, she does kill someone, making this whole ordeal, absolutely pointless.

It's no wonder no one ever talks about this series. This is terrible. I do not recommend this for anyone. 1-out-of-5