Comic Review: Elektra: Black, White & Blood #1

Marvel Comics

Writers: Charles Soule, Leonardo Romero, Declan Shalvey

Artists: Mark Bagley, John Dell, Edgar Delgado, Leonardo Romero, Simone D’Armini

If you haven’t noticed, Elektra is getting something of a push of late. The former assassin seemingly turned over a new leaf during Chip Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil. She purchased Hell’s Kitchen on behalf of Matt Murdock so he could serve time in prison without worrying about his old stomping grounds. More boldly, she assumed the mantle of Daredevil during his incarceration and, despite Matt’s release, has yet to relinquish it.

While it would be foolish to count on Elektra conscience, it’s clear she has a big role to play in the ongoing Devil’s Reign event. She’s featured in the main title and will get her own mini starting next week (Woman Without Fear). And on top of that, we get this curious title–Elektra: Black, White & Blood.

As a non-canon pastiche of “Elektra’s greatest hits,” Black, White & Blood ranges from macabre fun to jaw dropping action to…meh.

Writer Charles Soule and artists Mark Bagley, John Dell, and Edgar Delgado created the first story, “Red Dawn.” It has a very What If…? feel and nails the defiance that makes up so much of Elektra’s personality. The story pits the sai-wielding wonder against a cadre of vampires. As we all know, Elektra cannot be tamed, not even by death. 

But it’s not the blood-soaked dance with the undead that makes “Red Dawn” a memorable Elektra story. It’s the rarer, sentimental glimpse into the assassin’s personal life we end with. Elektra with a daughter. More poignantly, someone Elektra is willing to die for.

The second tale, “Not the Devil”, is the highlight of this first installment. Unsurprisingly, its creation was handled entirely by one individual, Leonardo Romero. Romero’s take on Elektra is more familiar. She’s on a hit, one that forces her to use all of her skills. But, like every good Elektra story, this mission also forces her to shine a light on her humanity, however badly she’d like to overlook it. Romero dresses his story with vintage lines and panels, with plenty of red ink for the glorious swordplay.

The first volume of Black, White & Blood ends on a bit of a muted note. Writer Declan Shalvey and artist Simone D’Armini take a big swing with “The Crimson Path,” painting Elektra as a Xena-esque warrior set against a force of Greek golems animated with cursed life. The art is enjoyable and it’s nice to see Elektra in a kinder light following “Not the Devil.” There’s nothing wrong here, per se, and Elektra’s monologue gives great insight into what makes this conflicted character tick. It just falls a bit flat after “Not the Devil” and, paired with “Red Dawn”, makes for a bit too much genre fiction in this collection.

One has to wonder if these stories will have any role in Elektra’s 616 future. All three feature Elektra taking some sort of protective role over a young girl. Perhaps coincidentally, the recent King In Black event briefly gave Elektra an apprentice, a young woman named Alice. Will Alice appear again, perhaps in Devil’s Reign? Elektra certainly doesn’t seem ready to die for this acquaintance, but we’ll see what the future holds.

Read Elektra: Black, White & Blood #1 Now On Kindle & Comixology