Elektra

Updated: The Definitive Guide to Elektra

November 14, 2017 by krisis

Today’s character guide update is for another supporting character in Marvel’s TV Universe – The Definitive Guide to Elektra.

Elektra started out as a villain who was never meant to be used by anyone but Frank Miller. As with all good Marvel villains, eventually she became a hero – but, she still has an intriguing history with the rest of Marvel’s characters.

Want to know more but don’t need a comprehensive guide just yet? Keep reading for a brief history of Elektra, where to start reading, what she’s been up to in 2017, and a tally of her overall status in collected editions.

Crushing Comics S01E14 – Wolverine: Enemy of the State, Wolverine/Elektra: Redeemer, & SHIELD: Architects of Forever (plus, the Jonathan Hickman indie library)

November 14, 2017 by krisis

It’s part two of talking through the massive brick of comic books I pulled off the shelf last episode, including a Wolverine blockbuster, and apocryphal tale of Elektra, and the one Jonathan Hickman book I just hate – plus, a quick overview of Jonathan Hickman’s indie bibliography.

Want to start from the beginning? Here’s the complete Season 1 playlist of Crushing Comics.

Episode 14 features Wolverine: Enemy of the State (Amazon / eBay), which was also in the Wolverine by Mark Millar Omnibus (Amazon / eBay) along with Old Man Logan; Wolverine/Elektra: The Redeemer by Greg Rucka (Amazon / eBay); and SHIELD: Architects of Forever (Amazon / eBay). Both Wolverine books are covered in the Guide to Wolverine.

Marvel Collected Editions Solicits – March, 2017

July 4, 2016 by krisis

Here’s a holiday surprise for you – another month of Marvel solicitations just arrived on Amazon! These books take us though the Amazon release date of March 28, which means these books will hit the direct market on March 14. I covered the January and February solicits last month.

I’ve broken out the books below. They don’t yet list their contents, so I’ve made a few educated guesses until we can fill in the final contents. If you pre-order with Amazon, please keep in mind that Amazon releases dates are two weeks later that Direct Market release dates.

Please note: This post will not be updated with corrected dates, titles, or issue ranges for these titles. For the most up-to-date information, visit the accompanying collection guide pages.

Marvel Masterworks

There’s only one of these books released each month, so this big reveal is a guaranteed feature of each new month of solicits. [Read more…] about Marvel Collected Editions Solicits – March, 2017

Definitive Elektra Collecting Guide and Reading Order

The Elektra comic books definitive issue-by-issue collecting guide and trade reading order for omnibus, hardcover, and trade paperback collections. Find every issue and appearance! Last updated December 2017 with titles scheduled for release through August 2018.

Elektra is arguably Marvel’s most-recognizable female villain, with only Mystique to challenge her for the title.

Except, she was never really a full-fledged villain. She was introduced as an assassin, but she was no more evil than Wolverine. Like Logan, she was simply the best at what she did. And, as with many great Marvel villains, as fans demanded more and more of her, she was eventually made into a hero – or, at least, a noble protagonist who still killed people.

You can think of Elektra’s continuity in two unequal halves.

The first half is entirely written by Frank Miller. Miller used Elektra for less than two years in his run on Daredevil, but his operatic arc of her love and death made her an indelible icon.

Miller was clearly as enamored with the character as her fans were. He returned to her three more times – in the limited series Daredevil: The Man Without Fear and Elektra: Assassin, and in the graphic novel Elektra Lives Again.

By most accounts, Marvel had a gentleman’s agreement with Miller to leave Elektra alone until he was ready to resurrect her. Dardevil’s mid-90s writer D. G. Chichester was the one who broke the embargo, and so began the second half of Elektra’s Marvel career – as a reluctant ally to heroes.

Despite a string of limited and ongoing series, and even a movie to call her own, Elektra has the distinction of being relatively underexposed within the Marvel universe. She had never interacted with a hero other than Daredevil on the page until her run with Wolverine in 1996! Though many characters knew her by reputation, few had actually encountered her prior to the resolution of Secret Invasion over a decade later in 2008.