Part of an ongoing series revisiting graphic novels and collected editions from days gone by....

I used to read a lot of Marvel's Ultimate books, back in their heyday, but lost interest somewhere along the way. I stopped following the Ultimate line long before I dropped Marvel's mainstream books entirely, but I remember really liking some Ultimate versions of familiar characters -- and intensely disliking others.

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra reinvents Matt Murdock and Elektra Natchios as students at Columbia University. He's pre-law, she's contemplating several possible majors, and they meet cute and fall in love. He, of course, is blind and has secret super sensory powers, while she has mad martial arts skills.

When one of her best friends is assaulted by a privileged, untouchable party boy, Elektra decides to take matters into her own hands. Matt intervenes to stop her from crossing a line.

Although the covers suggest otherwise, we never actually see Matt dressed as Daredevil in this book, and Elektra dons the Ultimate version of her iconic costume -- although in black instead of the trademark red -- only at the very end. Nor does the book provide an explanation of Matt's powers, which are just sort of there. Then again, this is very much Elektra's story; Matt is more of a supporting character, and it's possible his origins are explained elsewhere (or perhaps readers are left to assume that his backstory is the same as the mainstream Daredevil's).

Greg Rucka writes a very realistic, emotional story that makes the characters of Elektra, Matt and their friends come alive. Their hardships feel real, as do their simple interactions as college students.

Salvador Larroca's art is simply beautiful. I very much like how he draws these characters.

Sadly, this particular series never went beyond a single volume, collecting a four-issue miniseries, although Ultimate Elektra -- also featuring Matt Murdock, but no longer giving him equal billing -- came out a year or two later to continue the storyline. Larroca returns as the artist of Ultimate Elektra but with a different writer (Mike Carey) at the helm.