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Batman (1940-2011) #670-671
Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul
The unforgettable epic is now in trade paperback! Batman's immortal foe, Ra's al Ghul, should be dead at last — so how has he returned to haunt The Dark Knight? Find out in this intense tale originally presented in BATMAN ANNUAL #26, BATMAN #670-671, ROBIN #168-169, ROBIN ANNUAL #7, NIGHTWING #138-139 and DETECTIVE COMICS #838-839!
Ra's al Ghul is back . . . but what does his return have to do with Batman's teenaged son, Damian — whose mother is Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Talia? It will take the combined skills of Batman, Robin and Nightwing to get to the bottom of these mysteries and stop Ra's al Ghul's insidious plans.
Ra's al Ghul is back . . . but what does his return have to do with Batman's teenaged son, Damian — whose mother is Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Talia? It will take the combined skills of Batman, Robin and Nightwing to get to the bottom of these mysteries and stop Ra's al Ghul's insidious plans.
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 2008
43 people are currently reading
1652 people want to read
About the author
Grant Morrison
1,791 books4,570 followersGrant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
May 4, 2024
(B+) 77% | Good
Notes: Wherein family ties, innate or gained, are bonds of allegiance that collide with self-interest until one breaks the other.
Notes: Wherein family ties, innate or gained, are bonds of allegiance that collide with self-interest until one breaks the other.
August 15, 2014
Two crappy Batman books in a row. Oh, the humanity!
Look kids, Ra’s Al Ghul is being resurrected for the thousandth time. Whoopee! I hate Ra’s Al Ghul! Why does he have to be in Batman’s rogue’s gallery? Give him to Animal Man or Dr. Mid-Nite.
Also, continuity problems – when you’re writing story lines by committee it would be nice if someone kept track of the story thread. Example – Batman gets his arm broken and gored by a spear. I mean that thing went all the way through and out the other side. Yet in the next issue, Bats is all better. Does he carry around a fairy in a jar? Does he now have super healing powers? Is this like the video game where he can sit down when he’s near death, grab a bologna sandwich and he’s as good as new?
Two positives: Damian, Batman’s son via Talia al Ghul, is a punk, but in a good way. And Alfred shows some slick moves I didn’t know he had. Kudos Mr. Pennyworth.
Look kids, Ra’s Al Ghul is being resurrected for the thousandth time. Whoopee! I hate Ra’s Al Ghul! Why does he have to be in Batman’s rogue’s gallery? Give him to Animal Man or Dr. Mid-Nite.
Also, continuity problems – when you’re writing story lines by committee it would be nice if someone kept track of the story thread. Example – Batman gets his arm broken and gored by a spear. I mean that thing went all the way through and out the other side. Yet in the next issue, Bats is all better. Does he carry around a fairy in a jar? Does he now have super healing powers? Is this like the video game where he can sit down when he’s near death, grab a bologna sandwich and he’s as good as new?
Two positives: Damian, Batman’s son via Talia al Ghul, is a punk, but in a good way. And Alfred shows some slick moves I didn’t know he had. Kudos Mr. Pennyworth.
February 16, 2022
"Guess what? I don't care! . . . This is getting annoying!" -- Damian Wayne a.k.a. the newest Robin, inadvertently speaking for some of the readers in dialogue straight from the narrative, on pages 17 and 35
The story in Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul did not show signs of life until Dick 'Nightwing' Grayson literally jumps into the action - and he does not arrive on scene until page 115, almost at the half-way point - and finally livens up the proceedings with some lively voice-over narration amidst his kick-ass action scenes. (Upon witnessing the invasion of stately Wayne Manor by a horde of trained assassins - while Batman is on another continent - he drolly thinks "That's a lot of ninjas. That's like the Sam's Club super-sized box of ninjas. Where does Ra's find these guys???.) So Nightwing's commanding presence - and one of the minor villainesses referring to Talia al Ghul as a "frustrated, harassed, harpy of a single mom" (ouch! she'll need balm for that burn) - were really the only good or memorable parts of this sometimes confusing and ultimately disappointing graphic novel.
The story in Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul did not show signs of life until Dick 'Nightwing' Grayson literally jumps into the action - and he does not arrive on scene until page 115, almost at the half-way point - and finally livens up the proceedings with some lively voice-over narration amidst his kick-ass action scenes. (Upon witnessing the invasion of stately Wayne Manor by a horde of trained assassins - while Batman is on another continent - he drolly thinks "That's a lot of ninjas. That's like the Sam's Club super-sized box of ninjas. Where does Ra's find these guys???.) So Nightwing's commanding presence - and one of the minor villainesses referring to Talia al Ghul as a "frustrated, harassed, harpy of a single mom" (ouch! she'll need balm for that burn) - were really the only good or memorable parts of this sometimes confusing and ultimately disappointing graphic novel.
August 29, 2017
One hundred authors and artists for Ra's al Ghul's hundredth resurrection, bad artworks, embarassing dialogues and a trio of gravity defying cleavage villainess that seem out of a bad 90s 'Bad Girls' comics...
But some parts (very few) were good and Talia/"Red Sonja" made me laugh! XD
January 9, 2014
Ranty Review
I’ve always felt that the whole Talia al Ghul and Damian Wayne angle was a bit superfluous. For one thing: did DC really need another Robin? This brings the tally up to, what, six Robins (depending on who you ask, and whether you include the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns timeline)? Also, Damian is really annoying. Why would any franchise want to carry a character that nobody likes? Okay, that few people like. It seems that DC has dispensed with this complication (for now), and good riddance. The Batman mythos was already getting too cluttered as it is.
What we have here is a story that included the extended Batman family at the time of writing, which means there are featuring roles for Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Talia, Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne… and Alfred. Yes, in here you will find Alfred holding his own against assassins from the League of Shadows, without so much as a scratch. As if it wasn’t hard enough to justify asnot nosed pre-teen Damian being able to do this (yes I know he was trained - so were the ninjas). Ridiculous. Nitpick for the day: at the end of the story Nightwing sports bandages but Alfred doesn’t… I never knew Alfred was the better fighter of the two. No, the sorry truth is that this story sadly relegates the “mighty” League of Shadows to nothing more than bumbling thugs with masks. If you're OK with that, then you'll enjoy this story. Yeah, I get it, comic relief and all that, but this is a fairly serious story.
Now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest… there are some positives here. Notably the scenes with Tim Drake and Dick Grayson. There are some choices that both have to make, that don’t come easy. If you plan on reading this, read it for Robin and Nightwing, the Batman bits are not so good. This is a good example of why Batman should stick to Gotham.
Note 1 - it seems I need to qualify what I meant by "...DC has dispensed with this complication (for now)" - I was referring to recent events in New 52. People have been asking me about it because Damian is still Robin when New 52 opens. The following will only be considered a spoiler by hardcore comic readers, but they will already know it in any event. I was of course referring to the deaths, in 2013, of Damian and Talia respectively.
I’ve always felt that the whole Talia al Ghul and Damian Wayne angle was a bit superfluous. For one thing: did DC really need another Robin? This brings the tally up to, what, six Robins (depending on who you ask, and whether you include the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns timeline)? Also, Damian is really annoying. Why would any franchise want to carry a character that nobody likes? Okay, that few people like. It seems that DC has dispensed with this complication (for now), and good riddance. The Batman mythos was already getting too cluttered as it is.
What we have here is a story that included the extended Batman family at the time of writing, which means there are featuring roles for Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Talia, Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne… and Alfred. Yes, in here you will find Alfred holding his own against assassins from the League of Shadows, without so much as a scratch. As if it wasn’t hard enough to justify a
Now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest… there are some positives here. Notably the scenes with Tim Drake and Dick Grayson. There are some choices that both have to make, that don’t come easy. If you plan on reading this, read it for Robin and Nightwing, the Batman bits are not so good. This is a good example of why Batman should stick to Gotham.
Note 1 - it seems I need to qualify what I meant by "...DC has dispensed with this complication (for now)" - I was referring to recent events in New 52. People have been asking me about it because Damian is still Robin when New 52 opens. The following will only be considered a spoiler by hardcore comic readers, but they will already know it in any event. I was of course referring to the deaths, in 2013, of Damian and Talia respectively.
July 10, 2022
This was so good omg I freaking love it!
So we have Ra's who wanst to resurrect himself in Damian's body and well mother and son run from their crazed father/grand-father and Damian goes to ask Batman for help and well Tim is there and he doesn't trust him and with the fatalities he suffered.. he has some twisted thoughts and a fight between them, Batman chasing Ra's on his own. meets Talia, learns of the plans and well the war ensues and slowly by slowly we see how these pieces all come together and how and what is Ra's pans finally? Will Damian be saved? Hw far will Batman go to save his son? Also the fate of Tim Drake.. and whoever is the white ghost?
An epic story which just shows how crazy Ra's is and also one of the most dangerous foes of Batman and this is a story about fathers and sons and I just love it, so well done, also loved the focus on Damian here and his relationship with Bruce. That dialogue where he is so protective of him OMG I just love it, plus the art is crazy and yes its written by a lot of people but GM and PD sections were beautiful and I love the focus on team and his reactions with what he has been through and really highlights his heroic side really well. The art was great and the ending even better and a great status quo change!
So we have Ra's who wanst to resurrect himself in Damian's body and well mother and son run from their crazed father/grand-father and Damian goes to ask Batman for help and well Tim is there and he doesn't trust him and with the fatalities he suffered.. he has some twisted thoughts and a fight between them, Batman chasing Ra's on his own. meets Talia, learns of the plans and well the war ensues and slowly by slowly we see how these pieces all come together and how and what is Ra's pans finally? Will Damian be saved? Hw far will Batman go to save his son? Also the fate of Tim Drake.. and whoever is the white ghost?
An epic story which just shows how crazy Ra's is and also one of the most dangerous foes of Batman and this is a story about fathers and sons and I just love it, so well done, also loved the focus on Damian here and his relationship with Bruce. That dialogue where he is so protective of him OMG I just love it, plus the art is crazy and yes its written by a lot of people but GM and PD sections were beautiful and I love the focus on team and his reactions with what he has been through and really highlights his heroic side really well. The art was great and the ending even better and a great status quo change!
June 3, 2016
This tells the origin and journeys of Ra's al Ghul (pronounced raysh). He begins life as a young idealistic physician in ancient Arabia. With the training and knowledge of an old wise man, Ra's discovers the Lazarus Pit with the assistance of his new wife. Tragedy strikes, and his desire to help people shifts to revenge and the desire for power.
This was solidly good. I think if Morrison had been able to write all of it, and Tony S. Daniel illustrate, it would have been great, if only for consistency. But holy hell, every issue alternates writer and illustrator. Aaaand switch! Because the writing and art especially suffer elsewhere. The illustrations are downright rough in some issues. And characterization falters. Tim Drake interested in a Lazarus Pit? Come on, Nicieza, you know better than that. He's far too noble and smart for that.
This book also has that almost comical back and forth where the hero is forced to befriend a villain to defeat another villain, then they go back to being enemies. Just kidding! I find this deflates suspense and the scary factor of the villain. That being said, Ra's, though probably the most magical character in the Batman Universe, always requires a complete suspension of realism due to the nature of his character, so I can't say I'm surprised the story is what it is.
Overall this is a pretty fun book. It's a bit ridiculous but then so is Ra's. He's like Jesus, you just can't kill him. And as crazy ridiculous as Ra's is, he really is a fascinating villain (anti-hero?). I have to say that Bats looks great in Ra's' old armor, even if he's a bit dull headed and punchy here. He lacks the emotional depth of many other books I've read (including Morrison's), because this book belongs to Ra's and Damian. I also have to say that Damian is such a mean, entitled, pathetic and poorly trained little shit. For all his arrogance he sure gets his ass kicked a lot. I mean, Jason was impulsive, but Damian really deserves to die.
March 8, 2018
Damn. And here I thought I was jumping into more Grant Morrison stuff after going through his big Batman run. Well I sure was wrong with this one. At almost every chapter, the artists and writer changes. At times, the ideas that were thought of were intriguing, but they were never exploited properly with this whole, continuous swap. This takes place a little after Batman and Son. More often than not, I felt like some of these character's personalities were overdone. Tim Drake was quite annoying at times, while Nightwing's dialogue could sometimes come out a little overzealous. Even Damian's character took some heavy damage in the dialogue department. What I hate most is when some writers made sure to take their chance to jab at Batman's emotional issues in the most obvious fashion. Like, don't take the time to think of a creative way to show the struggle of his. Simply write it in a dialogue bubble for readers to know.
While the story is basically Ra's al Ghul's attempt to find a body to hold his soul, the overall volume had HUGE plot holes. It sometimes even went too fast or lost itself in random subplots. Coherence was not the forte of this volume. Definitely not an essential read, but anyone who's in a need for a dose of the whole Damian story could check this out!
P.S. A full review to come
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
While the story is basically Ra's al Ghul's attempt to find a body to hold his soul, the overall volume had HUGE plot holes. It sometimes even went too fast or lost itself in random subplots. Coherence was not the forte of this volume. Definitely not an essential read, but anyone who's in a need for a dose of the whole Damian story could check this out!
P.S. A full review to come
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
November 7, 2011
SPOILERS
So Ra's Al-Ghul is back from the dead. Again. He's after a new body to insert his spirit into and picks his daughter Talia and Bruce Wayne's kid, Damian, for the task only Damian doesn't want to be a shell for a centuries old nutjob so he runs to Gotham to hide. Enter the Bat.
This is a pre-cursor to the huge saga that Batman went on that Grant Morrison masterminded, so maybe coming to this after I've read the series is a bit late, but I guess I was hoping for some sh*ts and giggles, but saying that it's kind of a chore to read and not that brilliant a book.
Ra's Al-Ghul's return was always going to have a confrontation with Batman, and this happens, and there's a bunch of fighting as Batman fights his way through the legions of henchmen that Ra's throws up along the way and of course he deals with them too.
There are a lot of side stories that seem to detract from the overall story arc such as the three sub-par superheroines in Gotham, the whole Batman in Australia thing, the "death" of White Ghost which doesn't explain why 100 pages later he re-appears without explanation, or the pointless fight between Tim Drake and Dick Grayson that was a waste of time even before it started, let alone an issue later. This might have been because of the various writers involved - Grant Morrison and Paul Dini are emblazoned on the cover but they only wrote two issues each, so the majority of the book was handed over to lesser writers to pick up.
Ra's is kind of an ok villain but because of his extreme longevity coupled with a seeming indestructibleness and what appears to be magical powers to transfer himself from one person to another, he's the kind of ethereal villain that shouldn't be in Batman. Batman's villains are real and less magical and the grittiness matches Batman's own lack of superpowers, making for more engaging stories. With Ra's and his various powers, including the bizarre Lazarus Pits, it makes the Batman stories that less compelling and more parodying superhero comics.
Overlong, overwritten, and in many places meandering, I can't say this was an essential book for any Batman fan and having read the rest of the Grant Morrison Batman saga, I can say it isn't necessary to pick up to enjoy the rest of the story.
So Ra's Al-Ghul is back from the dead. Again. He's after a new body to insert his spirit into and picks his daughter Talia and Bruce Wayne's kid, Damian, for the task only Damian doesn't want to be a shell for a centuries old nutjob so he runs to Gotham to hide. Enter the Bat.
This is a pre-cursor to the huge saga that Batman went on that Grant Morrison masterminded, so maybe coming to this after I've read the series is a bit late, but I guess I was hoping for some sh*ts and giggles, but saying that it's kind of a chore to read and not that brilliant a book.
Ra's Al-Ghul's return was always going to have a confrontation with Batman, and this happens, and there's a bunch of fighting as Batman fights his way through the legions of henchmen that Ra's throws up along the way and of course he deals with them too.
There are a lot of side stories that seem to detract from the overall story arc such as the three sub-par superheroines in Gotham, the whole Batman in Australia thing, the "death" of White Ghost which doesn't explain why 100 pages later he re-appears without explanation, or the pointless fight between Tim Drake and Dick Grayson that was a waste of time even before it started, let alone an issue later. This might have been because of the various writers involved - Grant Morrison and Paul Dini are emblazoned on the cover but they only wrote two issues each, so the majority of the book was handed over to lesser writers to pick up.
Ra's is kind of an ok villain but because of his extreme longevity coupled with a seeming indestructibleness and what appears to be magical powers to transfer himself from one person to another, he's the kind of ethereal villain that shouldn't be in Batman. Batman's villains are real and less magical and the grittiness matches Batman's own lack of superpowers, making for more engaging stories. With Ra's and his various powers, including the bizarre Lazarus Pits, it makes the Batman stories that less compelling and more parodying superhero comics.
Overlong, overwritten, and in many places meandering, I can't say this was an essential book for any Batman fan and having read the rest of the Grant Morrison Batman saga, I can say it isn't necessary to pick up to enjoy the rest of the story.
August 18, 2015
Good book with a somewhat weak ending.
February 10, 2012
This was a crossover event between four of the Bat-books: Batman (Grant Morrison), Detective Comics (Paul Dini), Robin (Peter Milligan), and Nightwing (Fabian Nicieza). The major ones, in other words. These guys must have had some serious plotting discussion before they went to work, because the usual pitfalls of crossovers (uneven writing, stories that have little to do with each other) are minimized here. No, it's not exactly 52 levels of cooperation, but it's better than I usually expect such things to be. That said...
It's comics, so I think everyone knew that Ra's would be back sooner or later. Which makes me wonder why they killed him in the first place, but that's comics for you. There should at least be a point when characters are brought back, and not just because editorial and fans are sick of them being dead. The latter seems to be the case here, especially with how Dini followed up the storyline. (The actual conclusion is found in the trade Batman: Private Casebook, which I'd already read.)
I remain confused by Damian. I get the storyline, and I'm not against the idea of him. But I'm still baffled by the characterization. Why make his personality so much like Jason Todd? That seems... like maybe the wrong way to go here, considering the history. I suspect that it's for a massive redemption arc, but he's so unpleasant at this point that it can be hard to read him. I'm also not entirely sure that I buy that Talia would raise him to be such a brat. That said, Nightwing's reactions to him are a little over the top.
The best part for me was what really appeals to me about Bat-family books: that they are actually a family. This can get lost in all the crimefighting, and I was glad that the writers took a few moments here and there to emphasize that relationship. Especially nicely handled in the scenes between Nightwing and Robin, now brothers.
It's comics, so I think everyone knew that Ra's would be back sooner or later. Which makes me wonder why they killed him in the first place, but that's comics for you. There should at least be a point when characters are brought back, and not just because editorial and fans are sick of them being dead. The latter seems to be the case here, especially with how Dini followed up the storyline. (The actual conclusion is found in the trade Batman: Private Casebook, which I'd already read.)
I remain confused by Damian. I get the storyline, and I'm not against the idea of him. But I'm still baffled by the characterization. Why make his personality so much like Jason Todd? That seems... like maybe the wrong way to go here, considering the history. I suspect that it's for a massive redemption arc, but he's so unpleasant at this point that it can be hard to read him. I'm also not entirely sure that I buy that Talia would raise him to be such a brat. That said, Nightwing's reactions to him are a little over the top.
The best part for me was what really appeals to me about Bat-family books: that they are actually a family. This can get lost in all the crimefighting, and I was glad that the writers took a few moments here and there to emphasize that relationship. Especially nicely handled in the scenes between Nightwing and Robin, now brothers.
November 2, 2012
Grant Morrison AND Paul Dini! 2 of the great Batman writers tackle this great story involving Batman and all his 'sons' (Dick/Tim/Damian) along with Ra's Al Ghul's return and their battle(s). The main theme of the book I picked up on was father-son dynamics between Batman and his 'sons' as well as other characters. A Great story with Nightwing, Robin and others but not overcrowding by throwing tons of characters in for no reason. Great artwork too.
June 1, 2019
This was odd.
As far as a plot goes, it's fine, I guess. Although, admittedly, I never read the big, big issues where Batsy took on R'as al Ghul. In fact, I've read more of Bruce's interactions with Talia than I have his interactions with R'as. The plot wasn't really my issue: the characterization was.
This is one of those "true" events where you have to read the other series to follow the story. It would not make sense if you were just reading Nightwing, or just reading Robin or just reading Detective Comics. You had to read all of it.
R'as needs Damian because he's a blood male relative with a youthful body and R'as wants to take him over because the body he has currently is decaying. Simple enough. The thing is, Damian didn't really feel like Damian. I get that anyone would be scared in this situation but I found it hard to believe Damian would express that fear - let alone to people he didn't know all that well. In this arc, he openly tells Alfred that he's scared and that just didn't seem like something Damian would feel comfortable telling to Alfred at this time. But, let's break this down into bits:
Detective Comics:
These issues were the only ones that felt somewhat close to in character. For Bruce anyway. Although, it was a bit odd seeing him smile at Talia but you know, writers go back in forth on that. Tim was fine and Damian was... fine?
Robin:
This felt like when I read fanfic and I can easily tell that the writer loves their main character and just puts them into situations where they're ridiculously misunderstood and treated like a punching bag. One, Damian was much too soft here and two, Alfred unreasonably yells at Tim for a reasonable assumption. You know, so readers would feel bad for Tim. Anyway, there's something here for Tim's emotional state as he continues to grieve Steph, Kon and his dad. You know, if you like Tim, you'll appreciate this.
Nightwing:
If I never read anything else written by Fabian Nicieza, I will die happily. I don't like this guy's writing. Not only is he awful at portraying women, his "one liners" aren't funny at all. He threw in a "priceless" joke and I had to take a step back and try to remember what year this was. On top of that, it wasn't even funny. There's an art to Dick Grayson's bad jokes and Nicieza did not accomplish that in these 2 issues. Anyway, I found it hard to believe that, even if Dick didn't like Damian, he wouldn't think it important to save the kid simply because he's a kid. Dick Grayson would find Damian worth saving/protecting for that reason, even if he didn't think of him as his brother at this point. And I really do think Dick would think of Damian as his brother but.. whatever.
So, it's a complicated recommendation. Damian Wayne felt out of character. Suddenly, he doesn't know how to fight and he's just damsel-ed. It was a strange thing to read because when he first met Tim Drake, he kicked Tim's ass. So... maybe read this if you like Talia? But, I can't say how in character she was either when the first time she introduced Damian to Bruce, she didn't seem all that fond of him, Damian said his mother never spent any time with him, and in this book, she's shown doing everything she can to protect her son. Seemed... like an odd turn.
As far as a plot goes, it's fine, I guess. Although, admittedly, I never read the big, big issues where Batsy took on R'as al Ghul. In fact, I've read more of Bruce's interactions with Talia than I have his interactions with R'as. The plot wasn't really my issue: the characterization was.
This is one of those "true" events where you have to read the other series to follow the story. It would not make sense if you were just reading Nightwing, or just reading Robin or just reading Detective Comics. You had to read all of it.
R'as needs Damian because he's a blood male relative with a youthful body and R'as wants to take him over because the body he has currently is decaying. Simple enough. The thing is, Damian didn't really feel like Damian. I get that anyone would be scared in this situation but I found it hard to believe Damian would express that fear - let alone to people he didn't know all that well. In this arc, he openly tells Alfred that he's scared and that just didn't seem like something Damian would feel comfortable telling to Alfred at this time. But, let's break this down into bits:
Detective Comics:
These issues were the only ones that felt somewhat close to in character. For Bruce anyway. Although, it was a bit odd seeing him smile at Talia but you know, writers go back in forth on that. Tim was fine and Damian was... fine?
Robin:
This felt like when I read fanfic and I can easily tell that the writer loves their main character and just puts them into situations where they're ridiculously misunderstood and treated like a punching bag. One, Damian was much too soft here and two, Alfred unreasonably yells at Tim for a reasonable assumption. You know, so readers would feel bad for Tim. Anyway, there's something here for Tim's emotional state as he continues to grieve Steph, Kon and his dad. You know, if you like Tim, you'll appreciate this.
Nightwing:
If I never read anything else written by Fabian Nicieza, I will die happily. I don't like this guy's writing. Not only is he awful at portraying women, his "one liners" aren't funny at all. He threw in a "priceless" joke and I had to take a step back and try to remember what year this was. On top of that, it wasn't even funny. There's an art to Dick Grayson's bad jokes and Nicieza did not accomplish that in these 2 issues. Anyway, I found it hard to believe that, even if Dick didn't like Damian, he wouldn't think it important to save the kid simply because he's a kid. Dick Grayson would find Damian worth saving/protecting for that reason, even if he didn't think of him as his brother at this point. And I really do think Dick would think of Damian as his brother but.. whatever.
So, it's a complicated recommendation. Damian Wayne felt out of character. Suddenly, he doesn't know how to fight and he's just damsel-ed. It was a strange thing to read because when he first met Tim Drake, he kicked Tim's ass. So... maybe read this if you like Talia? But, I can't say how in character she was either when the first time she introduced Damian to Bruce, she didn't seem all that fond of him, Damian said his mother never spent any time with him, and in this book, she's shown doing everything she can to protect her son. Seemed... like an odd turn.
June 4, 2016
3.5 much better than the previous vol
May 29, 2018
What a hot mess. About the only characters that didn’t feel extremely OOC were Nightwing and Alfred. Even Talia wasn’t in character.
May 30, 2023
This was pretty cool!
I really enjoyed seeing Batman in a different environment than usual. Mainly, I really enjoyed the fatherly tendencies Batman was showing through this.
3.5/5
I really enjoyed seeing Batman in a different environment than usual. Mainly, I really enjoyed the fatherly tendencies Batman was showing through this.
3.5/5
April 17, 2016
Ra's Al Ghul is a great character. Usually stories with him involved are great. This one is just average. There is a lot going on here but none of it seems to be well executed. Damian comes off as a whinny little brat, nothing like the ruthless and cold Damian that we see later on. There is a large cast of enemies- from the Sensei to Ra's to Talia but most of them are working at cross purposes. Tim Drake and Nightwing manage to fight off a hundred ninja's, Talia recruits some has-been females, Sensei's forces are attempting to preempt Ra's resurrection- all of this is happening, but it just never seemed to click for me. Please understand this was not an awful story- but neither did it ever ascend to the potential heights it could have. I find myself debating whether 3 stars is too much, but on the whole it was a decent story. The art is also good. But, for some reason I just find myself disappointed with this tale and it's hard to point out a specific reason. I would only recommend this to a die-hard Batman fan. While this will be added to my collection, I can see little reason to return to it anytime soon (if I think a comic is great I will often flip through it many times in the future). I will keep this review short. From the high ratings this has gotten, I see many disagree with my take and thats fine. Grant Morrison has a "hit or miss" streak when it comes to stories and I think he missed the true potential of this story.
February 4, 2012
Interesting story that keeps you guessing right up until the very end, and then it disappoints with its lackluster ending.
October 26, 2013
3.5/5
Up to this point I’ve loved Grant Morrison’s take on Batman in his Batman R.I.P. Series . While I enjoyed Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul , I didn’t love it. There are some interesting interactions between Dick & Tim, but it is riddled with plot holes, has too many characters that pop in and out for no reason, has soap opera moments and ending that comes out of nowhere.
Given Grant Morrison's great fresh-classic take on Batman in Batman and Son , I expected great things from the Bat-family crossover Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul . Instead, what we have here is a fairly bland, gigantically decompressed story with a lot of punching and kicking, but not much to make it very remarkable.
Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul disappointingly glosses completely over Ra's rebirth scene, and there seems to be some confusion between the various writers from the prologue to the story as to the exact science of Ra's return. Moreover, Ra's "evil goals" are not much more than immortality, again, when something with a bit more mystery might've differentiated this story from most other Ra's al Ghul tales.
The main problem here is its all plot and no character development. We get no internal Bat-conflict here, just the Bat Family fighting villains.
There is a character-based subplot here involving Robin being tempted by The subplot deals with Robin's character, sure, but it's essentially two-issue-long filler that darts away from the real Batman/Ra's action in order to involve the Nightwing and Robin titles.
Also, Morrison's Damian character suffers greatly, writing-wise, in this story. As written by Morrison, Batman's erstwhile son walks the fine line between attention-starved child and deadly killer; as written by Keith Champagne, Fabian Nicieza and others, Damian comes off as a whiny brat, more Jar-Jar Binks than Batman's son. On the other hand, there's a bunch of instances here of Alfred playing action hero (taking on a crowd of ninjas, no less!) so I guess there's something here for everyone.
So when all is said and read, Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul didn't quite do it for me.
Up to this point I’ve loved Grant Morrison’s take on Batman in his Batman R.I.P. Series . While I enjoyed Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul , I didn’t love it. There are some interesting interactions between Dick & Tim, but it is riddled with plot holes, has too many characters that pop in and out for no reason, has soap opera moments and ending that comes out of nowhere.
Given Grant Morrison's great fresh-classic take on Batman in Batman and Son , I expected great things from the Bat-family crossover Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul . Instead, what we have here is a fairly bland, gigantically decompressed story with a lot of punching and kicking, but not much to make it very remarkable.
Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul disappointingly glosses completely over Ra's rebirth scene, and there seems to be some confusion between the various writers from the prologue to the story as to the exact science of Ra's return. Moreover, Ra's "evil goals" are not much more than immortality, again, when something with a bit more mystery might've differentiated this story from most other Ra's al Ghul tales.
The main problem here is its all plot and no character development. We get no internal Bat-conflict here, just the Bat Family fighting villains.
There is a character-based subplot here involving Robin being tempted by The subplot deals with Robin's character, sure, but it's essentially two-issue-long filler that darts away from the real Batman/Ra's action in order to involve the Nightwing and Robin titles.
Also, Morrison's Damian character suffers greatly, writing-wise, in this story. As written by Morrison, Batman's erstwhile son walks the fine line between attention-starved child and deadly killer; as written by Keith Champagne, Fabian Nicieza and others, Damian comes off as a whiny brat, more Jar-Jar Binks than Batman's son. On the other hand, there's a bunch of instances here of Alfred playing action hero (taking on a crowd of ninjas, no less!) so I guess there's something here for everyone.
So when all is said and read, Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul didn't quite do it for me.
December 10, 2019
Mild spoilers, read at your own discretion. Read as single issues.
I gave this 3 stars not because it was bad but mainly because it could've been better.
It's possible that I didn't enjoy this as much because it's pre-New 52 state meant that a) no one liked Damian and b) Damian's character was nothing like he is during New 52 and Rebirth.
This was long enough that Morrison had a chance to explore Ra's backstory in more depth than I've ever seen it before and that was very interesting. Seeing Ra's dynamics with all the other characters was pretty fascinating, especially when it came to Tim. I was pretty surprised to see Tim so on edge but that was because I wasn't aware of his storyline at this point in the comics and that was probably something that really hindered me from being able to fully enjoy this book.
Some things didn't make any sense at all like the fact that everyone repeatedly said that Ra's can only be resurrected into the body of a male blood relative but then when he was holding Tim captive he threatened Batman that he'd use Tim's body to resurrect himself into. Those kind of inconsistencies annoyed me.
Another thing I was confused at was who on earth the Sensei was and how he figured into all of it. I wasn't fully clued on to why Nanda Parbat figured into anything except for using the Fountain but then why didn't Ra's just use the Lazarus Pit that was revealed in the prelude? I didn't understand why Damian was chased for more than half of this but as soon as Bats agreed to go with Ra's to Nanda Parbat, Ra's completely lost interest in Damian even though once he got to the Fountain he would still need a new body so he would still need Damian. It just didn't make sense.
This book really shone a light on Tim which was new for me because he's not a character that I usually read about. The moment when he broke down by the Lazarus Pit was rough but he pulled through. Speaking of that moment, I-Ching was kind of amusing but unnecessary. Nightwing was there but he needed to be there more. He was only in this book for about 3/16th but at least we got some cool Alfred fighting moments.
All in all, I would say that this is a story that hasn't aged well. The New 52 and Rebirth iterations of the characters within this book are far more vibrant and dynamic, not to mention the bizarre storytelling here could be improved.
I gave this 3 stars not because it was bad but mainly because it could've been better.
It's possible that I didn't enjoy this as much because it's pre-New 52 state meant that a) no one liked Damian and b) Damian's character was nothing like he is during New 52 and Rebirth.
This was long enough that Morrison had a chance to explore Ra's backstory in more depth than I've ever seen it before and that was very interesting. Seeing Ra's dynamics with all the other characters was pretty fascinating, especially when it came to Tim. I was pretty surprised to see Tim so on edge but that was because I wasn't aware of his storyline at this point in the comics and that was probably something that really hindered me from being able to fully enjoy this book.
Some things didn't make any sense at all like the fact that everyone repeatedly said that Ra's can only be resurrected into the body of a male blood relative but then when he was holding Tim captive he threatened Batman that he'd use Tim's body to resurrect himself into. Those kind of inconsistencies annoyed me.
Another thing I was confused at was who on earth the Sensei was and how he figured into all of it. I wasn't fully clued on to why Nanda Parbat figured into anything except for using the Fountain but then why didn't Ra's just use the Lazarus Pit that was revealed in the prelude? I didn't understand why Damian was chased for more than half of this but as soon as Bats agreed to go with Ra's to Nanda Parbat, Ra's completely lost interest in Damian even though once he got to the Fountain he would still need a new body so he would still need Damian. It just didn't make sense.
This book really shone a light on Tim which was new for me because he's not a character that I usually read about. The moment when he broke down by the Lazarus Pit was rough but he pulled through. Speaking of that moment, I-Ching was kind of amusing but unnecessary. Nightwing was there but he needed to be there more. He was only in this book for about 3/16th but at least we got some cool Alfred fighting moments.
All in all, I would say that this is a story that hasn't aged well. The New 52 and Rebirth iterations of the characters within this book are far more vibrant and dynamic, not to mention the bizarre storytelling here could be improved.
July 10, 2013
My second foray into Batman as a father.
The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul addresses Ra's' attempts to re-animate to continue his work with the League of Shadows. The first prelude chapter was amazing as it described the process by which Ra's is brought back to life: in my opinion, the strongest chapter in the entire graphic novel. We're also given more insight into Damian as Batman's son. His cockiness is still there, but it is now masked in the form of adolescence. Damian continues to want to get to know Bruce/Batman, but there is still something more to the character, more of a sinister intention that is hovering under the surface.
The novel also introduces new characters (new to me, that is) I-Ching and Sensei. I-Ching is a character with a lot of untapped potential. I like how he just shows up at opportune moments. I also enjoyed seeing Talia al Ghul more involved in the story. She's another character with significant potential.
This particular book, though noted as "by Grant Morrison", is actually written by four different authors. Though generally cohesive, the constant switching in authors was much more jarring to me than chapter-by-chapter changes in illustrators and colorists.
The spin on the theme of family is good stuff. We've always had the family theme with Batman stories given what happened to Bruce's parents, but that angle had to do with how does one rebuild the concept of family. This particular book assumes that it's been built and now asks how it should be kept together. What does it mean to be a family? Is it blood relation? Common goals? Friendship? There are no answers given, but the path taken toward the answers...there's the depth.
The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul addresses Ra's' attempts to re-animate to continue his work with the League of Shadows. The first prelude chapter was amazing as it described the process by which Ra's is brought back to life: in my opinion, the strongest chapter in the entire graphic novel. We're also given more insight into Damian as Batman's son. His cockiness is still there, but it is now masked in the form of adolescence. Damian continues to want to get to know Bruce/Batman, but there is still something more to the character, more of a sinister intention that is hovering under the surface.
The novel also introduces new characters (new to me, that is) I-Ching and Sensei. I-Ching is a character with a lot of untapped potential. I like how he just shows up at opportune moments. I also enjoyed seeing Talia al Ghul more involved in the story. She's another character with significant potential.
This particular book, though noted as "by Grant Morrison", is actually written by four different authors. Though generally cohesive, the constant switching in authors was much more jarring to me than chapter-by-chapter changes in illustrators and colorists.
The spin on the theme of family is good stuff. We've always had the family theme with Batman stories given what happened to Bruce's parents, but that angle had to do with how does one rebuild the concept of family. This particular book assumes that it's been built and now asks how it should be kept together. What does it mean to be a family? Is it blood relation? Common goals? Friendship? There are no answers given, but the path taken toward the answers...there's the depth.
February 24, 2016
I really enjoyed this. Although there are a few missteps, it still stand up a a great Batman tale!
This story had me engaged from the start. It had a classic Morrison feel with this book. And even though it was spread over most of the bat titles, it didn't lose too much steam.
Ok let's start with the easy part, the cons:
The main was for me the character White Ghost. He has this classic seedy long white hair going for the most part of this book. Then, at the very end, his look went from and old long haired version of Neo from the Matrix. To an old short hair zombie looking mofo!
Did I miss something?!
As you can probably tell that's a small thing to be considered a con, but it's cause I have to look pretty hard since it's an entertains read. Other cons include Tims sudden change of principles, which seemed rather stretched.
Other than that? Well not a hell of a lot!
Now onto the pros:
The story is engaging and takes some really fun twists and turns. It's a cool adventure take for the Bat family which makes it easy to read. Add in some mystical bullshit, and a heavy dose of swords and backstabbing. And you have yourself a excellent read!
Oh and the art switches throughout the story, but fear not they're all top notch!
If your down on the B man, then give this a solid read!
This story had me engaged from the start. It had a classic Morrison feel with this book. And even though it was spread over most of the bat titles, it didn't lose too much steam.
Ok let's start with the easy part, the cons:
The main was for me the character White Ghost. He has this classic seedy long white hair going for the most part of this book. Then, at the very end, his look went from and old long haired version of Neo from the Matrix. To an old short hair zombie looking mofo!
Did I miss something?!
As you can probably tell that's a small thing to be considered a con, but it's cause I have to look pretty hard since it's an entertains read. Other cons include Tims sudden change of principles, which seemed rather stretched.
Other than that? Well not a hell of a lot!
Now onto the pros:
The story is engaging and takes some really fun twists and turns. It's a cool adventure take for the Bat family which makes it easy to read. Add in some mystical bullshit, and a heavy dose of swords and backstabbing. And you have yourself a excellent read!
Oh and the art switches throughout the story, but fear not they're all top notch!
If your down on the B man, then give this a solid read!
December 20, 2020
Loved it. Talia is exactly how I see her (not how many Batman writers write her - I much prefer the canon where she doesn’t rape Bruce) and I’m always here for any batfamily interaction. So all scenes with Dick, atom and Damian I love. Missing Jason, but he’s not really needed in the storyline this volume covers. Fuck I love the period of Batman from Dick as Batman until New 52. I miss it!
September 4, 2023
Reading this as part of Grant Morrisons Batman run. Enjoyed this book a lot! Fun to see Nightwing appear in here to provide a more bat family oriented story. Overall just a good read!
August 30, 2010
I hate to be this person, but honestly I only liked a few parts of this story, and those were the ones written by Morrison. Dini's parts were passable, the stuff by Milligan was irritating, and the stuff by Nicieza was infuriating. I really like Damian, he's the latest in a line of heroes descended from villains who inherited a really terrible demeanor from their villain progenitor (Pietro Maxioff, Soranik Natu), and the one closest to being an actual villain. Fortunately, his homicidal tendencies aren't compulsive, they're learned from a twisted upbringing, and at only 10 years old he's been brought into the Batfamily just in time to cut his budding villainy off at the pass. (Though do you notice, the male Robins are getting steadily darker? Dick was lighthearted, Jason was an angsty streetkid before he died, Tim is constantly in danger of turning into Bruce, and Damian is Bruce distilled, concentrated, and mixed with the morals learned in the League of Assassins).
I'll give Milligan some credit for softening Damian up in a sensible way. He's a brat, but he's going through a tough time in here. He irritated me by arranging the plot so he could manufacture some unnecessary fight scenes between Tim and Damian and make Tim into the aggressor this time around, rather than having Tim as a calm, skeptical helper. Tim thinks with his brain not his feet. Still, neither boy comes off really terrible.
No, the person who comes off bad in this is NIGHTWING, and that's by his internal monologue. He comes to the house thinking to himself that Damian's not worth fighting a few hundred ninjas to save because "no one likes" him.
What. The. Fuck.
Okay, the kid's psychotic, but he's TEN YEARS OLD. Come ON.
And second, this is DICK GRAYSON. Since when does he think about how likable someone is before he saves their ass? He's been a superhero since HE was ten years old. Yes, it's nice that he likes Tim and thinks of him as a brother, but it is NOT in character for Dick to having second thoughts about saving a ten year old boy, even if it is one who's cut off someone's head in the past. He shouldn't have to tell himself he's doing this for Tim, and wonder why he should do anything for Damian--he should just know that he's doing this because he's Dick Grayson and that's the sort of person he is.
And there's later in the book, when he sees Damian in his baby Robin with the hooded white cloak costume, and thinks that he needs to smack the kid later. Also not in character. Maybe if he'd heard Damian being arrogant and made a joke about how that meant he was okay, that'd be a bit more Grayson. Maybe if earlier he hadn't been questioning whether or not this ten year old kid is worth fighting ninjas over, it wouldn't have seemed so... dickish? Either way, it pissed me off too. This is not Dick Grayson. Dick Grayson wouldn't think twice about helping someone no matter how awful they are--ESPECIALLY against a big bad like Ra's Al Ghul. Batman raised him better than that.
Also, Talia went into simpering love interest mode way too often. I can take Talia as a cold-hearted villainess, or a protective she-bear mother, or both (that latest Batman and Robin appearance? I want to see the actual confrontation, because as much as she wanted to manipulate the kid back to her side I don't believe for a second she's dropped the protective mother aspect and wll let anyone kill her son. She was preying on his jealous nature) but this simpering love interest shit? Some of these conversations between her and Batman made no sense. It was like a bad romance movie, where the heroine is contractually obligated to accuse the hero of denying his emotions when he is focusing on solving the real problem. She was good in a fight, and as a maternal figure, but when they tried to play up her romantic side she looked just plain nonsensical.
Dreadful book. Skip it and just be happy with the exposition dialogue or flashbacks if this stuff ever comes up.
And I advise you never to read Nicieza's Dick Grayson. Ever.
I'll give Milligan some credit for softening Damian up in a sensible way. He's a brat, but he's going through a tough time in here. He irritated me by arranging the plot so he could manufacture some unnecessary fight scenes between Tim and Damian and make Tim into the aggressor this time around, rather than having Tim as a calm, skeptical helper. Tim thinks with his brain not his feet. Still, neither boy comes off really terrible.
No, the person who comes off bad in this is NIGHTWING, and that's by his internal monologue. He comes to the house thinking to himself that Damian's not worth fighting a few hundred ninjas to save because "no one likes" him.
What. The. Fuck.
Okay, the kid's psychotic, but he's TEN YEARS OLD. Come ON.
And second, this is DICK GRAYSON. Since when does he think about how likable someone is before he saves their ass? He's been a superhero since HE was ten years old. Yes, it's nice that he likes Tim and thinks of him as a brother, but it is NOT in character for Dick to having second thoughts about saving a ten year old boy, even if it is one who's cut off someone's head in the past. He shouldn't have to tell himself he's doing this for Tim, and wonder why he should do anything for Damian--he should just know that he's doing this because he's Dick Grayson and that's the sort of person he is.
And there's later in the book, when he sees Damian in his baby Robin with the hooded white cloak costume, and thinks that he needs to smack the kid later. Also not in character. Maybe if he'd heard Damian being arrogant and made a joke about how that meant he was okay, that'd be a bit more Grayson. Maybe if earlier he hadn't been questioning whether or not this ten year old kid is worth fighting ninjas over, it wouldn't have seemed so... dickish? Either way, it pissed me off too. This is not Dick Grayson. Dick Grayson wouldn't think twice about helping someone no matter how awful they are--ESPECIALLY against a big bad like Ra's Al Ghul. Batman raised him better than that.
Also, Talia went into simpering love interest mode way too often. I can take Talia as a cold-hearted villainess, or a protective she-bear mother, or both (that latest Batman and Robin appearance? I want to see the actual confrontation, because as much as she wanted to manipulate the kid back to her side I don't believe for a second she's dropped the protective mother aspect and wll let anyone kill her son. She was preying on his jealous nature) but this simpering love interest shit? Some of these conversations between her and Batman made no sense. It was like a bad romance movie, where the heroine is contractually obligated to accuse the hero of denying his emotions when he is focusing on solving the real problem. She was good in a fight, and as a maternal figure, but when they tried to play up her romantic side she looked just plain nonsensical.
Dreadful book. Skip it and just be happy with the exposition dialogue or flashbacks if this stuff ever comes up.
And I advise you never to read Nicieza's Dick Grayson. Ever.
February 20, 2012
Batman: The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul, collectively written by Grant Morrison, Paul Dini, Peter Milligan, Fabian Nicieza, and Keith Champagne, pits Batman against Ra’s Al Ghul in a fight to save his son, Damian, who also happens to be Ra’s Al Ghul’s grandson. Also joining the battle are Robin, Nightwing, Talia, and, to the great amusement of the audience, Alfred.
The collection shows some sophisticated character development, especially for Robin, who must choose alliances and decide whether he will gamble on trusting Ra’s Al Ghul’s promises to bring back the dead. An interesting offer, especially in a Batman storyline, in which the majority of the characters happen to be orphans.
Damian, too, introduces interesting possibilities, as his mother has not always batted for evil, and has not always shown sane judgment. Can Damian overcome where he came from? It’s a good question, one that everyone must ask themselves: can we challenge our upbringing and breeding to be something greater?
Admittedly, Batman is not the star of this feature. Instead, the three heirs play greater roles: Damian, Robin, and Nightwing. Nightwing is even granted an interior monologue, which none of the others is allowed. With his age and perspective, he does not fall prey to the squabbling over Batman’s affection that Damian and Robin do. Both Damian and Robin find themselves seeking approval as well as wanting to win the fight, even seeking to win the fight in order to win Batman’s approval. So who does Batman love more? Wouldn’t be fair to spoil that, now would it?
A curiosity at the beginning of the collection: a brief introduction to all of the major characters, with illustrations. Seen at the beginning of other graphic novels, it is reminiscent of a printed play, in which each role is briefly named and described before the first act. Sometimes, the introductions feel like a waste of space, or worse, are simply confusing because of the amount of characters introduced. But for this book, it was quite helpful, because some of the characters, I-Ching, for example, are not properly introduced within the text, and indeed, a lengthy introduction often feels contrived and makes an otherwise smooth plot appear to have a large blister in the middle.
With several different artists at work on the collection, as well, there are many styles of writing and drawing, but they play off each other well to create a plotline that is not light on character or action. Quite artful and skillful, one of the best superhero comics that I have read. Well done.
The collection shows some sophisticated character development, especially for Robin, who must choose alliances and decide whether he will gamble on trusting Ra’s Al Ghul’s promises to bring back the dead. An interesting offer, especially in a Batman storyline, in which the majority of the characters happen to be orphans.
Damian, too, introduces interesting possibilities, as his mother has not always batted for evil, and has not always shown sane judgment. Can Damian overcome where he came from? It’s a good question, one that everyone must ask themselves: can we challenge our upbringing and breeding to be something greater?
Admittedly, Batman is not the star of this feature. Instead, the three heirs play greater roles: Damian, Robin, and Nightwing. Nightwing is even granted an interior monologue, which none of the others is allowed. With his age and perspective, he does not fall prey to the squabbling over Batman’s affection that Damian and Robin do. Both Damian and Robin find themselves seeking approval as well as wanting to win the fight, even seeking to win the fight in order to win Batman’s approval. So who does Batman love more? Wouldn’t be fair to spoil that, now would it?
A curiosity at the beginning of the collection: a brief introduction to all of the major characters, with illustrations. Seen at the beginning of other graphic novels, it is reminiscent of a printed play, in which each role is briefly named and described before the first act. Sometimes, the introductions feel like a waste of space, or worse, are simply confusing because of the amount of characters introduced. But for this book, it was quite helpful, because some of the characters, I-Ching, for example, are not properly introduced within the text, and indeed, a lengthy introduction often feels contrived and makes an otherwise smooth plot appear to have a large blister in the middle.
With several different artists at work on the collection, as well, there are many styles of writing and drawing, but they play off each other well to create a plotline that is not light on character or action. Quite artful and skillful, one of the best superhero comics that I have read. Well done.
September 5, 2016
Un crossover entre las distintas colecciones de la bat-familia que es puro pochoclo, pero el mejor de los pochoclos porque entretiene y no baja un cambio en ningún momento. Tiene mucha acción y algunos de los dibujantes no están para nada mal, sin llegar a ser "excelentes".
No veo necesario leer esta saga para entender la gran etapa de Morrison frente al hombre murciélago, pero si sos completista (como yo...) y tenés ganas de leer algo entretenido en un domingo lluvioso, no es una mala opción. La historia se lee de un tirón y los personajes están bien escritos (Tim Drake, el mejor robin, tiene que elegir entre hacer las cosas bien o mandar todo al carajo, en una pelea con Nightwing, lo cual es una de los mejores momentos de esta saga).
No veo necesario leer esta saga para entender la gran etapa de Morrison frente al hombre murciélago, pero si sos completista (como yo...) y tenés ganas de leer algo entretenido en un domingo lluvioso, no es una mala opción. La historia se lee de un tirón y los personajes están bien escritos (Tim Drake, el mejor robin, tiene que elegir entre hacer las cosas bien o mandar todo al carajo, en una pelea con Nightwing, lo cual es una de los mejores momentos de esta saga).
July 30, 2012
I just finished reading this book and enjoyed it. I plan on reading it again soon. Batman's real enemy isn't the Joker, it is Ra's Al Ghul who is Batman's intellecutal equal. He always finds a way to be 20 steps ahead of everyone. Just when you think you have him figure out, he always surpises you.
Grant Morrison and Paul Dini have done an excellent job. I am looking forward to reading the next chapter of Morrison's run on Batman.
Grant Morrison and Paul Dini have done an excellent job. I am looking forward to reading the next chapter of Morrison's run on Batman.
June 28, 2017
Unlike the rest of Morrison's Bat-run, I've only read Resurrection... one other time, and I remember thinking it was a horrible trainwreck of a crossover that almost threatened to derail both Morrison's and Paul Dini's mid-00's runs before they began to pick up steam.
Rereading the book now, I can see how that's a little bit true, but also that I failed to understand the story because, during my first reading, I had not read any Iron Fist.
The Resurrection storyline, I think (without asking anyone, really) is an attempt to tie Ra's Al Ghul, Batman's greatest villain from the 70's, into the kung-fu craze that dominated a lot of comics of the same time period. In the story, the formerly-immortal Ra's (last seen being cremated a few years prior in Batman: Death and the Maidens, which I have not read) is being brought back from the dead once more in order to inhabit the body of his grandson/clone Damian Wayne, introduced in Morrison's Batman and Son. But neither Damian nor his mother Talia are excited about this plan at all, and so begins an international chase through the kung-fu-mysticism subgenre of the DC canon.
Ra's al Ghul has always had a bit of an eastern mysticism bent to his character, and this story borrows from the mythology developed in Batman Begins to suggest that yeah, Ra's has basically been the leader of a clan of ninjas this whole time. Bronze Age martial arts characters the Sensei (a bad kung fu guy) and I-Ching (a good kung fu guy) are brought into the mix as well, which is a pretty cool idea except that neither character is given much context here, so you'd really never know that DC is borrowing from their own toybox by including them. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that both Morrison and Dini really enjoy dropping in new characters too, and it becomes difficult to know when you need to be reading the current issues more carefully in order to understand everything, or when you need to go look up forty-year-old backissues.
I think all of this is why I didn't like the book the first time -- the reading process is a little exhausting, and even when you lock down the details, skips in basic continuity seem to plague the story. Does Ra's al Ghul's albino son, the White Ghost, really fall into the Lazarus Pit in the story's prologue? And if so, why is it that Ra's essence is then reincarnated into the body of Sam Tang, irradiated action star? Perhaps it was Tang in costume the whole time? But if that's the case, why did he willingly dress up as the White Ghost after poisoning himself to avoid playing host to Ra's in the first place?
Seriously, folks. The public demands answers!
As a big loopy crossover, there are a wide variety of art and writing styles happening here (and Morrison, in particular, has serious problems blending in). There's also some pretty unnecessary screentime given to supporting characters Robin and Nightwing, mainly because they needed an excuse to have the crossover show up in their comics as well. But again, the over-the-top mystic bonkersness is kind of fun -- a sort of prelude to the cosmic mouthfuls of ridiculous dialogue seen in the series' following crossover, Final Crisis.
But it doesn't help that the story's epilogue is contained in Paul Dini's Private Casebook, as well as an epilogue-to-the-epilogue in which Batman learns about the Arthurian knight's armor given to him by Talia in order to help him beat Ra's once and for all (I mean seriously, obviously knight-beats-mystic, we've all been there). Like, the mess of this story is enough without it being spread over into other books where it doesn't even fit.
Still, time heals all wounds of a mystic nature, and upon rereading I actually thought this story was pretty cool. Check back in five years when I reread a third time and hate it again.
Rereading the book now, I can see how that's a little bit true, but also that I failed to understand the story because, during my first reading, I had not read any Iron Fist.
The Resurrection storyline, I think (without asking anyone, really) is an attempt to tie Ra's Al Ghul, Batman's greatest villain from the 70's, into the kung-fu craze that dominated a lot of comics of the same time period. In the story, the formerly-immortal Ra's (last seen being cremated a few years prior in Batman: Death and the Maidens, which I have not read) is being brought back from the dead once more in order to inhabit the body of his grandson/clone Damian Wayne, introduced in Morrison's Batman and Son. But neither Damian nor his mother Talia are excited about this plan at all, and so begins an international chase through the kung-fu-mysticism subgenre of the DC canon.
Ra's al Ghul has always had a bit of an eastern mysticism bent to his character, and this story borrows from the mythology developed in Batman Begins to suggest that yeah, Ra's has basically been the leader of a clan of ninjas this whole time. Bronze Age martial arts characters the Sensei (a bad kung fu guy) and I-Ching (a good kung fu guy) are brought into the mix as well, which is a pretty cool idea except that neither character is given much context here, so you'd really never know that DC is borrowing from their own toybox by including them. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that both Morrison and Dini really enjoy dropping in new characters too, and it becomes difficult to know when you need to be reading the current issues more carefully in order to understand everything, or when you need to go look up forty-year-old backissues.
I think all of this is why I didn't like the book the first time -- the reading process is a little exhausting, and even when you lock down the details, skips in basic continuity seem to plague the story. Does Ra's al Ghul's albino son, the White Ghost, really fall into the Lazarus Pit in the story's prologue? And if so, why is it that Ra's essence is then reincarnated into the body of Sam Tang, irradiated action star? Perhaps it was Tang in costume the whole time? But if that's the case, why did he willingly dress up as the White Ghost after poisoning himself to avoid playing host to Ra's in the first place?
Seriously, folks. The public demands answers!
As a big loopy crossover, there are a wide variety of art and writing styles happening here (and Morrison, in particular, has serious problems blending in). There's also some pretty unnecessary screentime given to supporting characters Robin and Nightwing, mainly because they needed an excuse to have the crossover show up in their comics as well. But again, the over-the-top mystic bonkersness is kind of fun -- a sort of prelude to the cosmic mouthfuls of ridiculous dialogue seen in the series' following crossover, Final Crisis.
But it doesn't help that the story's epilogue is contained in Paul Dini's Private Casebook, as well as an epilogue-to-the-epilogue in which Batman learns about the Arthurian knight's armor given to him by Talia in order to help him beat Ra's once and for all (I mean seriously, obviously knight-beats-mystic, we've all been there). Like, the mess of this story is enough without it being spread over into other books where it doesn't even fit.
Still, time heals all wounds of a mystic nature, and upon rereading I actually thought this story was pretty cool. Check back in five years when I reread a third time and hate it again.
September 13, 2017
Immediately after reading Batman and Son, I read The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, at about 2 A.M. in the morning, so maybe I was asking for it. While this was a more coherent crossover thingy, it's still a bit of WTF inducing, because all the characters act differently when a different author is at the helm. Okay when it's separate books, not okay here.
So Damian is 14 now and his attitude hasn't improved. He's with Talia who seems to have sprouted mothering instincts all of a sudden, at least for me, because I don't know what happened in between this and Batman and Son. And there's Ra's who's very dead, but maybe not, because he's immortal and wants some Voldemort style resurrection. If these issues came out after HP4, he could have learned from Voldy, because Voldy can grow a fucking new body even if it is with a terrible nose job. He doesn't need any idiotic blood relative to leap into.*
Said blood relative decides nope, he's not going to be host to a parasite and runs away to find his dad. I'm not sure how he did that, but several hundred ninjas trail him and there's no Batman. Because Bats wants to stop Ra's. So he delegates saving Damian's ass to Nightwing, who is awesome as always, even if does get bogged down by some really ridiculous bad girls. Robin and Damian get captured and are taken to Ra's who is currently inhabiting a corpse, and in the middle of all that is happening, Ra's seduces Robin to the dark side. Almost.
Ehhhh. I lost interest. I don't mind Damian, and I have no issues with Tim Drake, but I'm kind of tired of them together (and I've only read two books with these two). I'm also at a loss to understand why Ra's al Ghul needs to be resurrected again, and spare me the other psychos of this family. I also wondered why Ra's didn't get resurrected when Supes did whatever he did for Jason to come back. The art work isn't very good. Morrison borrows heavily and quite badly from Hindu mythology which appropriation I don't mind, but it's horribly distracting to read Rama Kushna - either make it entirely different or spell it right!
* I didn't understand why he needed a blood relative. Sometimes he said he did, but at one point he inhabits some random corpse, and at another he asks Batman to choose between Tim Drake or Damian for him to inhabit.
So Damian is 14 now and his attitude hasn't improved. He's with Talia who seems to have sprouted mothering instincts all of a sudden, at least for me, because I don't know what happened in between this and Batman and Son. And there's Ra's who's very dead, but maybe not, because he's immortal and wants some Voldemort style resurrection. If these issues came out after HP4, he could have learned from Voldy, because Voldy can grow a fucking new body even if it is with a terrible nose job. He doesn't need any idiotic blood relative to leap into.*
Said blood relative decides nope, he's not going to be host to a parasite and runs away to find his dad. I'm not sure how he did that, but several hundred ninjas trail him and there's no Batman. Because Bats wants to stop Ra's. So he delegates saving Damian's ass to Nightwing, who is awesome as always, even if does get bogged down by some really ridiculous bad girls. Robin and Damian get captured and are taken to Ra's who is currently inhabiting a corpse, and in the middle of all that is happening, Ra's seduces Robin to the dark side. Almost.
Ehhhh. I lost interest. I don't mind Damian, and I have no issues with Tim Drake, but I'm kind of tired of them together (and I've only read two books with these two). I'm also at a loss to understand why Ra's al Ghul needs to be resurrected again, and spare me the other psychos of this family. I also wondered why Ra's didn't get resurrected when Supes did whatever he did for Jason to come back. The art work isn't very good. Morrison borrows heavily and quite badly from Hindu mythology which appropriation I don't mind, but it's horribly distracting to read Rama Kushna - either make it entirely different or spell it right!
* I didn't understand why he needed a blood relative. Sometimes he said he did, but at one point he inhabits some random corpse, and at another he asks Batman to choose between Tim Drake or Damian for him to inhabit.
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