Review: Batman, Take 1

Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul by Grant Morrison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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 show 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 breading 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 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 names 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.




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