Writer: Devin Grayson
Penicller: Paul Gulacy
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti
Letterer: Phil Balsman
Colorist: Laurie Kronenberg
Editor: Nachie Castro
Published by DC Comics
Ra’s al Ghul is the best Batman villain. Hands down. You need to know how I feel before I review the book. To me, he has always been the only one worthy of the Dark Knight, or “Detective”. Yes, the Joker and Two-Face and Catwoman all give Batman strife from time to time, but they always seemed so small time compared to Ra’s. He planned things on a global scale, and the only person who could ever even come close to stopping him is Batman. The two are inexorably linked, due in part to their causes, and also due to Talia, Ra’s daughter, and Batman’s past love.
Ra’s is a character who has always interested me. He fascinates me, really. I never read any of the Denny O’Neil/Neal Adams Demon stories from the 70s. In fact, I hadn’t come across him until his debut in the Batman animated series. But since then, I’ve tried to search out all of his appearances. Last year, he even had his own mini-series, “Death and the Maidens”, which was promised to be “the last Ra’s al Ghul” story. Many fans did not believe this, because death has always been a temporary thing for Ra’s. But it’s true. He did die at the end of that story.
I had mixed feeling about that. On one hand, it made for a damn good story. But on the other hand….no more Ra’s?? That saddened me.
But thankfully, because of this series today, we have at least one more story of the Demon’s Head. And it’s great.
The only beef I have with it is that the title of the book is a bit misleading. We are meant to believe that this is a year one story, meaning it’s Batman and Ra’s first meeting. Which is not the case at all. This is a story that takes place in current Batman time, after Death and the Maidens.
Some weird stuff is going on in Gotham. No one is dying. Which on the surface, sounds like a good thing. But it’s not. The dead are actually getting better. Sort of. Seems the dead are turning into something… different. What exactly? Well, let’s just say George Romero would be pleased. But all of this has…..something to do with Ra’s al Ghul. Ra’s penned a letter to “The Detective” year’s before his death, and it conveniently show’s up now, just as all this is going down.
In his letter, Ra’s tells us a story of his past, and I suppose this is where the “Year One” moniker comes in. We learn a lot about who he was before he was Batman’s greatest adversary, as well as many hints as to why he is the monster/genius he is today. (Or, was last year when he died).
This is a great story, especially for fans of the character. It’s a nice way to bring him back (even if for one more story.) I hope he remains dead, but it’s great to have him back for just a bit.
