Detective Comics #839

The final chapter of "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" comes to a close here and my reaction was "is that it?" Writer Paul Dini keeps the action moving in this issue with the Batman Family coming together at Nanda Parabat. The art team lead by penciller Ryan Benjamin and inker Saleem Crawford does a fine job of translating Dini's story to the page. The action is laid out nicely and never gets confusing. Although, at times, both the art team and Dini are channeling Frank Miller's "All-Star Batman & Robin" Batman in this issue.

The question I have to ask is after 7 issues plus two prologues did this story really go anywhere. I'm not too sure it did. It just wasn't a very grand tale and didn't capture my interest. I'm not sure I would recommend the TPB when it comes out in 2008. The bigger question is did this make me want to get the Batman Family of books. Well, I'll have to talk this out with my son, but I just wasn't impressed enough to add them to my pull list.

Nightwing #139

Writer Fabian Nicieza is stuck with cleaning up the mess from part 5 of "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul". We left off with Robin about to join Ra's side to get his deceased family and friends back. This issue picks up the ball with Nightwing confronting Robin. I like Nicieza's characterization of Nightwing here. Even though Robin is acting extremely irrationally Nightwing is sympathetic to this and works as best he can to resolve the situation. Nicieza puts Nightwing in a defensive position through out the combat and you can tell that he is biding time to reason with Robin. Nightwing captures my feelings about this story when he ponders "...we're doing all of this for Damian--?" The art team did an excellent job this issue. Pencillers Don Kramer and Carlos Rodriguez capture the differences between Robin and Nightwing. You realize this is definitely a man fighting a boy.

Towards the end of this issue the story gets back on track and we have all of the Bat Family heading for a collision course in Nanda Parbat with Ra's Al Ghul. At this point I don't care whether Damian or Ra's lives or dies. I just want a satisfying conclusion.

Robin #169

"The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" comes to a screeching halt in "Robin" #169. Writer Peter Milligan's dialogue is stilted and unnatural and the characterizations are a bit off. David Baldeon's art is okay but not on the level of the rest of this seven part story. When we left Batman in "Batman" #671 the Sensei had just been beaten by a bloodied and almost gutted Batman. In this issue Batman shows no signs of the fight he was just in. That's is a knock on Editors Mike Martz and Jeanine Schaefer. With a story this tightly plotted you would think that the visuals would be consistent throughout.

I know that Robin has a lost a lot of people close to him over the last few years, but I just don't see him even considering Ra's offer. It doesn't ring true.

"The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" lost a lot of steam in this issue. Here's hoping Fabian Nicieza and Paul Dini can finish this story out strong in the upcoming parts 6 & 7 in "Nightwing" and "Detective Comics".

Batman #671

"Batman" #671 continues "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" story. Part four of the seven part series, The disparate story lines come together with Batman, Ra's Al Ghul, and the Sensei meeting at Nanda Parabat. I believe my lack of knowledge of the current Batman mythos hindered my enjoyment of this comic because I've never heard of the Sensei character and didn't get a big "wow!" out of the big reveal here. I did enjoy Morrison's fight between Batman and the Sensei. Tony Daniel's captures the action well, having fun with the Sensei's fighting style.

The only gripe that I have against this story line is that it was billed as this big event and comes across as just another story. I don't have a feeling for the big stakes here - what's really on the line? Other than that the read has been fun and action filled.

Detective Comics #838

Paul Dini continues where Fabian Nicieza's "Nightwing" left off and does a good job of moving the story forward bringing the principal Batman Family members closer together. Dini has a lot going on in this issue and moves the chess pieces around in a logical manner. We are almost halfway through the story and we have Batman and Ra's in the same room. The art by Ryan Benjamin and Saleem Crawford is descent. I like Benjamin's layouts and use of space on the page. He captures action quite well. The only thing I really don't care for is his Batman. He draws him just a little too big and the head is too broad with a couple of shots looking like he was going for a John Byrne style of drawing.

A few nitpicks about continuity. I am far from a continuity freak, but there are two points in this issue that even I noticed. First off was Damian's uniform. From the prelude to "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" through part 2 in "Nightwing", Damian has been wearing a modified version of the Robin uniform. In this issue, artist Benjamin leaves Damina in a white and grey body suit. Another error is is when Ra's knocks Robin out cold with a slap. In the previous part of this story, Ra's karate chopped one of his ninjas and broke his hand. Given that he is decaying in the dead body that he resides in, he shouldn't have been able to do that. Does the fault lie with Dini or Benjamin? I think this is an editorial issue that should have been picked up in proof by either Jeanine Schaefer or Mike Marts who also edited "Robin" #168 and "Nightwing" #138.

I really liked this issue as Dini propelled the plot forward and provide the ultimate choice for Batman on the final splash page. Hopefully the last four parts of the story provide a good payoff and that the editors get it together and maintain continuity on both visuals and story elements across the various titles.

Nightwing #138

Nightwing enters "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" story as writer Fabian Nicieza does a fine job of presenting a tough and ready lead character. I haven't read Nightwing in years, almost a decade, and only recently read Judd Winick's final run on "Outsiders" where Dick never came off very well. Nicieza gives the reader a confident Nightwing who knows his business. I like the fact that even while facing insurmountable odds we have Nightwing not wanting to kill anyone. He has a strict morale code and follows it. The same can't be said for Damian, the object of Nightwing's protection. Damian comes off as a brat and doesn't really seem worth saving. In the end Nicieza reveals Dick's true intent when he vows to protect Tim. The Ra's Al Ghul story elements are coming along nicely in this issue as the path to Nanda Parbat are beginning to come in line. Don Kramer and Wayne Faucher to a fine job on the art. Of all of the crossover titles, the art here is the best yet.

I read Shelly's review of this issue over at here blog, Shelly's Comics Bookshelf, and she mentioned that even though she liked Nightwing in this issue she wasn't going to be reading the rest of the Batman titles to keep up on this story. Well, DC has got me here. I'm hooked in and will read the entire 7-parter.

Robin #168

Writer Peter Milligan takes the baton from Grant Morrison and kicks off "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" 7-parter. Milligan takes sibling rivalvry and turns it up to 11 when Robin confronts Damian entering the Batcave. The only characterization of Robin that I have read is what happens over in "Teen Titans" and I'm not sure this is the same guy. Especially when he's beating up on Damian and Damina cries out "Stop! You're killing me!" and Robin replies, "Maybe that's the only way I'll be rid of you!" Tim has lost two good friends over the last 18 months - Connor "Superboy" Kent and Bart "The Flash" Allen - and he has also lost his father. He knows what death truly means and I don't think he would act this way. Sure, he probably has some emotional issues with Bruce having a blood son, but this seems just way out of character for him. Freddie Williams II's art is much better than what he is putting out over in "The Flash". Once again it may be the colorist as Guy Major does a fine job here on Williams' finished art.

Does this issue advance the Ra's Al Ghul storyline? Not much. However, in the end Batman has a better understanding of what is going on. Next it is off to "Nightwing" to continue this story.

Batman #670

"The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" begins in this issue. Billed as a prelude to the storyline, writer Grant Morrison gives new readers a descent jumping on point for this 7-part series. While I don't have a great depth of understanding of where Damian comes from and that Ra's Al Ghul was even dead, I enjoyed Morrison's story. Tony Daniel and Jonathan Glapion's art is pretty good capturing Batman's persona very well. Daniel provides good layouts and panels with backgrounds and detail, which has become uncommon in current comics.

Morrison has peaked my interest with this prelude to what looks to be an interesting story. If you are looking to jump onto this story and are afraid you need a PhD in all things Batman to get it, don't worry, Morrison sets a very good tone that doesn't leave you scratching your head.

Robin Annual #7

First off, I don't have the Batman family titles (Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Detective Comics, et al.) on my pull list. My brother was always the big Batman fan in the family and since we haven't lived togethery for 15+ years, I haven't been keeping up with all things Batman. I've always liked Robin's character as seen in "Teen Titans". Once again, seeing the Batman family characters intearct with the rest of the DCU is interesting to me. I picked up "Robin Annual" because my son wanted to see what was up with "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" storyline and this had a "sneak peak" feature for that story.

Writer Keith Champagne quickly runs Robin through a paint-by-numbers murder mystery with Detective Harvey Bullock in tow. I felt that artist Derec Donovan was at his best when displaying scenes in the dark and shadows. During scenes in the light of day, his art wasn't really that impressive. How Robin solves the mystery is beyond me as it seemed to involve someone he's known before. Here is where I would appreciate the old school "editor's note" telling me where/when/what issue this happened.

I'm not sure what Champagne was going for in the backup story but all I got was that Damian is a smart-ass kid with lots of issues and a healthy disrespect for adults. This short story was supposed to be the "sneak peak" part of the annual. That little tidbit occurs in the last few panels where, I guess, Ra's Al Ghul, shows up.

If you are looking at jumping onto Robin or if you looking for Ra's Al Ghul information , this annual is not a good starting point.