Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul Impressions: (SPOILERS AHOY)
So after seeing some interesting stuff on scans daily I decided it was about time I buckled down and gave what was out there a read. I'll just go issue by issue:
Batman Annual #26: I don't like this new evil Ra's origin. I really don't like it at all, I'd take Birth of the Demon over it any day, and this White Ghost guy just feels forced. Granted, something strange did happen in this issue: Damian started growing on me. JUST A LITTLE. Just a little.
Robin Annual #7: First story had nothing to do with Ra's! But it was Champagne so I liked it. And ONCE AGAIN reading the second Damian-centric story I find myself liking the little fucker. I especially liked him fighting with the "Robins."
Batman #670: Once again I liked the Damian characterization, but other than that I didn't feel much going on in this issue. I guess that makes enough sense with it just being the prelude. Also, this is where my confusion over wtf body Ra's is in begins.
Robin #168: Ra's is still in mummy mode and Tim's being a little emo. I guess the brothers competing for Batman's love is sort of interesting, but Robin seemed a little too paranoid. Meanwhile, I'm finally understanding what the Sensei's doing and I feel good about that.
Nightwing #138: Nightwing being cool Nightwing and not lame Nightwing. These three wannabe-villain whores I hadn't mentioned before because Morrison almost wrote them interesting enough to not bother me become a bit tiresome in this issue. Damian becomes a bit more annoying in this issue, shows more of his "FUCK YOU GUYS" attitude than he did in previous installments, but it's cause we've got plenty of Nightwing quipping to distract us from it. OK. So now back to Ra's. He's like a scary zombie Ra's in this one. Which I guess could be mummy Ra's unwrapped. I'm buying it.
Detective Comics #838: I'm just going to say it right now, this was my least favorite issue. The art bugged me and this is where everything started getting a weird inconsistency (or so it seemed to ME). Damian's being a dick again carries over from the last issue, but his cute little "I'm a Robin too" outfit doesn't, explainable enough, but it just seemed odd that it vanished. ALSO, Ra's almost seems to be like regenerating. Now he looks sort of like an old version of himself rather than a corpse-zombie version. On the other hand he's acting more like the Ra's I know and love, which while I like, doesn't fit this new Ra's the story seems to be hamfisting into continuity. Him bargaining with Robin would have been nice if it didn't seem like ROBIN TOTALLY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT. My biggest issue with this ISSUE though has to be how friendly Talia and Batman are being. I mean, I sort of understand the cloak and armor, she explained that well enough, but all these shots of him grinning at her? Makes me want to vomit. One step forward, two steps back, Dini. The cliffhanger was good enough though.
Batman #671: MORRISON IS BACK YAY. Right? Yeah. Right. Sensei's made a shitload of progress, and whatnot, story feels like it's coming to a head. Except now Ra's doesn't look like a zombie fucked up version of himself or an old version of himself, he just looks green. I mean I could have bought this if the same comic book one issue earlier hadn't shown him looking like some burn victim all wrapped up in gauze. Cool-Ra's carries forward from DC, and everything is going fine UNTIL: "WHAT MUST I DO WITH YOU MY WAYWARD BOY?" Whaaaaaaaat. No he did not. Who thought making the Sensei Ra's' dad was a cool idea? Cause they were right. It was a cool idea until they decided to execute it in this fashion. I guess it makes sense with this new Ra's origin, but still hopelessly clinging to Birth of the Demon this revelation just rubs me the wrong way. Fast-forward to the end, Sensei's burning, Ra's gets a new body that I won't have trouble keeping track of, and Batman's screaming.
Robin #169: OH SO IT WASN'T HIS OLD BODY. Yeah, I don't get it, but like I said, new body is all that matters! So the Damian I like is back again and the Robin I really don't "buy" is as well. Sensei shit's gone so hopefully I don't have to hear about this father-son connection ever again and I'm not sure what Batman plans on doing after crushing poor Ra's hand. And worth of note is NIGHTWING.
So there's my shitty-not-enough-paragraph-breaks summary of my reactions. So far I like most of what I'm reading. Damian's growing on me, and before the last two issues I was at the point where I'd have said he was better than Ra's, but now they're about equal. If I could list the different series by level of enjoyment it'd probably Batman > Robin > Nightwing > Detective Comics. I like Batman mostly because it's telling me the most, Robin because it's making Damian likeable on some level, Nightwing because it was awesome (although maybe a little too many quips >_>), and I can't really say I care for Detective Comics beyond the plot developments. So putting my love of DCAU and Birth of the Demon Ra's aside, I'd probably give this story a 4/5 so far. It's a little confusing, but the characterizations for the most part have been pretty awesome, plus bonus points for making series I wouldn't touch otherwise readable.
PS:
FORGOT TO MENTION TALIA. Yeah I like her just fine now outside of the super-friendly Detective Comics issue. She doesn't seem as batshit as she was in Batman and Son.
Batman Annual #26: I don't like this new evil Ra's origin. I really don't like it at all, I'd take Birth of the Demon over it any day, and this White Ghost guy just feels forced. Granted, something strange did happen in this issue: Damian started growing on me. JUST A LITTLE. Just a little.
Robin Annual #7: First story had nothing to do with Ra's! But it was Champagne so I liked it. And ONCE AGAIN reading the second Damian-centric story I find myself liking the little fucker. I especially liked him fighting with the "Robins."
Batman #670: Once again I liked the Damian characterization, but other than that I didn't feel much going on in this issue. I guess that makes enough sense with it just being the prelude. Also, this is where my confusion over wtf body Ra's is in begins.
Robin #168: Ra's is still in mummy mode and Tim's being a little emo. I guess the brothers competing for Batman's love is sort of interesting, but Robin seemed a little too paranoid. Meanwhile, I'm finally understanding what the Sensei's doing and I feel good about that.
Nightwing #138: Nightwing being cool Nightwing and not lame Nightwing. These three wannabe-villain whores I hadn't mentioned before because Morrison almost wrote them interesting enough to not bother me become a bit tiresome in this issue. Damian becomes a bit more annoying in this issue, shows more of his "FUCK YOU GUYS" attitude than he did in previous installments, but it's cause we've got plenty of Nightwing quipping to distract us from it. OK. So now back to Ra's. He's like a scary zombie Ra's in this one. Which I guess could be mummy Ra's unwrapped. I'm buying it.
Detective Comics #838: I'm just going to say it right now, this was my least favorite issue. The art bugged me and this is where everything started getting a weird inconsistency (or so it seemed to ME). Damian's being a dick again carries over from the last issue, but his cute little "I'm a Robin too" outfit doesn't, explainable enough, but it just seemed odd that it vanished. ALSO, Ra's almost seems to be like regenerating. Now he looks sort of like an old version of himself rather than a corpse-zombie version. On the other hand he's acting more like the Ra's I know and love, which while I like, doesn't fit this new Ra's the story seems to be hamfisting into continuity. Him bargaining with Robin would have been nice if it didn't seem like ROBIN TOTALLY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT. My biggest issue with this ISSUE though has to be how friendly Talia and Batman are being. I mean, I sort of understand the cloak and armor, she explained that well enough, but all these shots of him grinning at her? Makes me want to vomit. One step forward, two steps back, Dini. The cliffhanger was good enough though.
Batman #671: MORRISON IS BACK YAY. Right? Yeah. Right. Sensei's made a shitload of progress, and whatnot, story feels like it's coming to a head. Except now Ra's doesn't look like a zombie fucked up version of himself or an old version of himself, he just looks green. I mean I could have bought this if the same comic book one issue earlier hadn't shown him looking like some burn victim all wrapped up in gauze. Cool-Ra's carries forward from DC, and everything is going fine UNTIL: "WHAT MUST I DO WITH YOU MY WAYWARD BOY?" Whaaaaaaaat. No he did not. Who thought making the Sensei Ra's' dad was a cool idea? Cause they were right. It was a cool idea until they decided to execute it in this fashion. I guess it makes sense with this new Ra's origin, but still hopelessly clinging to Birth of the Demon this revelation just rubs me the wrong way. Fast-forward to the end, Sensei's burning, Ra's gets a new body that I won't have trouble keeping track of, and Batman's screaming.
Robin #169: OH SO IT WASN'T HIS OLD BODY. Yeah, I don't get it, but like I said, new body is all that matters! So the Damian I like is back again and the Robin I really don't "buy" is as well. Sensei shit's gone so hopefully I don't have to hear about this father-son connection ever again and I'm not sure what Batman plans on doing after crushing poor Ra's hand. And worth of note is NIGHTWING.
So there's my shitty-not-enough-paragraph-breaks summary of my reactions. So far I like most of what I'm reading. Damian's growing on me, and before the last two issues I was at the point where I'd have said he was better than Ra's, but now they're about equal. If I could list the different series by level of enjoyment it'd probably Batman > Robin > Nightwing > Detective Comics. I like Batman mostly because it's telling me the most, Robin because it's making Damian likeable on some level, Nightwing because it was awesome (although maybe a little too many quips >_>), and I can't really say I care for Detective Comics beyond the plot developments. So putting my love of DCAU and Birth of the Demon Ra's aside, I'd probably give this story a 4/5 so far. It's a little confusing, but the characterizations for the most part have been pretty awesome, plus bonus points for making series I wouldn't touch otherwise readable.
PS:
FORGOT TO MENTION TALIA. Yeah I like her just fine now outside of the super-friendly Detective Comics issue. She doesn't seem as batshit as she was in Batman and Son.