Rating: 3.5/5 – Rising again from a long absence.
Ra’s al ghul and the League of Assassins takes center stage in issue 23.3 of Batman and Robin. It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen this longtime villain, and writer James Tynion and artist Jeremy Haun bring him back in style.
This issue follows Ra’s through different time periods in history as he uses his lazarus pits to keep bringing himself back to strike out against the world. In the present day, an emissary (although I wasn’t sure who it was) from the Secret Society of Super Villains is trying to recruit Ra’s by giving him what he’s always been after, his perfect world. It’s compelling to see Ra’s go against the Society and it’ll be fun to see how this all plays out. I’m not sure where they’ll fit this into the story line of Forever Evil, but I hope they do as now two of DC’s major villains, Ra’s and Lex Luthor, are standing against the Society. This makes me even more interested in this event to see how the villains will be fighting the villains.
Not only has Ra’s al ghul not been not seen enough, but neither has Jeremy Haun’s art. It was a pleasure to see his art in this issue and I’m hoping we’ll consistently see more of it. He has a sharp line to his art that accentuates the details. I do feel as though the colors could have been a little richer though. I love the lenticular cover image and seeing the bright greens of the Lazarus pit on the cover contrasted with the muted colors within.
Overall I’ve seemed to have liked more than I’ve disliked when it comes to the different titles coming out of DC’s Villains Month. I’m hoping that the final week can finish on a high note. If so, I’d consider Villains Month a SUCCESS!
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas – shawn@comicspectrum.com
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