Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Batman vs. Ra’s al Ghul #1 Review and **SPOILERS**



Our Story So Far

Written, Drawn and Colored by Neal Adams 
Lettered by Clem Robins 
Covers by Neal Adams 
Assistant Editor: Liz Erickson 
Editor: Kristy Quinn 
Cover Price: $3.99 
On Sale Date: September 4, 2019

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

What’s this? Another six-issue miniseries written, drawn and colored by Neal Adams? And it’s a continuation of the last two miniseries created by Mr. Adams? This is sure to confuse the hell out of everyone. See what I make of Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul in my review, posted here!


Explain It!

Right, so where did we leave off? Something about Deadman had a twin brother named Cleveland, who was taken by Ra’s Al Ghul at a young age and turned into a Winter Soldier? And Commissioner Gordon had to check up on a Japanese nuclear facility for some reason? To be honest, I forget the details. And really, the details would probably make this more complicated. So the first thing you should know, and which I’m not sure we knew before, is that this story takes place during the events of the 1990s Bat-event No Man’s Land. That was when an earthquake leveled Gotham City and the federal government pulled out completely, leaving the territory to be carved up by criminals. Well, Ra’s Al Ghul is now offering his League of Assassins to Commissioner Gordon to try and restore the peace in old Gotham town. Huh. It was surprisingly easy to detail the plot of this issue in one sentence. 
The devil is in the details when it comes to a Neal Adams comic book, and we’re treated to the insanity right away, in the first scene, where some guy has been leashed to his dog, which has then been loaded with dynamite. Batman rescues them in such a way that makes it look like he killed the dog, and the loopiness goes on from there. Ultimately, Batman is against Gotham City Police Department using the League of Assassins as proxies, and says as much to Commissioner Gordon in the crumbled lot where the deal is being brokered. Other than this, I can’t tell what Batman is doing here, except (curiously) dragging two Robins and a Nightwing around with. him. 
Like the most recent Neal Adams miniseries, this one just drops off in the middle of a panel with a “to be continued” caption, which gives me the impression that he’s totally winging the plotting of this thing. It does get more cramped and sped up towards the end of the issue, exacerbating this impression. Neal Adams’ rendering is as good as it ever was, and since he’s doing his own inking you can feel every bit of his style. But he also does his own coloring once again, which is not great, and the script plus the layout make this thing nigh unreadable.


Bits and Pieces:

If you’ve read Neal Adams most recent work, then you know the deal. Prepare to be delighted and confused.

 4/10
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7 comments:

  1. There was a time when his art was amazing and the best out there but time has moved on and it does look dated now. How he gets the chance to get to do another series where he has an idea of a plot but no story to back it up is beyond me. This is hard to watch a once great comic legend churn out stuff like this and I bought his Continuity comics!

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    1. LOL!!!! It is soooo bad. I can't believe how bad each new book is and it's getting worse!

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  2. I think i first heard of Neil Adams when he was on a podcast explaining how he believes the Earth and Moon are hollow and expanding. He went on to explain that scientists are wrong about plate tectonics, dinosaurs, particle physics, and gravity. I am glad to see that DC lets him write comics so we can get stories just as comprehensible as his understanding of reality.

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    1. I love the guys art, but each series he does gets worse and it used to be funny...we are entering the sad stage of reading now

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  3. Who are the 2 robins ? Jason and tim or tim and damian ?

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  4. Neal Adams - on an old "Word Balloon" podcast - talked about how much of a pioneer he was in art and coloring in comic books... He should be smart enough to realize that someone else should be paid to professionally color comics for him! His recent color work is garish.

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