Year One: Batman/ Ra's al Ghul

   The nearly 600 hundred-year-old Ra's al Ghul is  finally good and dead. To prevent his resurrection the Batman had him cremated and then destroyed all of the world's Lazarus Pits, the source of Ra's near immortality. It seems that the terrorist leader has no viable way of returning to life. But when a letter from beyond arrives at Wayne Manor, it signals the beginning of a global catastrophe!

   The dead have arisen and are mysteriously healing. Plus, those who have been brutally murdered or recently suffered fatal injuries aren't dying either. Now the hospitals are overrun with the infirmed and the streets of Gotham run red with blood and the regenerating dead.

   It appears that mother earth doesn't like there not being any Lazarus Pits and thus thrown the world it out of balance. To restore entropy to its rightful place in the circle of life, the Dark Knight must embark on a global quest to recreate the Lazarus Pit formula or the entire planet with regress back into nothing. Should this happen al Ghul's dream of an earth unadulterated by the pollution of man with come to fruition posthumously.

   I chose to read this book in anticipation as to when I'll be seeing Batman V Superman next weekend. I'm going to go out and say it- I don't like Ra's al Ghul! I love Damian Wayne. I'm fascinated by Talia al Ghul. But the man known as the Demon's Head just doesn't excite me like a Riddler or Penguin.

   Filled with 'zombies' galore and not being rated for mature readers, this book is pretty graphic. Decapitations, blood, gore, and maimings in general, this book's favorite color appears to be scarlet. Plus, you add the incoherent ramblings of Ra's letter that act as the narration of this story- it all adds up to a really awful read, filled at least with a great couple of plot twists at book's end.

   If I'm not a fan of Ra's, then why buy this book? Well, being a 'Year One' story, which I collect, I thought this would be a good addition to my plunder. With flashbacks that reveal Ra's al Ghul's origin story, as well as a look at one of the earliest encounters between the ecoterrorist and the Detective, this book fits the Year One guidelines. 

   But I would've like to have the very first meeting between the two characters, first explored by Denny O'Neill and Neal Adams back in Detective Comics #232 (June 1972) recounted in this book. Maybe it would've helped me to better understand and like the character of the Demon's Head. But, I doubt it.

   Not Worth Consuming

   Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.