Ra's Al Ghul collects 9 comic book issues about this Batman villain told over the decades ('70s, '80s, '00s, '10s). From his first appearance in 1971 to present, we see snippets of Ra's as he squares off against "the Detective," often with his beautiful daughter Talia by his side. Deducing Bat's identity from the start, Ra's respects him even though they are (usually) on opposite sides. He has no powers save resources and near-immortality due to rejuvenating dips in his 'Lazarus pit.' Known as the Demon's Head, his goal is simple: remake the world, correcting the failings of man through annihilation and societal rebirth. And, often, only Batman stands in his way.
As with the other Arkham collections (see the main Batman page), I really like the concept of this series- seeing how both villains (and art, and storytelling) have evolved over the decades is fun and interesting. Ra's is a latecomer to Batman, appearing 30 years after many of the other iconic villains. And, unlike the others, he never goes to Arkham Asylum (as far as I know). He generally operates in more exotic climes, well away from Gotham. His stories and schemes are elaborate if common in goal, involving layers of plans that span centuries. My only dig is that only snippets of story arcs are presented here, meaning you generally don't get the full picture of any one story. I suspect it was a nice representative sample, but more closure from story to story (or at least a page of backstory introducing each) would have been nice.
Rating: B
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