Bruce Wayne the Road Home: Ra's al Ghul #1

              I've wanted Bruce Wayne to come back since the moment he was gone, I will admit that I've been a little biased against Dick Grayson being Batman, but that's because He's Not Batman. There are a couple things in the comics world that should never change, the secret identity of Superman, getting rid of the Guardians, and killing (kind of) Batman. I'm happy that when Dick Grayson was Batman, the writers didn't try to make him like Bruce Wayne, they made him his own Batman, but sometimes they tried a little to hard, like getting rid of the Bat-Cave, and instead having a Bat-Bunker, and also changing the Bat-Mobil, things like that, which are harmless, sometimes seem like DC is trying to hard to make Dick Grayson his own person. Although, I do like the new Robin, as I said in my review of "Superman/Batman #77" I really think that Damian Wayne is a good Robin, and in the direction that the writers are going. Damien Wayne is the perfect way to give a new Batman a new Robin, and still have both of the characters have Bruce Wayne lurking the back of there minds.
            In this issue Ra's al Ghul sends the new Gray Ghost out to kill Vicki Vale, but he's stopped by some robotic Batman. When Vale finds some cops, she also finds that they've also been paid by Ra's to kill her, but they are also stopped by the robotic Batman. When Vicki Vale finally gets back to her apartment Ra's al Ghul is waiting for her, with a sword in his hand. The robotic Batman gets there and steps in front of Ra's, and takes off his helmet revealing that he's Bruce Wayne, Ra's goes away for reasons I can't fathom, and then there is a whole shtick with Bruce and Vicki.
            This issue has been titled wrong, it should not be Bruce Wayne the Road Home: Ra's al Ghul, it should be Bruce Wayne the Road Home:Vicki Vale. To be honest I had no idea that Bruce Wayne was actually going to be in the Road Home one shots, so I only bought Ra's al Ghul because I like his character, especially his sophistication, I got no Ra's, but I did get Bruce, which is better. I thought DC was waiting for the new Dark Knight series to really bring Wayne back, but I guess not. I don't think Scott McDaniel was the right choice for the art in this issue. He does work in the most recent Detective comics arc because it reflected what happened in the story, but for this issue I would have picked, someone more like David Finch, who has a darker drawing style.
             Even though I thought the reason Ra's left was (to be perfectly frank) bogus, Nicieza really did a good job with the character, he was just smart, tough, and "gentlemanly" enough to be a good Ra's al Ghul. Several times writers will make him too much of an action hero, or too much of a wise guy, but this was a happy medium.






Grade: 7/10
Buy at: www.mycomicshop.com

Red Robin #12

                The whole Batman family is having a very good thing going with their comics. I didn't like it very much when Bruce Wayne was sent back through time, but recently I've barley noticed. (I still wan't Bruce Wayne back) In this comic Red Robin tracks down Ra's Al Ghul and fights with him, and Ra's also finds out that the plans he made to have everyone Bruce Wayne loved was killed, had been thwarted. Drake had people like Huntress and Man-Bat (who I thought was a villain so that was confusing) defend people like Alfred, Vicki Vale, and Lucius Fox. After a fight that was nothing short if epic, Drake revels what he had done to Ra's. He explained that Wayne had left a will giving all his shares to Wayne enterprises to Tim, so Hush didn't have control and Ra's was ruined. To be honest I was confused with Ra's's motives, did he want control of the compony? Anyway after Ghul kicks Red Robin through a high up window Batman saves him and brings him back to the Bat Cave, where there is a big emotional scene. The last page of the book showed a picture of a boy sitting on the ground saying this isn't happening with a picture of one of Bruce Wayne's ancestors (or even Bruce himself) and he said "He's alive,"  Which confused me.
                  As I said earlier this comic was good, not perfect like the most recent issue of Detective Comics, but it was good. I was confused by the plot, but I liked the appearances of Drake's friends, and the battle between Ra's and Drake was so cool.
                  I have to say one last thing. People don't like Damian Wayne. People say he isn't a good Robin, I disagree. He's now Dick Grayson, but he's pretty good, and his retorts are always funny.
                   Also: good bye Chris Yost, you were good, but it's time for something new.



Grade: 8.5/10
buy at: www.mycomicshop.com

Red Robin #11

            The combination of Batman & Robin and the Red Robin was next to brilliance, I just wish it had the writing to back that up.
            This particular issue started with a fight scene that I have seen before, Batman has many moves and the fight scenes are always entertaining, Red Robin has around five moves in his arsenal, There has only been 11 issues and I have seen him do a flying kick off his staff approximately eight times. Anyway after the fight scene, Drake and Pru go to the top of a building and interrogate one of the Seven Deadly Assassins. (the villains that were in the original fight scene, who work for Ra's Al Ghul)   when I say interrogate, I mean beat the living crap out of. They continue this until the member of the S.D.A  tells them a list of people close to Tim Drake that they are planning on assassinating. While this is happening, Tam is outside of Wayne manor with Vicki Vale, who is trying to get answers out of her, until they are almost killed by an assassin, after they get away nothing else really happens. Except when Batman and Robin come down and talk to Red Robin, overall the comic was really dull, and in the beginning when I said the crossover was next to brilliance, I did not say the comic was next to brilliant.
             One thing that I saw in the comic that was not really included in the comic (Advertisement) for a comic that was the return of Bruce Wayne By Grant Morrison, I just really hope that this is not false hope, where we find out that Bruce Wayne is gone forever, but I am really happy for the hope, and probability that Bruce Wayne will come back.

Grade: B
buy at: www.mycomicshop.com

Red Robin #10

ugh can't these guys get a good story out anymore? This was a bad book! Not kinda good but mainly bad, just bad! First of all this story expected you to read Bat Girl #8 (which with my schedule I will never be able to do) to just understand the beginning of the first scene. Even with that though the story would be very out of sink. All of the sudden Spoiler is the new Bat Girl, and the League of Assassins want to kill her and Red Robin? Plus even after that after a big dramatic scene with Pru (which was never explained) and the "big bad guys" come out(who work for Ra's al Ghul) they look just like the Council of Spiders. Great it worked for a little while, but don't bring them back. Especially not in the next story arch. Plus during all this Vale, who you can tell Yost is trying to make the next Lois Lane is trying to find out where Tim Drake has been. Nobody ever did that with Spider man, and I was glad they didn't. "Yost: You were great for a while, now you suck."

Grade: C-

buy at: www.mycomicshop.com