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cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I loved Brutalia romance and Ra's backstory, but BOTD was boring.
I loved Brutalia romance and Ra's backstory, but BOTD was boring.
trashgobby's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
oddmara's review
1.0
This story went downhill very fast for me. First of all, and the thing I left with after reading this is that for some reason the author of Birth of a Demon decided to completely change the way Talia's mother died, which undermines the other two stories, both of whom are based on her death.
I thought overall these were some boring stories. I did not care about the stakes. In the sense that I fully did not believe that this villain would bring anything to completion. Ra's tries to be for some reason both Batman's friend and enemy, and it never really works in a way that would make that interesting since Batman really doesn't give a fuck about him. The only thing about him that he cares about is Talia and she's just as boring in this entire story, not being able to pick between her father and Bruce. She also suffers from "woman in comic" syndrome, where she doesn't have a personality outside of her male counterparts. RIP.
They tried to give me a family story here which I feel like was handled way too fast and too clumsily. I also don't think that throughout that entire episode Bruce was characterized properly. I don't know where Talia came from, why we don't care about the fact that she knows who bruce is, the fact that she's immediately pregnant, that Bruce wants to basically stop being Batman because of it, the fact that Talia "loses her baby" just as soon as she got it, all of it is just. Bad.
When it comes to Son of the Demon, I thought it was a bit more enjoyable because it did not try to sell me 20 different story lines at the same time. I liked the fact that we got to see Tim Drake and the other dude's son interact, I thought that was a sweet short episode. I actually liked just Tim Drake during the entirety of this. He was a silly little boy. We love him.
Birth of the Demon is shit. I hate the idea that Batman had the bath thing. The entire story of Ra's made me feel very icky. It was just overall distastefull for the sake of being distastefull aka setting up a Big Scary Villain With No Moral Compass (which Talia keeps insisting that he's not that bad. AND WHY DOES SHE CARE ABOUT HIM SO MUCH ANYWAY. THERE'S NO SHOWN REASON)
Bruce also just feels like Golden Era man. Boring with no depth (as in oh boo hoo macho man his parents died he's so sad but it makes him STRONG). Casanova. Bland.
Overall this collection was pretty boring, and didn't read too much like a Batman story to me. There was no tension, just things happening that we reacted to. We didn't get to see how Bruce thought, or how he felt about anything. His son "died" and he was upset about it for about 2 minutes. The only saving grace is the artstyle which was absolutely gorgeous. Too bad Batman looked silly surrounded by all of the gorgeous pastels.
I thought overall these were some boring stories. I did not care about the stakes. In the sense that I fully did not believe that this villain would bring anything to completion. Ra's tries to be for some reason both Batman's friend and enemy, and it never really works in a way that would make that interesting since Batman really doesn't give a fuck about him. The only thing about him that he cares about is Talia and she's just as boring in this entire story, not being able to pick between her father and Bruce. She also suffers from "woman in comic" syndrome, where she doesn't have a personality outside of her male counterparts. RIP.
They tried to give me a family story here which I feel like was handled way too fast and too clumsily. I also don't think that throughout that entire episode Bruce was characterized properly. I don't know where Talia came from, why we don't care about the fact that she knows who bruce is, the fact that she's immediately pregnant, that Bruce wants to basically stop being Batman because of it, the fact that Talia "loses her baby" just as soon as she got it, all of it is just. Bad.
When it comes to Son of the Demon, I thought it was a bit more enjoyable because it did not try to sell me 20 different story lines at the same time. I liked the fact that we got to see Tim Drake and the other dude's son interact, I thought that was a sweet short episode. I actually liked just Tim Drake during the entirety of this. He was a silly little boy. We love him.
Birth of the Demon is shit. I hate the idea that Batman had the bath thing. The entire story of Ra's made me feel very icky. It was just overall distastefull for the sake of being distastefull aka setting up a Big Scary Villain With No Moral Compass (which Talia keeps insisting that he's not that bad. AND WHY DOES SHE CARE ABOUT HIM SO MUCH ANYWAY. THERE'S NO SHOWN REASON)
Bruce also just feels like Golden Era man. Boring with no depth (as in oh boo hoo macho man his parents died he's so sad but it makes him STRONG). Casanova. Bland.
Overall this collection was pretty boring, and didn't read too much like a Batman story to me. There was no tension, just things happening that we reacted to. We didn't get to see how Bruce thought, or how he felt about anything. His son "died" and he was upset about it for about 2 minutes. The only saving grace is the artstyle which was absolutely gorgeous. Too bad Batman looked silly surrounded by all of the gorgeous pastels.
wbfreema's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
I think perhaps this one didn't age well. it's very exposition heavy in that way that aims at being accessible to those who haven't read any previous batman stories. feels very much audience pared down. a great story to have read for batman fans for the history/canon alone, but standing on its on, with Nolan's dark knight series existing, it's hard to say this one is great. the art is fantastic. i love that old water color style. it's just the writing could be much sharper. old batman fans would much rather see character developing/describing action than pages of inner monologue thought bubbles.
I think perhaps this one didn't age well. it's very exposition heavy in that way that aims at being accessible to those who haven't read any previous batman stories. feels very much audience pared down. a great story to have read for batman fans for the history/canon alone, but standing on its on, with Nolan's dark knight series existing, it's hard to say this one is great. the art is fantastic. i love that old water color style. it's just the writing could be much sharper. old batman fans would much rather see character developing/describing action than pages of inner monologue thought bubbles.
gothicteletubby's review against another edition
1.75
I just found this boring, I forgot how much I don't really care for Ra's al Ghul as a villain. In son of the demon I was so confused, Bruce was acting like such a love-struck fool and I thought it all a ploy but I'm assuming that all of his actions and what he said was genuine, and that feels so out of character for him. I don't understand as to why Batman would work with Ra's after all the shit he's done, and him not second guessing the validity of the miscarriage with its convenient timing is so odd.
andhochmuth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
xandra_lyn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was such a good book! I don't know what to say without giving things away, but if you are curious about the origins of Ra's Al Guhl, Damien, and Talia and Batman, definitely read this!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual content and Torture
Torture: one of Ra's Al Guhl's men is tortured briefly Sexual content: there are several scenes where characters are kissing in bed. Nothing is shown but the implication is clear.jakekilroy's review against another edition
2.0
Ooooooh my god, take forever, this comic book. This thing was so dense and wordy and all over the place that the end was more relief than frustration. I don't like the Batman in this, and I understand it might be from back in the day when camp was present and Batman could prove inconsistent with his methods and mentalities. But, still, this is after Year One and The Killing Joke, so, hey, there was some narratives to take note of. However, I did dig pretty hard on finding out the origins of Ra's. And it's legit. Still, moving on.
sardonic_writer's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad- the first two stories are fine, but they get somewhat repetitive. I can't even count how many times Batman and Talia al Ghul betray and then go back to one another. The third and final story that serves as Ra's al Ghul's origin story is pretty damn good though.