Batman vs. Ra’s al Ghul #2 Review and **SPOILERS**

And Then Alfred Bested His Robotic Double

Written, Drawn and Colored by Neal Adams aa

Lettered by Clem Robins 

Covers by Neal Adams 

Assistant Editor: Liz Erickson 

Editor: Kristy Quinn 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: October 9, 2019

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Heeeeere we go again! Check out my review of Batman vs. Ra’s al Ghul #2, below!

Explain It!

How can I even describe the contents of this book? It is meandering, confusing, and seems like the rambling, unfettered thoughts of someone undergoing delirium tremens. What really stick out are the basic story telling errors, which I would not expect from a  comics veteran of Neal Adams’ esteem, But when an entirely new character is introduced in what is actually issue 8 of a twelve-part series, one who is engineering Boston Brand’s brother Cleveland to become the best Double Dragon player, it sort of sticks out as an error. But then, it wasn’t the most egregious error in the issue.

There’s an exchange between Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne that will make your head spin. Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne get involved just to make things less clear. Then Kirk Langstrom and his wife Francine show up as Man-Bats and snatch up Dick and…one of the other Robins. They all look the same, so it’s tough to tell who is which what-have-you. 

And then, Alfred Pennyworth defeats his robot double. I don’t know why he had a robot double, I don’t know who unleashed it on the world, but I know that Alfred knocked it out with.some kind of clobbering maneuver from behind the back. So…that’s taken care of. But Bruce Wayne will not be stayed from his meeting with Ra’s Al Ghul, to negotiate the deal to rebuild Gotham City (per last issue.) A deal that Kirk Langstrom (now in human guise) hopes to thwart by announcing loudly what a piece of shit Ra’s Al Ghul is. But when Ra’s tries to strangle Kirk from behind, he finds that he’s fooled around with the wrong guy that can suddenly turn into Man-Bat at will! 

And there’s so much. More to see, from the bad dialogue to. The confusing panel-to-panel transitions to the convenient plot devices, this is the comic book equivalent of a drive-in movie. All that it’s missing is the intermission enticing us to go get refreshments.

Bits and Pieces:

A total mess of a comic book that should be observed more as a disaster in progress than it should be read. Masochists and dyed-in-the-wool cultists need only apply.

3/10