Batman: Tales of the Demon by Dennis O'NeilMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Batman: Tales of the Demon collects Batman's earliest clashes with his greatest nemesis, Ra's Al Ghul, the Demon's Head!
The cover of Limited Collectors' Edition #C-51 has been burned into my brain for decades so this collection caught my eye right away. I've never had the opportunity to read Denny O'Neil's Ra's Al Ghul stories until now...
Batman: Tales of the Demon collects stories from Detective Comics #411, Batman #232, 235, 240, 242, 243, 244, DC Special Series #15, and Detective Comics #485, 489, and 490. Denny O'Neil writes them all, with art by Bob Brown, Dick Giordano, Neal Adams, Irv Novick, Michael Golden, Don Newton, and Dan Atkins. Needless to say, the creative team is top notch. Neal Adams lead the charge in revitalizing Batman but the rest of the crew were able to pick up the torch and run with it.
The stories feature Batman getting entangled in the machinations of Ra's Al Ghul and his League of Assassins. What does a megalomaniac with world domination aspirations have in mind for the Dark Knight Detective? His daughter's hand in marriage, of course! Denny O'Neil does a great job of painting Ra's Al Ghul as the Batman's greatest foe. Al Ghul is part Fu Manchu, part James Bond villain. Throwing Talia into the mix throws more gasoline onto the fire.
The Batman of this era isn't the godlike character of today. So much happens in this volume that would never happen to post-Knightfall Batman. Batman makes mistakes. Batman is defeated. Batman gets knocked flat by a woman wielding a ski pole. He makes some leaps in logic that rival Sherlock Holmes but he is the World's Greatest Detective, after all. These stories are Batman stripped down to the essentials: no Bat family, no uber-planning. Just the Dark Knight Detective living up to his name.
Early 1970s Batman is where it's at for me and Batman: Tales of the Demon may be the best of the best. 4.5 out of 5 Batarangs.
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