Natalie recommends "Batman Arkham: Ra's al Ghul"

​​

I am a fan of this particular character in the Batman lore, and will pick up what I can when I am in the mood.  A character who learned a secret to immortality and has an intellect and fighting skills that can match the Caped Crusaders.  This is the most recent item that features this character.  And while this doesn't include anything new (as it gathers a collection his appearances since his introduction in 1971), it is still very enjoyable.  My favorite stories in here are Daughter of the Demon, the Lazarus Pit, and Resurrection Shuffle.  


"Daughter of the Demon" introduces Ra's al Ghul and reveals that he is the father of Talia, Batman's "first" love interest outside of Catwoman and later the mother of their child and current Robin, Damian.  Ra's comes to Batman hoping that he can help rescue his daughter, who has been abducted on the same night and by the same person who abducted Robin (Dick Grayson).  It is later revealed that Ra's set this all up to see if Batman is worthy to not only wed his daughter, but be his heir.  He's also one of the few people outside of Batman's rather large family to know that Batman is Bruce Wayne, as seen in this issue.



"The Lazarus Pit" introduces the Lazarus Pit, a pool that is known to heal the injured and bring back the dead.  This would be a tool that Ra's would be known for using to essentially escape death, which he does in this issue.  He's the only to use it, with him only letting Nyssa his other daughter using it once and Talia using it to restore Jason Todd (the second Robin who was killed in the Death in the Family arc) behind her fathers back.



"Resurrection Shuffle" was one of the first issues in the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul arc, in which an aging Ra's is losing time and needs to transfer his soul to a new body.  This would come to include Damian Wayne, Tim Drake (the third Robin, who he would later bribe with the Laarus Pit to revive his father, girlfriend, and best friend), the later two of which would actually be alive), and Ra's' father.  The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul is one of my favorite Ra's stories, so it was nice to see this included.



Batman Arkham: Ra's al Ghul is a good read with some of the needed stories you'd need to see who this character is, and I would recommend it.  It is an Adult Graphic Novel, but it could be something Young Adults could read too.