Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Dennis O'Neil, Tom King, Mike W. Barr, Judd Winick, Andersen Gabrych
Batman Arkham
Talia al Ghul

Batman Arkham Talia al Ghul

Delve into one of the most compelling characters in the Batman mythos in this collection starring Talia al Ghul-daughter of the Demon. Intelligent, calculating, and composed, this brilliant strategist and master martial artist has proven to be one of the very few adversaries capable of going head-to-head with Batman on every level. As Ra's al Ghul's daughter, she is an elite and lethal warrior of the League of Assassins. Yet as this collection shows, she enlists in both villain and hero affiliations, making her a complex antihero in her own right. Collects Batman #232 and #656, Detective Comics #411, Batman: Son of the Demon #1, Batman: Death and the Maidens #9, President Luthor Secret Files #1, Batman Villains Secret Files 2005 #1, Red Hood: The Lost Days #1, Batman and Robin #12, Batman Incorporated #2-13, and Batman (2016) #34-35.
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Reviews

Photo of Ley Stanton
Ley Stanton@feyley
4 stars
Aug 12, 2022

Great story, really shows a different side of Batman. I like how it shows where he has come from and what he is really fighting for. This is the Batman that I love and it shows how much the Bat-Fam really cares for each other. I mean, even the other "Batmans" from around the world show up. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has even a mild love for Batman.

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Brianna@dinosauriaclade
4 stars
Aug 1, 2022

Fun fact: this was the first Batman collection I ever read back in the day. Definitely a wild place to start and I’m here to say it really hasn’t changed.

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Brianna@dinosauriaclade
4 stars
Aug 1, 2022

Bad story, great Robins angst

Photo of Omar AlHashmi
Omar AlHashmi@omaralhashmi
2 stars
Jul 11, 2022

sigh. I've never been more disappointed at a comic. It's one that I really wanted to ready because of the idea of batman going insane and off the deep end, unfortunately that was the only thing that even made me give it 2 stars instead of one. Usually when im in korea for uni i read comics in the car or between stuff because they are easy and light, as i keepy novels for when im more relaxed. But this comic just gave me such a rough time having me finish it in 2 weeks! It was so confusing and all over the place i couldnt make sense of the plot. If it wasn't for the concept of batman's insanity and the joker doing what he always does, this book would join "faces of death" as one of the worst comics ever. I know it is Grant Morrison and he is such a fantastic comic writer.. but this was just, so off. All this stuff with the black glove and robin and alfred none of them felt tied in. Its like a bunch of ideas crashed into each other so he tried to fit them all in.... anyway... wouldnt recommend it, unless you like seeing nice art of the joker because this version of him is great. 2/5 meh

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Fraser Simons@frasersimons
1 star
Jun 9, 2022

Worse artist and the plot became more contrived and uninteresting. Rather not continue.

Photo of Fraser Simons
Fraser Simons@frasersimons
3 stars
Jun 9, 2022

Fun but in a way that touches on backstory I have no idea of, and in a way that plays fun at homophobia and mental illness. Morrison always has the same artist but some issues have a sub in, which I actually preferred to the main one. All in all, pretty much what I expected from the title.

Photo of Alice Uzzan
Alice Uzzan@aliceuzzan
2 stars
Mar 22, 2022

In my recent foray into the realm of Batman comics, I’ve mostly had luck. Initially rather reluctant to take interest in the character’s universe, The Killing Joke and Year One convinced me to give it a chance. So I guess it couldn’t be that simple. Arkham Asylum suffers from pop culture’s terribly restricted and restrictive understanding of psychology and mental illness. It’s a succession of clichés, weak dilemnas and failed attempts to spark uneasiness in its reader. It’s superficially spooky and profoundly vain. I’m a sucker for storylines interrogating Batman’s own (in)sanity so I appreciate that the authors were trying to do just that but they don’t go very far and, rather, rely on fairly hackneyed gimmicks which fail to truly delve into Wayne’s psyche. There remains a few intriguing pages (I did like the narration of the parts focused on Amadeus Arkham, in spite of his unoriginal fate; the psychiatrist’s strategy with Dent is interesting) and some nice artwork. I liked the blurriness of Dave McKean’s trait and his design of Batman; it does however get quite gimmicky and, problematically, barely legible at times notably because of the aggravating font which is used for the Joker’s lines. Not entirely uninteresting but barely more than passable.

Photo of Aixa Azul
Aixa Azul@aixaazul
4 stars
Dec 25, 2021

honestly there is no dynamic duo greater than dick grayson batman and damian wayne robin. i'm so happy i could finally read it <3

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Lewis John Fisher@lewisfishr
5 stars
Nov 7, 2021

I am vengeance. I am the night. I am the Batman of Zur-en-arrh!

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Jennifer Gregory@mightyjenn
3 stars
Nov 5, 2021

A A a a a a a a bc a a.c. F f f f f f b b f f

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Sans@sans
3 stars
Sep 11, 2021

The biggest thing I got out of this was how much Dick didn’t move like Bruce, even in the Batsuit. Was he even trying to pretend? And also that Talia is completely horrible. Not that I didn’t know that before, but it’s always nice to be reminded.

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Sans@sans
2 stars
Sep 11, 2021

What a hot mess. About the only characters that didn’t feel extremely OOC were Nightwing and Alfred. Even Talia wasn’t in character.

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Sans@sans
1 star
Sep 11, 2021

What...the hell did I just read. Thank god it’s over.

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Sans@sans
4 stars
Sep 11, 2021

Did not enjoy the first couple of issues in this. Loved it once I twigged what was going on. Kinda love Talia even more for exacting that revenge.

Photo of Lorien O'Brien
Lorien O'Brien@lorienkittybooks
4 stars
Aug 31, 2021

Modern certainly was different from New 52. Been a while since I picked up anything from that era but I decided since I was stuck on New 52, and now it's no longer 52 but Rebirth I need to move forward some way and so I returned to trying to read what I can of Modern. This story is dark, twisted, and fraught with dark magic. This is the dark side of Batman that you rarely see anymore, as he sorta softened over time. While it can get dark, it rarely gets this dark. Batman is facing an immortal killer (no, not Ra's Al Ghul) who specializes in killing kids, who is also from his past. He has to dive into the occult to face him. While this is rather dark, the plot is pretty solid. It's a bit predictable, but this is from the early 90s when Modern was a baby and they were just getting into their style. I didn't enjoy it as much as The Mad Monk, which ended hilariously, but it was nice. I particularly liked the very end, when Batman freed that first victim. 3.5-4 stars.

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Ícaro Morbeck@icaromorbeck
2 stars
Jun 30, 2024
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Mat Connor@mconnor
5 stars
Jun 25, 2024
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Mat Connor@mconnor
4 stars
Jun 25, 2024
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maitha mana@maithalikesapplepies
4 stars
Apr 3, 2024
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bea@beafish
3 stars
Mar 17, 2024
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bea@beafish
5 stars
Mar 17, 2024
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Jo A@thecupofjo
5 stars
Jan 1, 2024
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Jo A@thecupofjo
3 stars
Jan 1, 2024
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Malavika Kumar@mlvk
3 stars
Dec 19, 2023