Cover: Tim Sale

Detective Comics #783

Aug 2003 · DC · 2.75 USD; 4.60 CAD

📊 ~37,669 copies sold its debut month

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★ 1st appearance — Nyssa Raatko

About this Issue

Detective Comics #783 earns its place in Batman history as the first appearance of Nyssa Raatko — Ra's al Ghul's previously unknown elder daughter and half-sister to Talia — a character who would go on to fundamentally reshape the al Ghul family tree in DC continuity. Her introduction here, in a backup story titled 'Death and the Maidens: Prologue,' set the stage for a nine-issue miniseries that killed Ra's al Ghul and upended decades of established mythology around one of Batman's most formidable adversaries. Nyssa's origin, rooted in the Holocaust and centuries of betrayal by her immortal father, gave the Ra's al Ghul corner of the Batman universe a moral and historical weight it had not previously possessed. The character proved durable enough to anchor live-action adaptations and to re-emerge in multiple DC continuity relaunches across the following two decades.

In "More Perfect Than Perfect," Batman races against time to stop a serial killer who believes he's purging Gotham of those he deems without purpose—targeting lives with chilling precision. As the hunt leads dangerously close to Wayne Enterprises, Batman must confront a disturbing philosophy that challenges everything he stands for. Written by Paul Bolles and illustrated with stark, atmospheric detail by Shawn Martinbrough, this issue features a haunting cover by Tim Sale.

Contains 2 stories

More Perfect Than Perfect

22 pp · Superhero

Batman [Bruce Wayne]

Death and the Maidens: Prologue

8 pp · Superhero

Ras Al GhulNyssa al Ghul (introduction)

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $5

CGC 9.8 · 8 in census $54

CGC 9.6 · 3 in census $26*

CGC 9.4 · 3 in census $26

CGC 9.2 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 9.0 · 3 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

NM $5 VF $7.2 FN $7.3 NM- $8.35 VF $9 VF $9.6 VF $9.98 VF/NM $11.99

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 23 total · seen 27 days ago

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History

The issue was shepherded through DC's Batman editorial office under editor Bob Schreck and associate editor Michael Wright, during Greg Rucka's extended run on Detective Comics — a run that had already produced 'Bruce Wayne: Murderer?' and 'Bruce Wayne: Fugitive' and that ran concurrently with his co-creation of Gotham Central with Ed Brubaker. The lead Batman story ('More Perfect Than Perfect') was written by Paul Bolles with interior art by Shawn Martinbrough, while Rucka himself wrote the pivotal 'Death and the Maidens: Prologue' backup, drawn by Klaus Janson — the same creative team that would carry the main miniseries. Tim Sale provided the cover. The prologue's publication in Detective Comics before the launch of the standalone Batman: Death and the Maidens miniseries (October 2003–August 2004) was a deliberate editorial strategy to seed Nyssa's introduction ahead of the larger story.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Nyssa Raatko (also known as Nyssa al Ghul), daughter of Ra's al Ghul and older half-sister of Talia al Ghul, created by writer Greg Rucka and artist Klaus Janson.
The Nyssa backup story is titled 'Death and the Maidens: Prologue'; the lead Batman story, written by Paul Bolles with art by Shawn Martinbrough, is titled 'More Perfect Than Perfect' and is unrelated to the Ra's al Ghul mythology.
Cover art by Tim Sale; the issue was published on June 4, 2003, with an August 2003 cover date.
The backup establishes Nyssa's backstory: born in 1773 near the Volga River to Ra's al Ghul and a Jewish peasant woman, she survived World War II Nazi concentration camps with the aid of a Lazarus Pit while Ra's abandoned her and her family.
This issue serves as the official prologue to the nine-issue Batman: Death and the Maidens miniseries (October 2003–August 2004), written by Rucka with art by Janson, in which Nyssa kills Ra's al Ghul.
Reprinted as part of the Batman: Death & the Maidens trade paperback (and subsequent deluxe edition), which collects Batman: Death & the Maidens #1–9 alongside this issue.
Nyssa Raatko was adapted to live-action as a recurring character in the CW's Arrow (Season 2 onward), played by Katrina Law, and appeared in Gotham's final season, portrayed by Jaime Murray.
Nyssa also appears in the Batman: Arkham Knight video game DLC 'Season of Infamy,' voiced by Jennifer Hale, as leader of a rebel faction of the League of Assassins.