BATMAN #631

9/10

"War Games" Act 1, Part 8. The epic war hits Tim Drake's high school. I have to give Willingham credit for cluing in readers to what's going on in other Bat-books, and still maintaining the pace of the title book's own story. The best example is why the high school? A mob boss' daughter attends, and a rival gang tries to abduct/kill her.

Kinsun's art is slick, and blends perfectly with the dialogue. The ONLY glitch is when Nightwing fights some crooks, we have no idea how he got in the room... he's just there kicking arse. The moments when Batgirl and Batman are simultaneously take out the enemy really stood out for me.

Willingham is careful to stay true to Batman's character. He is shown here as detective, mentor, phantom vigilante, and general protector of Gotham's people. Ironically, his bold move to help save the mob daughter will turn public opinion against him. Actually, that's not true-- it was the mainstream media putting their distorted spin on facts.