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kirkreads's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
newbarrel's review
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
zglotz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
walter_the_wombat's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
tshepiso's review
3.0
Act 1 of the Batman War Games saga was mildly interesting if unnecessarily drawn out. Where it shines in character moments specifically for Stephanie brown I found little else bout the story deeply compelling
the themes of the story begin to reveal themselves namely "do superhero vigilantes incite more extreme crime?" while this is a fine concept to tackle cracks in this question are already apparent. namely that the actual conflict of this story isn't caused by the presence of vigilantes. costumed supervillains are barely even a part of this conflict in general so the question feels limp and shallow. it also doesn't help that so far none of the heroes deeply engage with this question and its only really brought up by side characters
each individual issue in this volume while moving the story forward often feels like a redundant demonstration of the widespread violence in the city and therefore felt redundant. much of the forward action of this story could have been told in half the page count
overall while the opening act of this story felt a little redundant and the art often felt much too squeaky clean bright and lacking in style I didn't have many major problems with the story. it even had some moments mainly including Stephanie I really really enjoyed
the themes of the story begin to reveal themselves namely "do superhero vigilantes incite more extreme crime?" while this is a fine concept to tackle cracks in this question are already apparent. namely that the actual conflict of this story isn't caused by the presence of vigilantes. costumed supervillains are barely even a part of this conflict in general so the question feels limp and shallow. it also doesn't help that so far none of the heroes deeply engage with this question and its only really brought up by side characters
each individual issue in this volume while moving the story forward often feels like a redundant demonstration of the widespread violence in the city and therefore felt redundant. much of the forward action of this story could have been told in half the page count
overall while the opening act of this story felt a little redundant and the art often felt much too squeaky clean bright and lacking in style I didn't have many major problems with the story. it even had some moments mainly including Stephanie I really really enjoyed
nerdywerewolf's review
5.0
I decided to re-read this one since finally picking up its sequels. It was as great to read the second time around and even more so now that I finally get to find out what happens next. This is easily a must-read for any fans of the Bat Family.
walkerct's review
3.0
Eh, a decent enough beginning to a Batman arc, as far as they go. The idea of one of Batman's complex plans going awry has interested me since I read [b:JLA, Vol. 7: Tower of Babel|60411|JLA, Vol. 7 Tower of Babel|Mark Waid|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1343152955s/60411.jpg|166458]. The first issue sets up the story and all of the key players while the subsequent issues tackle the enormous fallout. The pace is pretty relentless, which is at times thrilling and at other times exhausting and sometimes downright confusing. There are a lot of mob factions at work in this story, and they're not differentiated much beyond their ethnic identity (Sicilian and Russian mafia, Yakuza, Unified Latinos, etc.) The writing is pretty bland and unremarkable aside from Ed Brubaker's work with Catwoman. He's the only writer who really lets off the gas long enough for his characters to have actual conversations with one another (with tea, even!). The art is similarly decent with the exception of Giuseppe Camuncolo's work on the one issue of Robin, which I really didn't care for. By far my favorite panel is Brad Walker's depiction of Bruce Wayne in his criminal disguise (Matches Malone!) Honestly, I was hoping for a bit more from this volume, but it didn't deliver in the way that I wanted. The story moves at a breakneck pace, but it lacks the depth and desperation that made the similarly frenetic Knightfall story arc so gripping. I will still probably pick up Act 2 to see if the story settles down and evens out.
virginiaduan's review
4.0
War has broken out and boy, is it ever-exciting. The body count is high and likely to mount even higher. Can't wait to read the remaining two volumes. This is Batman at his finest.
quinnster's review
4.0
It's hard to review stuff like this without giving away key plot points that make the story is great as it is. There are moments here where I thought 'oh crap, didn't see that coming!' and I don't know if it's because I'm not as immersed in this era of Batman or if it really was an 'oh crap, didn't see that coming!' moment for others who read it as well.
I'm not so versed when it comes to Orpheus or Onyx and I didn't even really remember there was ever another Batgirl besides Barbara Gordon so there was a lot of new material for me to digest. There is a lot of drama in this collection and this was one of those collections where I felt like I should have read the issues before these, but that's a lot of backstory and until I can get my hands on all 630 Batman issues before this one I'm probably always going to be behind.
Nonetheless, this was an engaging, gripping series. There were a few times when I was a little lost as to who was speaking, but that was usually cleared up pretty fast. I would surely recommend this one to anyone who was looking to get into the Batman world. It's got some pretty big moments...
I'm not so versed when it comes to Orpheus or Onyx and I didn't even really remember there was ever another Batgirl besides Barbara Gordon so there was a lot of new material for me to digest. There is a lot of drama in this collection and this was one of those collections where I felt like I should have read the issues before these, but that's a lot of backstory and until I can get my hands on all 630 Batman issues before this one I'm probably always going to be behind.
Nonetheless, this was an engaging, gripping series. There were a few times when I was a little lost as to who was speaking, but that was usually cleared up pretty fast. I would surely recommend this one to anyone who was looking to get into the Batman world. It's got some pretty big moments...