A review by walkerct
Batman: War Games, Act 1: Outbreak by Troy Nixey, Jimmy Palmiotti, Paul Gulacy, Andersen Gabrych, Ed Brubaker, Devin Grayson, Ramón F. Bachs, A.J. Lieberman, Lorenzo Ruggiero, Sean Phillips, Francis Portela, Raúl Fernández, Bill Willingham, Al Barrionuevo, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Brad Walker, Dylan Horrocks, Kinsun, Nathan Massengill, Andy Owens, Pete Woods, Mike Lilly

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.