Batman #631

This eighth chapter of "War Games: Act One" closes out the opening act of DC's sprawling 2004 Bat-crossover event, written by Bill Willingham with interior art by Kinsun and Aaron Sowd. Matt Wagner's cover sets a genuinely unsettling tone — Batman's gauntleted arm is pressed against a school chalkboard spattered with blood, a chalk outline of a figure drawn behind him, suggesting violence visited upon a place that should be safe. It's a quietly disturbing image that captures the stakes of "Last Stand at Alamo High" without saying a word.