Amazon.com Review
Fans of Batman are lucky to get Greg Rucka--the talented, gritty young author of Keeper and Finder, among others--sharing time with their favorite licensed character in this novelization of DC's complete No Man's Land comic series. (And fans of Rucka--assuming they get around to reading this at all--will still likely hold the opinion that Atticus Kodiak could take Batman in a standup fight any day.)

DC shook up Gotham--literally--in its 1999 Batman plot arc: a 7.6 earthquake rocked Gotham City, wreaking enough destruction to bring the broken, crime-ridden, runt kid-brother of Metropolis and New York to its knees. In the story line's most indulgent liberty, those fat cats in Washington decide to write off Gotham, à la Escape from New York, blowing up the connecting bridges, mining the surrounding waterways, and signing into law the Federal Declaration of No Man's Land, which makes it a crime to even set foot in the city. The usual suspects from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face and the Penguin, the Riddler and Dr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Mr. Zsasz, file out to begin running the show, strong-arming and manipulating the block-by-block turf battles that envelop the now-ultraviolent city. A conflicted Batman shows up fashionably late, only to find that these lunatics are the least of his worries: Lex Luthor, Superman's archfoe, has nefarious designs on Gotham too. Could this possibly get any better? Sure, No Man's Land is derivative fiction, but the appeal of Rucka--and, of course, Batman--can make this one worth the read. --Paul Hughes

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 48 reviews)

Batman: "I have to relearn how to get around in this town."

Batman has always been the quintessential vigilante, working from outside the law to protect his city. But what happens when he fails abjectly in his protection? And what happens when the governing laws and rules of conduct are stripped away from Gotham, transforming the city into a hell on Earth? The epic BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND explores this exact premise.

It starts with biological attacks which savage Gotham's population (told in Batman: Contagion & Batman: Legacy (Robin) (Nightwing) (Catwoman) (DC Comics)). Then a massive earthquake - 7.6 on the Richter scale - devastates the city (Batman: Cataclysm (Prelude to No Man's Land)). The damage wrought is such that the federal government deems Gotham unsalvageable, denying it federal aid and instead opting to seal off the island city from the rest of the world. Those who could, left. Those who stayed - the helpless, the brave, and the lunatic - are left to fend for themselves. Batman, in his guise as gazillionaire Bruce Wayne, spends crucial time away, futilely attempting to use his influence to sway the federal government. In his absence, Gotham degenerates into a lawless wasteland, with city blocks being rapidly snatched up by various gangs, several of which are headed by the criminally insane super-villains escaped from Arkham Asylum. It's a constantly shifting and often blood-soaked turf war.

With money rendered obsolete, Gotham's inhabitants survive thru a low-tech bartering system and by existing in fear under the rule of the criminal element. And with Batman having vanished, there's a dearth of those who champion the weak. Which brings us to the very interesting GCPD storyline. Despite the federal government's mandate that the citizens vacate the city, Commissioner Gordon and what's left of the Gotham police elect to stay. They carve out their own territory and, thru force and guile, attempt to reintroduce law and order to Gotham. It's very interesting to see Gordon's beleaguered ethics at war with the harsh new reality. Especially since he's being pushed and second-guessed by a violence-prone subordinate. And just how far will Gordon go to protect his wheelchaired daughter, who is stranded in a gang-controlled zone? It's ironic, that the GCPD is now forced to exercise ruthless vigilante justice. The ex-cops are even reduced to tagging to mark their territory.

So far, Batman is nowhere to be found. There's someone in a Batgirl costume running around, but it's not enough to perpetuate the caped crusader's myth, not nearly enough to cow the criminals. One hundred days elapse before it happens, before, at last, the real Bat comes around. But he's met with resentment and apathy. It's apparent that Batman has lost his mystique. He realizes that, in order to take back the city, he must rebuild his rep, again instill fear into the hearts of the wicked. He can't do it alone.

This is a win-win situation for the fans. Batman is placed in a post-apocalyptic environment, yet this story is considered canon and consistent with DCU's mainstream continuity. Bob Gale writes "No Law And A New Order," which covers the opening chapters. Gale takes time to set the mood and to sink the readers into the character of this ravaged Gotham. No Man's Land comes with a meaty supporting cast (and I don't mean Harvey Bullock). The first issues focus on how various persons have gotten on in this pitiless new status quo, from Oracle (shorn of her high-tech resources) and the Huntress (still seeking Batman's approval) to the GCPD, from the Penguin (now a thriving black marketeer) to the Ventriloquist (as nuts as ever). Bats doesn't even appear until the third issue in this trade, but it doesn't matter. By then, your attention should already be engaged.

The trade's second arc is "Fear in Faith," written by Devin K. Grayson. This storyline deals with a church relief program and the Scarecrow manipulating events as part of his experiments in fear, with the Huntress also falling under the spotlight. This arc left me lukewarm, because the church angle isn't interesting and because I'm not a fan of the Scarecrow.

The whole of No Man's Land is marked by good to okay to shoddy artwork. Thankfully, Alex Maleev ("No Law And A New Order") and Dale Eaglesham ("Fear in Faith") are two of the better illustrators. This is the first of five trades compiling the core story arc of No Man's Land, a year-long event which ran thru the Batman titles in 1999. Volume One collects BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND #1, BATMAN #563-564, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #83-84, DETECTIVE COMICS #730-731, and BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #116.

It's pretty hard to swallow that the U.S. government would refuse aid to one of its cities. But since that was a key element in this very intriguing premise, it was pretty easy for me to get over it. Batman is one of the most enduring superheroes we have, and this is an ideal stage to showcase why he's so popular and has lasted so long. One man, no superpowers, sheer guts, faced with the prospect of wresting a torn city away from hordes of killers, gritting his teeth and pressing on. Of course, the beauty of the thing is that this also applies to the men and women of the GCPD, folks who don't put on masks or capes. No Man's Land is epic in scale, with Batman and his associates being pushed to the limits. Lots of action, definitely, but it's also a study in psychological tension and in archetypal myth-building. By the end of No Man's Land, there will have been many stories of heroism and tragedy and rebirth. We will have been introduced to the all new, all different Batgirl, and the Dark Knight will have reclaimed Gotham and his place as the city's dark protector, with the wicked again knowing fear of the Bat. This volume starts the ball rolling.
September 28, 2008

A True Epic

This book is an example of why Batman is so great. Much like the current Captain America run the story goes on even thought the main character is MIA. The best part of Batman, in my opinion, is the Rogue Gallery. And this epic tale features a majority of the Rogues and most of Batman's allies and is pretty much a who's who of Gotham. One of my favorite Batman tales and highly recommended
March 25, 2008

good Batman trade but I could use a little more Batman in the story

I would not pay 18 dollars for this book. The 12 dollar price seems more appropriate especially with free shipping. This book contains 2 different stories in the No Man's Land saga. I preferred the first story over the second but they were both enjoyable. The first story has a lot to do with the Gotham City Police Department which I liked. The second story was very much about Huntress which probably isnt a bad thing for a lot of people. I personally want to be reading about Batman in a Batman trade, not Huntress, so I didnt enjoy it as much. After reading I bought Vol. 2 and plan to see it through to Vol. 5.
February 09, 2008

Great read

Great read. I left the comic book scene right after this happened in the comics and was able to catch up easily with this graphic novel!
September 27, 2007

A good Build up to Volume 4...

First of all, I found volume 3 far better then volume 2.
This Volume is worth a read and those missing Nightwing and Robin will be glad to see their return. Also, there is a great story involving poison Ivy and Clayface and even Superman makes an appearance. Very enjoyable.
If you found Volume 2 to lack some of the qualities of Volume 1, as I did, Volume 3 renews faith in where this epic story is going.

I gave it 3 stars simply because at the same time...It didn't blow my mind. Sure there were some great twists to the story,
The new Batgirl and so forth but generally this is still a build up to the
next Volume.

Also, another reason why I took a Star away from this is because this volume does not include Nightwing #35-39 which deal with Nightwing going to BlackGate, It's simply mentioned in this volume but not shown at all.

Hope this helped!

July 16, 2007

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 2
by Greg Rucka, Bob Gale, Ian Edginton, Dennis O'Neil, Lisa Klink

Batman: Cataclysm (Prelude to No Man's Land)
by Chuck Dixon
by Jim Aparo, Scott McDaniel

Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 5
by Devin Grayson, Greg Rucka

Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 3
by Greg Rucka

Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 4
by Greg Rucka