No Man's Land
...And after the Earth shattered and the buildings crumbled, the nation abandoned Gotham City. Then only the valiant, the venal and the insane remained in the place they called No Man’s Land!
Currently out of print!
LEGACY
The first rematch between Batman and Bane!
Out of print!
The first rematch between Batman and Bane!
Out of print!
CATACLYSM
This is supposed to be reprinted in 2015
This is supposed to be reprinted in 2015
Gotham City suffers the results of a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in the Cataclysm storyline. In response, the U.S government declares Gotham a "no man's land," destroys all bridges leading to the island and sets up a military blockade to prevent people from entering or exiting.
Gangs and various supervillains Batman had battled over the years swiftly carve up the city. Jim Gordon and several members of the Gotham police department, who dub their gang the Blue Boys stay behind to protect civilians. Oracle and Huntress also end up on the inside. Bruce Wayne leaves the city to lobby the government to continue aid to Gotham, but fails. Gordon and his men wait for Batman's return, but he disappears for months, leading the police to believe that he has abandoned Gotham. A bitterly disappointed Gordon denounces Batman and refuses even to speak his name.
Gangs and various supervillains Batman had battled over the years swiftly carve up the city. Jim Gordon and several members of the Gotham police department, who dub their gang the Blue Boys stay behind to protect civilians. Oracle and Huntress also end up on the inside. Bruce Wayne leaves the city to lobby the government to continue aid to Gotham, but fails. Gordon and his men wait for Batman's return, but he disappears for months, leading the police to believe that he has abandoned Gotham. A bitterly disappointed Gordon denounces Batman and refuses even to speak his name.
NO MAN'S LAND VOLUME 1
No Man's Land kicks off. Villains like Penguin and Two-Face have taken over and Commisioner Gordon has lead a small army of police to try retake Gotham City with military tactics.
We get to see a mysterious new batgirl, tensions rise between Gordon and his troops (ex-cops), Scarecrow wrecks the morale of a church because he can and when Batman finally shows, the tension and pacing slows down before this promised anarchy of a story can go crazy.
This first volume is all build up and promise, and while it drags in the Azrael issues, it's all still gripping enough to keep you strapped in for the ride. Different art styles become a problem.
RATING:
Batman Story - 6/10
Continuity - 10/10
Art - 6/10
Epicness - 8/10
OVERALL - 7.5/10
No Man's Land kicks off. Villains like Penguin and Two-Face have taken over and Commisioner Gordon has lead a small army of police to try retake Gotham City with military tactics.
We get to see a mysterious new batgirl, tensions rise between Gordon and his troops (ex-cops), Scarecrow wrecks the morale of a church because he can and when Batman finally shows, the tension and pacing slows down before this promised anarchy of a story can go crazy.
This first volume is all build up and promise, and while it drags in the Azrael issues, it's all still gripping enough to keep you strapped in for the ride. Different art styles become a problem.
RATING:
Batman Story - 6/10
Continuity - 10/10
Art - 6/10
Epicness - 8/10
OVERALL - 7.5/10
NO MAN'S LAND VOLUME 2
With a new speechless Batgirl added to the bat family, the action increases as Batman has to utilise his allies and new tactics to bring order to Gotham.
The previous volume succeeded in expressing concern for the people of Gotham, indicating Batman can't just swoop in and save the day the easy. This volume succeeds in Batman putting his words in action. When the last half of the last volume slowed down, this volume makes up for that using more Nightwing and Robin to take charge. Robin's job is help Batman with spying and recon, Batgirl's job is help Azrael beat up bad guys, while Azrael tracks down the Joker, Nightwing has been put in charge of taking over blackgate prison, while Batman attempts to do everything while being dark and moody.
This volume reads faster and is more enjoyable, but lack's the charm of the Gothamite's struggles, without any real resolution
RATING:
Batman Story - 7/10
Continuity - 10/10
Art - 7/10
Epicness - 9/10
OVERALL - 8.2/10
With a new speechless Batgirl added to the bat family, the action increases as Batman has to utilise his allies and new tactics to bring order to Gotham.
The previous volume succeeded in expressing concern for the people of Gotham, indicating Batman can't just swoop in and save the day the easy. This volume succeeds in Batman putting his words in action. When the last half of the last volume slowed down, this volume makes up for that using more Nightwing and Robin to take charge. Robin's job is help Batman with spying and recon, Batgirl's job is help Azrael beat up bad guys, while Azrael tracks down the Joker, Nightwing has been put in charge of taking over blackgate prison, while Batman attempts to do everything while being dark and moody.
This volume reads faster and is more enjoyable, but lack's the charm of the Gothamite's struggles, without any real resolution
RATING:
Batman Story - 7/10
Continuity - 10/10
Art - 7/10
Epicness - 9/10
OVERALL - 8.2/10
NO MAN'S LAND VOLUME 3
This volume is full of filler and character that leads no where. By this point, No Man's Land is started to feel bloated with it's story stretched out too thin. You start to wish it ends soon.
Though this volumes does bring back Bane and introduces us to Harley Quinn's first appearance in comic cannon, it never really goes much further. At least the quality in Azrael's comics has picked up.
The biggest blow to the is the lack of writer Greg Rucka involved in this volume. The writers in this one seem to be inconsistent in characters intentions, motifs and beliefs, including different levels of concern over the severity of No Man's Land. It is now established that Penguin is an annoying a-hole, Joker is immature, Killer Croc is a wacko, Mr. Freeze is dumd and Two-Face is two-faced.
Though the art has become more consistent.
RATING:
Batman Story - 4/10
Continuity - 9/10 (a few minor issue with characters)
Art - 8/10
Epicness - 4/10
OVERALL - 6/10 (really deserves a 4/10)
This volume is full of filler and character that leads no where. By this point, No Man's Land is started to feel bloated with it's story stretched out too thin. You start to wish it ends soon.
Though this volumes does bring back Bane and introduces us to Harley Quinn's first appearance in comic cannon, it never really goes much further. At least the quality in Azrael's comics has picked up.
The biggest blow to the is the lack of writer Greg Rucka involved in this volume. The writers in this one seem to be inconsistent in characters intentions, motifs and beliefs, including different levels of concern over the severity of No Man's Land. It is now established that Penguin is an annoying a-hole, Joker is immature, Killer Croc is a wacko, Mr. Freeze is dumd and Two-Face is two-faced.
Though the art has become more consistent.
RATING:
Batman Story - 4/10
Continuity - 9/10 (a few minor issue with characters)
Art - 8/10
Epicness - 4/10
OVERALL - 6/10 (really deserves a 4/10)
NO MAN'S LAND VOLUME 4
This is the strongest volume and has some of the best moments in Batman's history. It makes it all worth it to slog through volume just to get to this volume.
Lex Luthor arrives to rebuild Gotham with other schemes in mind, and Joker decides to have his fun as everything comes to a powerful close.
We get to see Huntress' greatest moments, as Batman and the GCPD finally bring control to No Man's Land. Gordon and Batman finally reconcile after much tension between them. It is the single greatest moment in Batman history and teh relationship between Batman and Gordon.
Though we never get a showdown between Bane and Batman, when it's all over, the Joker strikes, and we're back in the dark moments of tragedy, as in most cases of Batman stories, even when he succeeds, there is no celebration. In the end, the idea of No Man's Land is excellent, but it was treated as money grab crossover. But if you're a bat-fan, you have no excuse to not have these books on your shelf.
RATING:
Batman Story - 9/10
Continuity - 9/10 (a few minor issues with comic story placement with Azrael, Catwoman and Robin comics)
Art - 8/10
Epicness - 10/10
OVERALL - 9/10
This is the strongest volume and has some of the best moments in Batman's history. It makes it all worth it to slog through volume just to get to this volume.
Lex Luthor arrives to rebuild Gotham with other schemes in mind, and Joker decides to have his fun as everything comes to a powerful close.
We get to see Huntress' greatest moments, as Batman and the GCPD finally bring control to No Man's Land. Gordon and Batman finally reconcile after much tension between them. It is the single greatest moment in Batman history and teh relationship between Batman and Gordon.
Though we never get a showdown between Bane and Batman, when it's all over, the Joker strikes, and we're back in the dark moments of tragedy, as in most cases of Batman stories, even when he succeeds, there is no celebration. In the end, the idea of No Man's Land is excellent, but it was treated as money grab crossover. But if you're a bat-fan, you have no excuse to not have these books on your shelf.
RATING:
Batman Story - 9/10
Continuity - 9/10 (a few minor issues with comic story placement with Azrael, Catwoman and Robin comics)
Art - 8/10
Epicness - 10/10
OVERALL - 9/10