Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant continuation series to Batman: Cataclysm
Review: In Batman: No Man's Land Vol.I, Gotham, recently rocked to its foundations and utterly devastated by the apocolytic-size earthquake that hit it, has been cut off and barricaded from the U.S. Bruce Wayne, the Batman, tried to intercede on Gotham's behalf, but the U.S. Government denied his proposal. Now all the citizens of Gotham have been ordered by the U.S. Government and Military to evacuate the city. All that now remains in the broken and shut off city are the poor, the destitute, the valiant, the venal, the insane, and of course, The Batman.
Crimelords, insaniacs, and vicious gangs have now taken over Gotham, plunging the city into a dark age feudal-system. The crimelords, and the gangs that enforce their power, demand tribute from the poor, and all the remaining innocent residents of Gotham City. If the tribute isn't paid, the citizens are brutally killed.
The ravaged city is now begging for a messiah, a savior that will save them from this hellish darkness that has descended upon them. And Commisioner Gordon and the GPD, along with the help of his superintelligent computer-hacker daughter, Barbara Gordon, also known as The Oracle, are determined to answer that call. Gordon and the GPD must take barbaric and war-like measures to take back their city from the vicious and evil crimelords that have taken it over.
Batman, watching from a disclosed distance, is preparing to return to his city to save it from the evil that has now dominated it, but not yet, he has decided he will return when the time is ripe. But in Gotham there is a new vigilante taking his place, a new Batgirl, whose identity no one knows. She is determined to become the city's messiah, if all else fails.
In this first volume of the Batman:NML Saga, we see four vicious criminals of evil fame make their reapperance after the great earthquake, the wealthy crimelord and vicious opportunist, The Penguin, the schizophrenic God of Fear, The Scarecrow, the puppetmaster with a spit-personality that posseses an evil gangster dummy, The Ventriloquist and Scarface, and a cameo appearance from the psychotic clown prince of crime, The Joker.
As I said in the title, this is a brilliant, epic continuation series to the events that happened in Batman:Cataclysm. If you're a Batman fan and you've read Batman:Cataclysm, but haven't read No Man's Land Vol.I
yet, I strongly urge you to buy and read the first volume of this epic, monumental series in the Batman mythos. However, if you haven't even read Batman:Cataclysm yet, I strongly suggest you should read that before you start on Batman: No Man's Land, in order to better understand the plot and storyline.
Rating: 
Summary: Batman's Back
Review: Again Batman finds himself struggeling to understand his own destiny. He wrestles with the desire to serve Gotham, yet at the same time he is faced with overwhelming odds, and realizes he can't go at it alone. It reminded me of the Batman who we loved, the "Dark Knight." Batman has always clung to his own demons, and in this series these demons are ever present, and Batman again is the renegade who fights to come to terms with his own weaknesses and loss, while at the same time offering hope to the downtrodden and weak. Excellent story. A must for any "Dark Knight" fan!
Rating:
Summary: Batman novel Supreme!
Review: Imagine if you will, your city being destroyed so quickly that the government would rather write you off than help you out. Arkham is cracked open like a peanut and all the great villains of the world of Gotham are roaming the streets and the Dark Knight is M.I.A.! Novelized from the pages of DC Comics, Greg Rucka hits a home run with "NO MANS LAND". If you are expecting a book with a heavy emphasis on Batman, maybe this isn't your book. Rucka does a great job of dividing the attention four ways. The Bat-clan, the villians, the Gotham City Police, and journal entries from one of the characters. The best part about this book is the great detail Rucka gives to each character. It doesn't actually feel like reading another authors interpretation of the characters, he nails each and every one. The regal prestige of the Penguin, the innerstruggle of Two-Face, the sadistic humor of the Joker, the dark justice of Batman; just to name a few characters. This kind of detail is even given to the minor players, the right-hand men of the villains and rookie cops. You feel like you know each one personally. The field is loaded with so many characters from the world of Batman, and some folks from Metropolis are thrown into the mix as well. If you're looking for action, you won't be disappointed either. There are great explosions, shoot-outs, and confrontations that will keep you up all night wanting to finish this book. There is also a fair amount of thought process throughout the pages of this book. You not only get to know what the characters are doing, but why they're doing it. Overall, this book had me in awe. I'm normally an X-men fan, but if they keep putting out Batman books like this, I may be switching teams!
Rating:
Summary: Best Batman novel I've ever read! (only one I've ever read)
Review: I'm not really a comic book fan, but after reading this book I might change my mind. I bougt the book purely on impulse and have never regreted it. It is a great story and Greg Rucka maniges to make the thought process of the different caricters eassy to understand. No small feat with the Joker.
Rating: 
Summary: Over, use, of, commas!
Review: Holy commas, Batman! Rucka has this tendency of overusing commas to the point that you feel you might want to reread his text just in case you missed something, that can be tiresome, after reading the 'No Man's Land' saga in comic book form, I had to force myself to finish this novelization, on a side note, the binding exploded mid-read, and that has never happened to me, ever before. Does my comma usage annoy you? At least Rucka's usage is grammatically sound, but nevertheless, this, novel, will, grate, on, every, last, nerve, that, you, possess.
Rating:
Summary: Dark, gloomy & sadistic; the Bat's intended form
Review: This novelizes the extended comic book story arc of Gotham City getting so heavily destroyed in an earthquake that the government decided it wasn't part of the US anymore, and the year of post-apocalyptic anarchy and gang warfare that endured before that decision was repealed. It doesn't cover all the comics--for example, the story arc "Bread and Circuses," where Batman reenacts "Diggstown" in Penguin's free-trade zone, is reduced to a couple of sentences in one of Barbara Gordon's assorted journal entries--but what's left over is everything Tim Burton and Michael Keaton made Batman out to be: dark, brooding and heavy on personal vengeance. The best parts were the ones told from the point of view of Garrett, a not-particularly-bright goon working for the Penguin: he thinks that Machiavelli's "The Prince" is a fairy tale and calls a Louis XV chair a "Louie Cans."
Rating:
Summary: Above Average Conclusion
Review: No Man's Land has produced some of the best and worst storylines along its twisted year long journey, in this book you will find neither. The writing is what you have come to expect out of Rucka, full of heroism and alpha-male posturing, and I mean that in a good way. In this book you will NOT be subjected to the wince inducing crap Larry Hama wrote into Book 3 and 4. This book is all Rucka, competent and steady, if not too terribly imaginative. In this concluding chapter, we find why Huntress wore the Bat-mask, and why that mask had the mouth sewn up. Bane appears in several scenes, not really contributing anything to the novel, except perhaps for a single funny scene with Joker. Speaking of which, Joker definitely makes this book. The final storyline "End Game" is the best in this book, although not as good as "Fear of Faith" from Book 1, it does come in a close second. Since most people reading this probably already own the four previous books, I suggest you buy this because it is a competent conclusion to the No Man's Land saga. For those of you who bought the Rucka hardcover book, I am going to go out on a limb and say that this graphic novel handles "End Game" definitely better than the book.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for the Bat-begginer
Review: I only just got into comic books, reading a few Batman comics in my libray. When i picked up No Mans Land one, I knew i needed them all. Seeing this novel version, i had to buy it totally on impulse and will never regret it. It is in contrast to my normal diet of sci-fi (star wars) but is one of the best reading book I have ever seen. The NML serise and this book acts as a transition for a new style of Batman, masterminded the brilliant author of this novel, Grek Rucka. Trust me, especially if your new to Batman, buy this, then the graphic novels, then Batgirl- Silent Running. You will not put this down, I read it in about and evening, its that good.
Rating:
Summary: Actually 4 1/2 stars...
Review: I was very impressed with this book... I am not going to bore you with an evaluation of the book because I would simply be restating things that you've already read (provided you actually read other reviews). All I will say is if you are a Batman fan (think the movies and the newer animated version) or just an adventure fan wanting a new title to read... read this. I know other reviewers didn't like this book but I think they were way too critical. Guys... this is Batman... not Shakespear. The story is exciting and makes you want to turn the page to see what happens next... what else do you want. Plus, the character development is pretty good... you get a feeling for the emotions of each character and being that you care about these characters anyway (it's Batman) it makes the story better. Bottom line... if your looking for something interesting to read... read Batman: No Man's Land.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for a new fan, better for a returning fan.
Review: I've been on and off into Batman for quite a few years now, and picked up again upon seeing this hardcover at the local bookstore. It took about a day to read- tough to put down! And all of a sudden, I'm up to "present-day" Gotham and all of its madness, and I had a great time getting there. My main focus in the book was Joker and the newly mainstream Harley Quinn and I can't say I was disappointed. Joker's lunacy was classic, and Harley was just enough of a pip to get it right from her origins. Much impressed. :-D
|
