Batman: No Man's Land

Rucka was one of the authors who contributed to the late 90s "Batman No Man's Land" event over the course of 83 separate comics. He writes the novelization in a way that gets the story across while still wanting to go out and buy 83 twenty-five-year-old comic books.

The story goes that an Earthquake destroyed much of Gotham City, and then a hurricane and because it would cost so much to repair, and Gotham was already notorious for being a government sink hole due to all the crime the feds declared it a No Man's Land and was cut off from the rest of the country, blew up the bridges, put mines in the seas and told Gotham good luck and good riddance.

The normal baddies stayed behind: Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, Poison Ivy & Black Mask. Plus show more the to be expected regular dudes just trying to make it in gangs. Most of the government leaves, only a dozen or so of the GCPD are left, including Gordon, because no other police force he applied to wanted someone who needed a myth to do his policing for him.

It's certainly a look at how anarchy could occur in our modern age. I read most of this over 3 days. Even at >400 pages the end felt like it came too soon with a particular billionaire, no not that one, saving the day.

A few interesting notes, we see three different Batgirls here, including Oracle. A Batman who disappears, who practically forgets who Bruce Wayne is. A police force that has to become a gang themselves in order to have any chance of policing. And a particular clown who shows up just when he's wanted least.

I was somewhat disappointed in Poison Ivy. She shows at the very beginning of the story, and throughout the book she is hinted at to be laying low in the Park, but is never seen from again, even when the park is destroyed. show less

Dark. Atmospheric. Chilling. And that was just the ride home on the metro last night. It was made all the more creepy by this gem of a book, 'Batman: No Man's Land'.
I love it when the potential of a character is fulfilled and it has blossomed into what you knew it could be. For too long Batman has been tainted with the shadow of Adam West's portrayal on the 60s tv show and then there were the campy movies of which only 'The Dark Night' offered any redemption. In this novel by Greg Rucka the reader is served up a veritable feast of a book that I never wanted to stop eating from. From the back cover...

"GOTHAM CITY: a dark, twisted reflection of urban America. Overcrowded, overbuilt, and overshadowed by a continuous air of menace, this show more gothic nightmare is a breeding ground for the depraved, the indifferent, and the criminally insane. It's also the object of one man's obsession. Witness to the brutal murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne has dedicated his life to protecting this city, taking a form to inspire hope in the innocent...and fear in the guilty. He is the masked vigilante known as the Batman.
Now the battlefield has changed. Leveled by a massive earthquake that left thousands dead and millions more wounded, Gotham City has been transformed into a lawless wilderness -- a No Man's Land -- where the survivors are turning against one another, and where the city's protectors are torn by a crisis that may consume them all."

At 468 word crammed, suspense filled, action packed pages 'No Man's Land' is a fairly long read that never once feels like it is dragging. In that sense it needs to be such as Batman himself doesn't appear in the story until about 80 or so pages into the book. In lesser skilled hands that premise could have been the kiss of death for this novel but as is mentioned on the back cover of the book this is a storytelling masterpiece. Filled with an array of supporting characters, such as Oracle, Nightwing, Two-Face and The Joker, each of whom are an integral part of the story this book should carry a health warning as it will have you reading through the pages so fast the friction of all that fast page turning might leave burn marks on your fingers.
If you've ever had any interest in Batman and want a book that is catered to an adult market then you would be a fool to miss this novel. It's an absolute gem that should be required reading for all fiction lovers. show less

One of my absolute favorite superhero books ever. It's one of the two Batman novelizations that made me want to start writing fanfic.

I really love the way the author portrays Batman in this - it feels real to me, like this is how Batman was always supposed to be. And although a lot of my friends dislike this version of Barbara Gordon, I really like her a lot in this.

This is one of the rare books I own that I would (and do) read over and over again, it's really just THAT good.

An extremely well-written epic saga of what happens in Gotham after a cataclysmic earthquake levels the city, it is declared non grata by Congress, and forcibly separated from the country, becoming "No Man's Land". Rucka was confined to the story as originally presented in the comic books, and turned in a remarkable effort, expanding and deepening the events of that storyline. The story centers around Batman's efforts to keep the criminal element from taking over when all trappings of civilization have vanished, and the events that take him to the realization that he cannot do it alone. Many moving moments here, not the least of which is the final climax, in which a fairly major character is killed. Fascinating in its delving into the show more hidden psyches of all its players, especially the Batman. show less

So, this is the novelization of the five volume, many, many issue Batman No Man's Land series. I think, either that or it's a toaster. Sorry, just a bit too much Joker.

The story is simple. A giant (at least for a city unprepared for it) 7.6 earthquake hits Gotham City. Totally destroying big parts of it, letting out the loonies, etc. And instead of using hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild it, the federal government de-United States' it and makes it into a No Man's Land. Batman and his band of merry vigilantes have to figure out how to maneuver in the new terrain of NML (both physically and mentally).

I was bummed that there was very little Renee Montoya in this novel compared to the comics. But when I started re-reading the Trade show more Paperbacks I realized that while being a sort of novelization of the comics, it also has a slightly different story in it. This and the TPBs are like complimentary parts of the whole sorta (though I still wish there had been more Renee).

All in all a good novel, based on one of the very great Batman story lines that's been done in the previous twenty years. show less

This is the only Batman novel I have read and I really enjoyed it. Gothem City has been written off by the U.S. government and left to the villians. What a clever concept, and great writing style.

Probably the best superhero novelization I've read. The characterizations were right on or nearly so.