Batman: No Man's Land Omnibus 2

I've always found the character "Batman" to be rather unique in a sea of cheesey superheroes and their ludicrous storylines and abilities that are found in every day comic books. Some people enjoy the absurdity of these characters while others shun them as silly children's tales that one cannot take seriously. This is where the Dark Knight comes in and eliminates the void that separates the two audiences. Unlike other superpowered beings from Krypton or victims from a radioactive spider bite, Batman is just an ordinary man with an obsession of stopping crime and a painful past. Audiences tend to drift towards Batman thanks to his more believable character and his darker tone, a contrast to the other characters in the same market who have much more over the top nature. The Batman character is able to balance the light hearted schlock of comic books while also showing off the darker side of criminals, delving into their gritty psyches and making them much more believable and terrifying villains. It's this edgy believability and darker tone that makes Batman a vastly superior and more intriguing character than the others you'd find in a comic book shop, and the only one that could ever have a chance of carrying a novel, let alone a good one.The premise of No Man's Land is very brilliant, putting the Dark Knight in a position that seems hopeless even for him. After a devastating earthquake annihilates Gotham City, the U.S. government deems the criminal haven a No Man's Land and seals the remaining inhabitants off from the rest of the world. Immediately after the government pulls out, human nature kicks in. Without a sense of order and law, anarchy rules all. Soon gangs and notorious supervillains begin roaming the streets and claiming territory, and it's up to Batman and the remnants of the Gotham police to establish order in a world that has none. It's essentially Batman's worst nightmare come to fruition, his home overrun by the criminal vermin he's spent a lifetime cleansing. What follows is the longest year of Batman's life.With the book being deceptively long, author Greg Rucka successfully keeps the pace and interest level at an all time high by adding new characters and situations at a very well thought out pace, I never felt like the story dragged at any point. Greg Rucka or the original author of the comics utilized the DC licence to great effect by adding an insane amount of characters that have affiliation with Batman. I'm talking about Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, Black Mask, Poison Ivy (barely), Commissioner Gordon, Bane, Nightwing, Robin, David Cain, Oracle, Batgirl and unexpectedly Huntress. I unfortunatly had to look up information on a few characters due to my lack of knowledge on the source material. But any large or casual Batman fan will be pleasantly satisfied with the overall package.Greg Rucka handles the characterization of many of the major characters extremely well. Writing and technique that I don't believe is possible to convey in comic book form. It's interesting to see very well known and established characters that we've come to know and love and then completely shatter their world, leaving them to develop in a completely alien yet familiar environment. We're given intriguing insight at Batman's burning passion of preventing crimes and making sure no one feels the pain he bares ever again, truely fleshing out his character and reminding us that there is a man behind that mask. We also get to witness Two-Face's split personality, blurring the line that separates the man of honor he once was and the monster he had become. Finally we see the Joker's absolute insanity unfold before us like never before in a truly frightening manner, making No Man's Land one of Joker's darkest and most violent moments. There's so much more involved that it would take all day to cover: Huntress's personal code of vigiliantism, the degrading ethics of the GCPD, and the violent yet honorable rivalry between Batman and his most lethal adversary Bane.Being a story based on desolation and destruction, the atmosphere of No Man's Land is very immersible due to a sense of loss and survival that permeats the majority of the story. The denizens of Gotham are just trying to survive and rebuild their destroyed lives, gangs are marking their territory like warlords and the remaining police officers and Batman are among the few remaining sources of hope in the remnants of the cataclysm. It has a very Mad Max meets Batman vibe, it's unique and very captivating.No Man's Land is a must read for any fan of the Dark Knight. It's not just a good Batman story, it's a very well realized survival story of mankind and a terrifying look at the insanity of the criminal mind when all the rules are removed.

I first read "Batman: No Man's Land" in 2000. As a Batgirl/Barbara Gordon fan, I was beyond thrilled when I picked it up and discovered it began as narrated by Barbara, in her role as Oracle. NML held a greater depth and respect for her character than I had ever come across, and I was immediately hooked. I was prompted to seek out other novelizations, graphic novels, and began reading current comics. While the New 52 has more or less erased the events of NML, this novelization is a great way to read an excellent, and my personal favorite, story arc in the Batman library (the updated graphic novel collection is four hefty volumes long). The characterizations of all the main players--people that typically didn't get the spotlight--are all superb: Jim Gordon, Renee Montoya, Huntress, and notably Cassandra Cain, who is introduced in NML. Batman of course makes his eventual appearance, and he's well written, too, but in his absence lesser characters were able to shine. I just ordered a hardback to preserve my paperback, which is breaking at the spine, and will be retired as my reading copy.

I don't care if you don't like Batman. Read this book. It's amazing.At first I was a little skeptical. I've read superhero novels before with varying results. I have to say, this one blew me away. I was actually up most of the night reading this book. And the thing is, it fits Batman SO WELL. I mean, it's astounding how everything flows so easily together. I don't even want to read the comic books that inspired this novel because the book is so amazing.It has action. A little bit of love. Hope. Coming to terms with who someone is and what to do in this type of situation. Batman himself even has doubts in the beginning, and things are explained rather easily. The only thing that bothered me was the ending. It just....after such an amazing book I didn't truly agree with the ending. Other than that, slap this on your summer reading list. Even if you're not a huge fan of Batman the book is well worth it's weight in gold.

In this novelization No Man's Land Gotham is destroyed, and everything that the caped crusader worked so hard to protect is gone leaving only a small amount of hope. Unlike most books that progress slowly, this one needs to. You get every ounce of detail that you need to fit the puzzle pieces together, and this book will make you want to finish it. While Batman doesn't show up for the first third of the book, it sets you up for his epic entry. There are several surprises in this book that will make you think and you will become attached to several of the characters which makes some parts heart-breaking and emotional. The action could have been described much better, but you get the jist of it. After all, Batman kicks pretty much any villains ass. Also, there are a number of villains in here that will keep you extremely satisfied. An amazing read for any Batman lover. It is good to have some background on Batman and his villains to completely engulf the story, but anyone can enjoy it.

If you love Batman you won’t want to miss out on this read!

arrived earlier than expected and in a great condition!a great conclusion for this tremendous story arch saga.

Arrived in great time and great condition!

Enorm leuk om de volgende ongeschonden in de bus te krijgen. Batman is praktisch altijd knap!!!!!!

klang alles sofort sehr verlockend, was ich über dieses buch fand. zwar habe ich befürchtet, dass aufgrund all der charaktere, die auftreten, das buch total überladen wäre, aber da habe ich mich geirrt.gotham city wurde von einem schweren erdbeben zerstört, die regierung der USA zieht sich aus der stadt zurück, die stadt wird sich selbst überlassen. nicht alle bewohner können fliehen, also entschließen sich commisionar gordon und einige seiner leute in der stadt zu bleiben und gotham aus den händen der banden und schwerverbrecher zurückzuerobern. schon bald beginnt ein kampf um land, nahrung und zahllose gegenstände, die irgendeinen wert in diesem verlassenen land darstellen könnten. mit den banden haben die cops noch ein recht einfaches spiel, aber als die gefürchteten schwerverbrecher aus arkham aktiv werden, wendet sich blatt schnell. da kommt batman ins spiel, der für drei monate verschwunden war, aber jetzt den kampf wieder aufnimmt. und er hat viel zu tun: Two Face spielt jeden gegen jeden aus und wird noch psychotischer als zuvor - toll dargestellt. pinguin ist nur daran interessiert sein reichtum zu vergrößern und intregiert, wo er nur kann. der profikiller david cain wird engagiert um gordon zu töten, bane wird engagiert um Two Face und Batman in schach zu halten. und natürlich mischt gothams übelster schurke zum schluss ordentlich mit: Joker. dieser hält sich bis zum schluss zurück um gotham und seinen einwohner den todesstoß zu geben. und als wäre das alles nicht schon schlimm genug tritt auch noch lex luthor auf um seinen teil des huchens einzufahren. auf batmans seite stehen sein alter partner nightwing, der dritte robin, cassandra cain sowie oracle. und huntress steht irgendwo zwischen den fronten. dazu treten noch alfred und lucius fox auf.dieser roman hat keine schwächen, ist sehr spannend, tempo- und actionreich. besonders Two Face und Joker, sowie die dynamik zwischen joker und harley quinn sind sehr gut dargestellt. ich kann diesen roman jedem batman fan wärmstens empfehlen.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN MY WAY BACK IN TO THE BATMAN STORY, AFTER YEARS OF DOING TEENAGE AND ADULT THINGS LIKE HAVING TWO KIDS, I HAVE FINALLY GOT TIME TO READ BOOKS AGAIN, AND FANTASTIC START OF STARTS WITH THIS ABSOLUTE GEM OF A STORY, AT THE START THERES A STEADY BUILD OF PACE AND DEVELOPING OF CHARACTERS AND THEN IT GETS INTO THE ACTION, WELL THOUGHT OUT POINTS OF VIEW AND BRILLIANT IN KEEPING BATMAN AS RESTRAINED AS POSSIBLE AND COMISH GORDAN IS PROBABLY THE BEST CHARACHTER I'VE EVER READ.I CAN TOTTALY SEE THE LANDSCAPE AS IT IS PAINTED BY GREG RUCKA AND AM HOPING TO FIND MORE TITLES BY HIM AS THIS GETS A BIG THUMBS UP FROM ME......

Books content is great. Book condition thought isn't as discribed. 2nd purchase with this buyer and same story.