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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I'm always somewhat conflicted regarding No Man's Land. Why?
Well, the situation we're dealing with here - Gotham City being abandoned and declared a No Man's Land after it's been almost completely destroyed by an earthquake - is extremely contrived, and it always takes me a bit to get over that (and yes, even though the chapters in which Superman tries to help do make their point, it's also very hard to believe the JLA and everybody else don't just repair everything right away). But once you get over that, you get some really great stories about the people who stay there (and some not-so-great ones; I'm not that fond of the the Huntress-and-Batman-bits).
Among my favorites are Renee Montoya, her family and Two-Face, plus the story where Clark comes to Gotham, but the centerpiece of No Man's Land is the Batman-Gordon-Gotham relationship, that is both Batman's relationship with Gotham, Gordon's relationship with Gotham and - the most heartbreaking one - Batman's relationship with Gordon, culminating in a scene that never fails to touch me. Sigh.
Another high point is what Bruce does during the final hours of No Man's Land, or rather, the result of his manipulations. I love it when he uses the Brucie persona like that.
So even though there are bits where I'm reading it going "meh" (especially because the art is for the most part bearable at best), there are enough really interesting moments that the fourth star is well-earned.
I do hate the ending for Gordon, though, really, really, really hate it because it makes a point that doesn't need to be made, in my opinion.
Well, the situation we're dealing with here - Gotham City being abandoned and declared a No Man's Land after it's been almost completely destroyed by an earthquake - is extremely contrived, and it always takes me a bit to get over that (and yes, even though the chapters in which Superman tries to help do make their point, it's also very hard to believe the JLA and everybody else don't just repair everything right away). But once you get over that, you get some really great stories about the people who stay there (and some not-so-great ones; I'm not that fond of the the Huntress-and-Batman-bits).
Among my favorites are Renee Montoya, her family and Two-Face, plus the story where Clark comes to Gotham, but the centerpiece of No Man's Land is the Batman-Gordon-Gotham relationship, that is both Batman's relationship with Gotham, Gordon's relationship with Gotham and - the most heartbreaking one - Batman's relationship with Gordon, culminating in a scene that never fails to touch me. Sigh.
Another high point is what Bruce does during the final hours of No Man's Land, or rather, the result of his manipulations. I love it when he uses the Brucie persona like that.
So even though there are bits where I'm reading it going "meh" (especially because the art is for the most part bearable at best), there are enough really interesting moments that the fourth star is well-earned.
I do hate the ending for Gordon, though, really, really, really hate it because it makes a point that doesn't need to be made, in my opinion.
How do you wrap up a year of No Man's Land? Simply put......the Joker. While the events from No Man's Land were felt for months after this final collection of the event was so impactful. Whether its what the Joker does, doesn't do, or threatens to do, he is the catalyst for so much of what happens. Add that to Lex Luthor's machinations, Bane, and the Bat family reuniting completely and you get a fantastic book. My only problem with the book was the art in certain chapters by Damion Scott, which was far too cartoony for the dark happenings here. Really good stuff!
Okay, this book contains why the Batman comic is the absolute best and is simultaneously the most frustrating comic to follow.
Batman has the worst (best) villains and they've been on display throughout this series. I was honestly expecting the ending to fizzle but when the Joker threw the baby and then shot Sarah Gordon, my jaw dropped in utter shock.
Now, the utterly frustrating part is Batman's unnerving devotion to the "I-Will-Not-Kill" mentality yet he continues to allow The Joker to murder and maim countless numbers of Gotham citizens. Not guilty by reason of insanity can only work so many times. At some point, even the most liberal of thinkers can/should change their ideologies (see James Robinson's new Justice League arc).
Batman has the worst (best) villains and they've been on display throughout this series. I was honestly expecting the ending to fizzle but when the Joker threw the baby and then shot Sarah Gordon, my jaw dropped in utter shock.
Now, the utterly frustrating part is Batman's unnerving devotion to the "I-Will-Not-Kill" mentality yet he continues to allow The Joker to murder and maim countless numbers of Gotham citizens. Not guilty by reason of insanity can only work so many times. At some point, even the most liberal of thinkers can/should change their ideologies (see James Robinson's new Justice League arc).
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
fast-paced
So I have read all the No-man's-land storyarc as single issues , that's a Whopping 80 issues and this is my review for the whole NML (no man's land) story arc .
Gotham was a dark place from the beginning but following an earthquake and a nefarious celebrity with a magical power of persuasion , Gotham is now declared a No-man's-land by the US govt . Meaning no one is allowed inside , no one is allowed outside of the city , the city is abandoned by US
What follows is criminals trying to conquer the NML and hence occupying sectors of the city , enter Batman who tries to restore order , but it's not the same as before , many don't believe in him , and many are willing to be under the rule of their criminal overlords for protection and resources like clean water and food .
The world created is fascinating with one medical camp with an overworked Dr Leslie Thompson and a Church with orphans the only regions in the whole city declared war free .
There's a lot of events involving almost all of rogue gallary of Batman , and at times it feels like a Modern day tale of warring kingdoms , and even the cops aren't spared they form their own faction that tries to conquer other areas.
Double crosses , bribery , hunger , it's all there . Admittedly one of the darkest books ever to come out , if you can swallow the dark , this comes out as a fantastic and entertaining book giving a peak into the psyche of people living in a world with law or order . And in between all that many Batman Adventure take place, One character's reputation takes a big hit - and a surprising character death .
I thoroughly enjoyed it , my only complains would be the art style and how in the end none of the heinous or criminal acts done by some characters are forgiven without any jury
Gotham was a dark place from the beginning but following an earthquake and a nefarious celebrity with a magical power of persuasion , Gotham is now declared a No-man's-land by the US govt . Meaning no one is allowed inside , no one is allowed outside of the city , the city is abandoned by US
What follows is criminals trying to conquer the NML and hence occupying sectors of the city , enter Batman who tries to restore order , but it's not the same as before , many don't believe in him , and many are willing to be under the rule of their criminal overlords for protection and resources like clean water and food .
The world created is fascinating with one medical camp with an overworked Dr Leslie Thompson and a Church with orphans the only regions in the whole city declared war free .
There's a lot of events involving almost all of rogue gallary of Batman , and at times it feels like a Modern day tale of warring kingdoms , and even the cops aren't spared they form their own faction that tries to conquer other areas.
Double crosses , bribery , hunger , it's all there . Admittedly one of the darkest books ever to come out , if you can swallow the dark , this comes out as a fantastic and entertaining book giving a peak into the psyche of people living in a world with law or order . And in between all that many Batman Adventure take place, One character's reputation takes a big hit -
Spoiler
Commissioner Gordon , as he shakes hands with two-face and betrays Batman and leads to 6 people being killedI thoroughly enjoyed it , my only complains would be the art style and how in the end none of the heinous or criminal acts done by some characters are forgiven without any jury
So all this leads up to no resolution about Nick Scratch, a tasteless bit of fridging at its very worst (what is it about Jim Gordon and fridging?), some incredibly ropey art and a plot that doesn’t so much as stick the landing as career wildly off the tracks into the long grass. There are excellent moments, but they’re muted and spoiled by careless plotting and this almost palpable desire to return to the status quo from some of the creative team. The one thing that can be said about whenever 2000AD decides to trim down Mega City One, those repercussions are always felt because for all their fault the many faces of Tharg realise that half the point of Dredd is that beyond the SF noir goofiness, there’s a reality there inherent in the fact Dredd himself ages and slowly begins to doubt his place in the world. Batman feels like this uncomfortable attempt to emulate some of that - hence why so many 2000AD creators feel at home in the Gotham world - but never too much and never enough to disturb the absurdist edges of the D.C. universe. For all the flaws of Marvel, they do tend to at least plot out these arcs properly even if the status quo is eventually returned to. Batman feels like a world acting in opposition to itself and when it works that’s a fascinating tension, and when it doesn’t it’s an ugly mess. This is sadly more the latter than the former
A few times I was torn between rating this 4 stars and 3. I ended up rating it 3 stars, because there were just more blah, boring parts than there were of any substance. There were some really thrilling parts near the mid end, but it wasn't enough to push my rating to 4. Being the finale of this story I felt that it should have been great through the whole volume.