Scan barcode
shadybanana's review against another edition
3.0
Another okay-ish Batman comic. However if I were to be lenient I could have given it a 4 star but nah. The combat was yet again missing. To see so many new characters in action which I had previously only read of in Wikis was interesting though. To see the whole Bat-family working was lovely too. Although the comics were very disparate but in such long cross-overs this is forgive-able. I loved the one Joker comic in it and the Night-wings role but the helplessness of Batman and lameness of the villain was not only lamentable but also facepalm-able
as_in_crazy's review
3.0
As this is a title for the next meeting of the comic book club I'm a member of I'll keep this brief. The story as a whole was a resounding.... eh... It had it's good parts but all told lacked cohesion. Batman felt like a guest star in his own book. I understand it was a mega crossover. (sadly I was not aware of that before reading.) At this point I'm not sure if I want to continue on with the rest of No Man's Land.
walter_the_wombat's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
oddmara's review
5.0
HOLY SHIT IT WAS VENTRILOQUIST ALL ALONG. Sorry I need to start with this because he's my little guy. My little dude! It's not him, it's Scarface that's making him do crimes!! It's Quakemaster!!! Thank god. I am so happy. I was so upset that they've added some other random villain to add to the basket, and I've never been happier to be wrong. The grin on my face at the reveal was the widest it's been in months. Best little dude. Scarface needs a hospital :(
How do I describe this comic besides perfect. I don't think I can. They took everyone's stories and intermingled them and wrote all the connecting tissue in a way that feels so perfect and personal. Every single story manages to touch a chord, none of them feel repetitive or redundant. They took all of our favourite characters and showed me how they fare in front of disaster.
Honestly, the Batfamily was actually of less interest to me in this one. And I think the writers felt the same way. They pretty much abandoned Bruce after allowing him to escape the cave, let him be the silent saviour of the city, which in itself is amazing characterisation. We didn't need to see Batman more than we did in this story. Small glimpses of him saving people, small glimpses of him talking to Dick and Tim, and that's about it. This wasn't Batman's story, it was Gotham's and once again we see how synchronous these two are, since through them showing less Batman we actually get to see Batman's Gotham. The myth. The small sparkle of hope.
Tim and Dick weren't that interesting to me either, besides that one scene where Tim gets to meet Oracle and it's the most adorable thing. Sure, they are the ones pushing forward the actual plot, but I cared so much more about the other stories.
Catwoman's little arc at the beginning was probably the moment I realised that this might become amazing. Selina is such an amazing anti-hero, she has a short temper and tries to only care about herself, and it never works out in her advantage. Her talking to the little girl about her cats absolutely wreked me. The way she's so in love with Gotham, more than any of the other characters, something that she's so bittersweet about but that also forces her to stay behind and help people encompasses her character so much. The Poison Ivy arc didn't feel like it really fit but it was still nice.
The Huntress and Spoiler duo was so interesting. We have two characters that get chaperoned by Batman and Robin put together in a dire situation, and we see how despite the fact that the first redundantly accepted these rules while the other vehemently tried to reject them, this situation makes their roles switch. Huntress becomes violent and murderous, her faith in Batman's morals never existant but her reluctance to accept them in order to gain his respect is completely gone. She only sees the bad in people in this situation, the looters and the escapees, and decides that she wants to purge the city of these people. Or as I would call it, the Jean-Paul syndrome. Spoiler on the other hand immediately falls in line with the Batman code. She wants to help the people rather than try and fight the villains. She also does not want to murder her dad, as most people do.
Ra's and Bane are also here. And even if I cannot stand their characters at all, I see the use of having them here. Ra's especially was very well placed because once again we get Batman's POV without actually following Batman. Ra's believes that this is what will push Batman to give up, but for once we can see him keep persevering more than he ever has. No heir for Ra's just yet. When it comes to Bane, he was only there to highlight Jean-Paul's character which is average at best, but this confrontation was needed and it might as well have happened here. As Batman, Jean-Paul would have agreed that him and Bane were the same person. However as Azrael, we see this lost person, that once thought he was on par with this man, and now, looking at him, nothing is clear in his life besides the fact that he is not. And honestly? I appreciate that.
But the stories that in my opinion are the best in this collection, are the ones that aren't based on any of the heroes or villains that we know. They're the filler stories of random people. The story of the guy convicted to death, a story about miracles and determinism. It was so amazingly built. We don't know what's real and what isn't, and we don't know what we want to believe. The story of the guns for hire hired by Bruce to help people escape, the entire fight over the contract? I honestly think that might be one of the best stories out there. Bad guys put together, bad guys that don't know how to be good, bad guys that have already been paid for the job so they could just run away but they don't, bad guys that have never actually seen a dead body, bad guys that are afraid, bad guys that have never had anyone believe in them, bad guys that keep hope alive. I don't think I'll ever get over this one.
How do I describe this comic besides perfect. I don't think I can. They took everyone's stories and intermingled them and wrote all the connecting tissue in a way that feels so perfect and personal. Every single story manages to touch a chord, none of them feel repetitive or redundant. They took all of our favourite characters and showed me how they fare in front of disaster.
Honestly, the Batfamily was actually of less interest to me in this one. And I think the writers felt the same way. They pretty much abandoned Bruce after allowing him to escape the cave, let him be the silent saviour of the city, which in itself is amazing characterisation. We didn't need to see Batman more than we did in this story. Small glimpses of him saving people, small glimpses of him talking to Dick and Tim, and that's about it. This wasn't Batman's story, it was Gotham's and once again we see how synchronous these two are, since through them showing less Batman we actually get to see Batman's Gotham. The myth. The small sparkle of hope.
Tim and Dick weren't that interesting to me either, besides that one scene where Tim gets to meet Oracle and it's the most adorable thing. Sure, they are the ones pushing forward the actual plot, but I cared so much more about the other stories.
Catwoman's little arc at the beginning was probably the moment I realised that this might become amazing. Selina is such an amazing anti-hero, she has a short temper and tries to only care about herself, and it never works out in her advantage. Her talking to the little girl about her cats absolutely wreked me. The way she's so in love with Gotham, more than any of the other characters, something that she's so bittersweet about but that also forces her to stay behind and help people encompasses her character so much. The Poison Ivy arc didn't feel like it really fit but it was still nice.
The Huntress and Spoiler duo was so interesting. We have two characters that get chaperoned by Batman and Robin put together in a dire situation, and we see how despite the fact that the first redundantly accepted these rules while the other vehemently tried to reject them, this situation makes their roles switch. Huntress becomes violent and murderous, her faith in Batman's morals never existant but her reluctance to accept them in order to gain his respect is completely gone. She only sees the bad in people in this situation, the looters and the escapees, and decides that she wants to purge the city of these people. Or as I would call it, the Jean-Paul syndrome. Spoiler on the other hand immediately falls in line with the Batman code. She wants to help the people rather than try and fight the villains. She also does not want to murder her dad, as most people do.
Ra's and Bane are also here. And even if I cannot stand their characters at all, I see the use of having them here. Ra's especially was very well placed because once again we get Batman's POV without actually following Batman. Ra's believes that this is what will push Batman to give up, but for once we can see him keep persevering more than he ever has. No heir for Ra's just yet. When it comes to Bane, he was only there to highlight Jean-Paul's character which is average at best, but this confrontation was needed and it might as well have happened here. As Batman, Jean-Paul would have agreed that him and Bane were the same person. However as Azrael, we see this lost person, that once thought he was on par with this man, and now, looking at him, nothing is clear in his life besides the fact that he is not. And honestly? I appreciate that.
But the stories that in my opinion are the best in this collection, are the ones that aren't based on any of the heroes or villains that we know. They're the filler stories of random people. The story of the guy convicted to death, a story about miracles and determinism. It was so amazingly built. We don't know what's real and what isn't, and we don't know what we want to believe. The story of the guns for hire hired by Bruce to help people escape, the entire fight over the contract? I honestly think that might be one of the best stories out there. Bad guys put together, bad guys that don't know how to be good, bad guys that have already been paid for the job so they could just run away but they don't, bad guys that have never actually seen a dead body, bad guys that are afraid, bad guys that have never had anyone believe in them, bad guys that keep hope alive. I don't think I'll ever get over this one.
khlara's review
4.0
Prelude to "Batman: No Man's Land", which will help explain that comic/novel. Now just need to read Contagion and Legacy
stealingyoursunbeams's review
3.0
It was interesting at first to watch the Bat-family face a different sort of foe, but it got repetitive very quickly as the different issues presented the same format of "masked hero rescues trapped citizens". I hope No Man's Land is better than this.
justiceofkalr's review
3.0
So the idea of Gotham and the Bat family facing a natural crisis rather than a supervillain was great, but it felt like they kind of spoiled that to some degree by throwing in the whole charade with the Quakemaster, who turned out to actually be . I get that someone would probably try and take advantage of the situation like that but... I felt like a bit much of the focus was shifted to that and trying to figure out who he was and it detracted some from the sense of the Bat family's hopeless struggle against nature to save the city.
Spoiler
The Ventriloquistben_leggatt's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Ever wondered what Superheroes and villains would do when faced with a cataclysmic event? THIS IS IT! Batman and the Batfamily are faced with a HUGE earthquake that destroys Gotham. They all have to get involved, and all face mega challenges
thebaronrob's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0