Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 3 [Paperback]

Greg Rucka (Author)

Book Description

Series: Batman: No Man's Land | Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Fans of Batman are lucky to get Greg Rucka--the talented, gritty young author of Keeper and Finder, among others--sharing time with their favorite licensed character in this novelization of DC's complete No Man's Land comic series. (And fans of Rucka--assuming they get around to reading this at all--will still likely hold the opinion that Atticus Kodiak could take Batman in a standup fight any day.) DC shook up Gotham--literally--in its 1999 Batman plot arc: a 7.6 earthquake rocked Gotham City, wreaking enough destruction to bring the broken, crime-ridden, runt kid-brother of Metropolis and New York to its knees. In the story line's most indulgent liberty, those fat cats in Washington decide to write off Gotham, +á la Escape from New York, blowing up the connecting bridges, mining the surrounding waterways, and signing into law the Federal Declaration of No Man's Land, which makes it a crime to even set foot in the city. The usual suspects from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face and the Penguin, the Riddler and Dr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Mr. Zsasz, file out to begin running the show, strong-arming and manipulating the block-by-block turf battles that envelop the now-ultraviolent city. A conflicted Batman shows up fashionably late, only to find that these lunatics are the least of his worries: Lex Luthor, Superman's archfoe, has nefarious designs on Gotham too. Could this possibly get any better? Sure, No Man's Land is derivative fiction, but the appeal of Rucka--and, of course, Batman--can make this one worth the read. --Paul Hughes

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563896346
• ISBN-13: 978-1563896347
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.5 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #689,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of four novels about professional bodyguard Atticus Kodiak -- Keeper (nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America), Finder, Smoker, and Shooting at Midnight, Greg Rucka has been writing since he was eight years old, and hopefully is improving with age. A longtime comics fan, his first graphic novel series was the suspense thriller Whiteout, published by Oni Press and nominated for three Eisner Awards in 1999. Since that time he has been a contributing writer for DC Comics and an active participant in the Batman series of titles.
Born and raised in California, he earned his undergraduate degree at Vassar College and his MFA at the University of Southern California. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Rucka has two tattoos, and rides a motorcycle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Batman Gets Interesting (Again), September 29, 2000

By 

M. Howell "likes good things" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 3 (Paperback)

There's a good chance that if you are reading this review, you already know what Batman: No Man's Land is. If not, here's a brief summary. Batman: No Man's Land was a year long crossover that revitalized Batman as he fought to restore a Gotham city shut off from the outside world after a devastating earthquake. Trade paperback number three kicked this storyline into high gear!!!! With awesome stories by Greg Rucka and Devin Grayson, coupled with the art of Mike Deodato and many of comic's best artistic talents, DC pulled out the big guns to make Batman great again!!!!! This trade introduces the new Batgirl (the daughter of the deadly assassin Cain) and made every member of the Batman team shine!!! If you like Batman, or have ever liked Batman, you are certain to enjoy this great and affordable collection!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good Build up to Volume 4..., July 16, 2007

By 

Michael Cahalane - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 3 (Paperback)

First of all, I found volume 3 far better then volume 2.
This Volume is worth a read and those missing Nightwing and Robin will be glad to see their return. Also, there is a great story involving poison Ivy and Clayface and even Superman makes an appearance. Very enjoyable.
If you found Volume 2 to lack some of the qualities of Volume 1, as I did, Volume 3 renews faith in where this epic story is going.

I gave it 3 stars simply because at the same time...It didn't blow my mind. Sure there were some great twists to the story,
The new Batgirl and so forth but generally this is still a build up to the
next Volume.

Also, another reason why I took a Star away from this is because this volume does not include Nightwing #35-39 which deal with Nightwing going to BlackGate, It's simply mentioned in this volume but not shown at all.

Hope this helped!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars There's a new bat in town..., April 19, 2004

By 

Simon (Brampton, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 3 (Paperback)

(Note: This is a review for No Man's Land Vol. 3. Amazon groups all five volumes and the novelization as one product.)

This third volume in the "No Man's Land" series will be remembered as the first appearance of the new Batgirl, whom Batman passes the mantle to after unmasking the old one (you can probably guess who it was, but I won't spoil it). Superman also visits Gotham, Billy Pettit finally splits from the Gotham Blue Boys, and Batman and Robin have to free Poison Ivy from Clayface.

By now, the weaknesses of writing a major comic-book crossover are starting to show, though No Man's Land is still more coherent than it has any right to be. Since Billy Pettit wasn't featured at all in volume 2, his departure here comes across as more of a plot point than something dramatic and meaningful. The new Batgirl's origins also feel rushed, and it seems odd that Batman would be so quick to accept her - maybe desperate times call for desperate measures? There's also a filler story involving Mr. Freeze that is horrible to read, both from a writing and artistic standpoint (and why would Batman blow up a power plant when Gotham desperately needs power?)

That aside though, there's some good stuff here to balance out the bad. It's always fun seeing Batman upstage Superman, even if it's been overplayed. The new Batgirl looks to be an interesting character, and I look forward to the role she'll play in restoring Gotham. The Poison Ivy/Clayface arc is great in terms of story and artwork, and also furthers the subplot concerning Gordon, Montoya, and Two-Face.

This volume, like the previous two, is still worth picking up. It's the slightly awkward period of any major crossover, but things only get better from here.