Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 4 [Paperback]

Greg Rucka (Author)

Book Description

Series: Batman: No Man's Land | Publication Date: December 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: 224 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563896982
• ISBN-13: 978-1563896989
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.5 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #351,538 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

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK IS MY GOD, December 6, 2002

By 

BatGirl (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

This is the greatest book that I have ever read!This book made me become a hard-core Batman-Fan!!!!!!OMG, words cannot describe this books' perfection...wait, yes it can!I really loved how Rucka didn't just frame it on Batman, but entire community of No Man's Land.The fact that all the greatest batman villians were lose and especially insane, made their actions become intertwined. for them, it was either partnerships, or back-stabbings, this book had so many different viewpoints that you could understand EVERYTHING that was happening, or what the narrating characters were feeling. I liked very much the special touch Rucka put in with the Oracle's Journal. I was Barbara's input that I liked reading the most because her theories always left you puzzled.But the strange thing on my part was that I quite enjoyed the beginning.....the absece of Batman.......?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars His name is Bane, and he's back, April 19, 2004

By 

Simon (Brampton, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

(Note: This is a review for No Man's Land Vol. 4. Amazon groups all five volumes and the novelization as one product.)

After stumbling a bit in volumes 2 and 3, No Man's Land gets back on track with volume 4. The big draw here is Bane, who has been sent to Gotham by a mysterious backer for purposes unknown.

And really, that turns out to be the weakest part of the volume. The opening chapter with Bane's return is just horribly written, with Batman and Bane talking way too much. The other parts, where Bane mows a path through downtown Gotham, isn't that interesting to read and only builds up to a small plot point.

However, the other chapters in the book completely make up for that let-down. Devin Grayson returns to pen two amazing stories, one involving Leslie Tompkins and the MASH sector, and the other featuring Clark Kent visitng NML. Dale Eaglesham also returns as artist, and draws a great Billy Pettit who is looking more crazed than ever. The Two-Face/Montoya/Gordon story also comes to head, as Two-Face puts Gordon on trial for war crimes. It's one of the best arcs of No Man's Land, and bring this subplot full circle. After that, Gordon and Batman finally have their long-awaited chat. Then it's simply a matter or repositioning everyone for the final volume, and finding out who the mysterious outside interest is.

If I have one complaint, it's that DC didn't bother to include the Nightwing arc of NML in these volumes. In volume 3, he was assigned to retake Blackgate Prison. Here he's already done it. I've heard Nightwing's adventure in Blackgate was pretty good, and it's unfortunate it didn't make the cut.

If you've read the other 3 volumes, continue reading. Volume 4 does a great job of continuing this major Batman crossover arc.

5.0 out of 5 stars An intense story leading up to the volume 5 climax, where the power is revealed, October 26, 2011

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

This book continues the development of the story based on Gotham City being the victim of a massive earthquake and then being abandoned by the federal government. The population was told to evacuate and then all entrances and exits sealed off. Gotham City has degenerated into a series of enclaves ruled largely by vicious gangs, some under the control of super criminals such as the Joker, Two-Face and Penguin, but others are controlled by forces for good such as Police Commissioner Gordon. Batman, in one of his more Dark Knight incarnations, also decided to stay and attempt to save the city.
For reasons that Batman and his allies do not understand, someone hired a mercenary to destroy the city hall of records and has stockpiled billions of dollars of construction material in the city. The battles for control of the city continue, when they are in the way or an annoyance, people are killed. The story is captivating, once I started reading I had to tear myself away in order to do the biological necessities. The artwork, dialog and suspense are intense as people make their peace in order to prepare for war.