Batman: No Man's Land (Mass Market Paperback)

by Greg Rucka (Author) "[NOTE: I'm truncating here, so if it seems a little choppy, that's why..." (more)
Key Phrases: Black Mask, Bruce Wayne, Miss Graves (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Nextplanetover.com Rucka gets it right. -- Review

Review
Publishers Weekly

...a savage millennial tale of urban implosion, divided loyalties and vigilante justice.

Eonmagazine.com

...[a] storytelling masterpiece...

Colorado Springs Gazette

...a crisp, compelling, streetwise saga...

Nextplanetover.com

Rucka gets it right.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star; First Paperback Printing edition (February 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671774557
• ISBN-13: 978-0671774554
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,988 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #69 in

  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Media > Batman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Batman - "Survivor" Style!, May 9, 2004

By	Edmund Lau Kok Ming (Malaysia) - See all my reviews

The premise of this novel and the original comics are really quite simple (albeit quite a stretch, I have to admit). Gotham City is ravaged by an earthquake, the U.S. Government refuse to repair the damage and the citizens are ordered to move out. All bridges and entry-points are detonated - only the insane and hopeless stay back. Batman decides to stay on as the protector of his city - whatever is left of it!

Now once you've suspended your disbelief over the unlikely premise, you'll find that this story actually works on many levels. Especially in our times - we are seeing daily how people in Afghanistan and Iraq are working hard to bring order and a semblance of sanity back into their lives. And it works especially well for Batman. Batman, after all, is a Bruce Wayne's method of "forcing" his existence to make sense after witnessing his parents' brutal murder as a kid all those years back. Now, Batman is "forcing" a hopeless city back to order and meaning.

The original comics (now collected neatly into five tradepaperback) were great. Greg Rucka's novel is better. Somehow, seeing this story in prose makes it that much more "serious". Rucka, in this novel, decides to write more from the point of view of Gordon, Montoya, Essen and the GCPD rather than emphasizing the role of the costumed-vigilantes the way the comics do. Each section of the novel is prefaced by the journal entries of the crippled Barbara Gordon (the former Batgirl and now Oracle). The 'personal' touch of Barb's diaries makes the story just that much more potent and emotional. Even the exploits of Batman, the new Batgirl, Nightwing, etc. are seen through her eyes - driving home to the readers once more just how closely knitted the Bat-family really is and how much they really care/understand/emphatize with each other.

In my opinion, Rucka's comicbook writing is hit-and-miss game. Sometimes, he's great ("Wonder Woman: The Hikketia", "Huntress:Cry For Blood", "Queen & Country") and sometimes he just doesn't do it for me. He is still first and foremost a novelist and this book, "Batman: No Man's Land" is further proof that the man can craft a fine novel.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Batman novel Supreme!, August 9, 2001

By	Alexander J. Balbi (Hamlin, N.Y. United States) - See all my reviews

Imagine if you will, your city being destroyed so quickly that the government would rather write you off than help you out. Arkham is cracked open like a peanut and all the great villains of the world of Gotham are roaming the streets and the Dark Knight is M.I.A.!

Novelized from the pages of DC Comics, Greg Rucka hits a home run with "NO MANS LAND". If you are expecting a book with a heavy emphasis on Batman, maybe this isn't your book. Rucka does a great job of dividing the attention four ways. The Bat-clan, the villians, the Gotham City Police, and journal entries from one of the characters.

The best part about this book is the great detail Rucka gives to each character. It doesn't actually feel like reading another authors interpretation of the characters, he nails each and every one. The regal prestige of the Penguin, the innerstruggle of Two-Face, the sadistic humor of the Joker, the dark justice of Batman; just to name a few characters. This kind of detail is even given to the minor players, the right-hand men of the villains and rookie cops. You feel like you know each one personally.

The field is loaded with so many characters from the world of Batman, and some folks from Metropolis are thrown into the mix as well.

If you're looking for action, you won't be disappointed either. There are great explosions, shoot-outs, and confrontations that will keep you up all night wanting to finish this book. There is also a fair amount of thought process throughout the pages of this book. You not only get to know what the characters are doing, but why they're doing it.

Overall, this book had me in awe. I'm normally an X-men fan, but if they keep putting out Batman books like this, I may be switching teams!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've ever read., September 1, 2005

By	G. Algozzini (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is absolutely amazing. Rucka captures The Bat perfectly. More importantly he captures the villians perfectly. If you love Batman you will love this book. I don't want to say too much about it, plenty has been stated in other reviews.