DC Comics Batman: No Man's Land Omnibus Vol. 2

Arrived in great time and great condition!

Mint condition, exactly as advertised. Timely delivery.

I've always found the character "Batman" to be rather unique in a sea of cheesey superheroes and their ludicrous storylines and abilities that are found in every day comic books. Some people enjoy the absurdity of these characters while others shun them as silly children's tales that one cannot take seriously. This is where the Dark Knight comes in and eliminates the void that separates the two audiences. Unlike other superpowered beings from Krypton or victims from a radioactive spider bite, Batman is just an ordinary man with an obsession of stopping crime and a painful past. Audiences tend to drift towards Batman thanks to his more believable character and his darker tone, a contrast to the other characters in the same market who have much more over the top nature. The Batman character is able to balance the light hearted schlock of comic books while also showing off the darker side of criminals, delving into their gritty psyches and making them much more believable and terrifying villains. It's this edgy believability and darker tone that makes Batman a vastly superior and more intriguing character than the others you'd find in a comic book shop, and the only one that could ever have a chance of carrying a novel, let alone a good one. The premise of No Man's Land is very brilliant, putting the Dark Knight in a position that seems hopeless even for him. After a devastating earthquake annihilates Gotham City, the U.S. government deems the criminal haven a No Man's Land and seals the remaining inhabitants off from the rest of the world. Immediately after the government pulls out, human nature kicks in. Without a sense of order and law, anarchy rules all. Soon gangs and notorious supervillains begin roaming the streets and claiming territory, and it's up to Batman and the remnants of the Gotham police to establish order in a world that has none. It's essentially Batman's worst nightmare come to fruition, his home overrun by the criminal vermin he's spent a lifetime cleansing. What follows is the longest year of Batman's life. With the book being deceptively long, author Greg Rucka successfully keeps the pace and interest level at an all time high by adding new characters and situations at a very well thought out pace, I never felt like the story dragged at any point. Greg Rucka or the original author of the comics utilized the DC licence to great effect by adding an insane amount of characters that have affiliation with Batman. I'm talking about Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, Black Mask, Poison Ivy (barely), Commissioner Gordon, Bane, Nightwing, Robin, David Cain, Oracle, Batgirl and unexpectedly Huntress. I unfortunatly had to look up information on a few characters due to my lack of knowledge on the source material. But any large or casual Batman fan will be pleasantly satisfied with the overall package. Greg Rucka handles the characterization of many of the major characters extremely well. Writing and technique that I don't believe is possible to convey in comic book form. It's interesting to see very well known and established characters that we've come to know and love and then completely shatter their world, leaving them to develop in a completely alien yet familiar environment. We're given intriguing insight at Batman's burning passion of preventing crimes and making sure no one feels the pain he bares ever again, truely fleshing out his character and reminding us that there is a man behind that mask. We also get to witness Two-Face's split personality, blurring the line that separates the man of honor he once was and the monster he had become. Finally we see the Joker's absolute insanity unfold before us like never before in a truly frightening manner, making No Man's Land one of Joker's darkest and most violent moments. There's so much more involved that it would take all day to cover: Huntress's personal code of vigiliantism, the degrading ethics of the GCPD, and the violent yet honorable rivalry between Batman and his most lethal adversary Bane. Being a story based on desolation and destruction, the atmosphere of No Man's Land is very immersible due to a sense of loss and survival that permeats the majority of the story. The denizens of Gotham are just trying to survive and rebuild their destroyed lives, gangs are marking their territory like warlords and the remaining police officers and Batman are among the few remaining sources of hope in the remnants of the cataclysm. It has a very Mad Max meets Batman vibe, it's unique and very captivating. No Man's Land is a must read for any fan of the Dark Knight. It's not just a good Batman story, it's a very well realized survival story of mankind and a terrifying look at the insanity of the criminal mind when all the rules are removed.

klang alles sofort sehr verlockend, was ich über dieses buch fand. zwar habe ich befürchtet, dass aufgrund all der charaktere, die auftreten, das buch total überladen wäre, aber da habe ich mich geirrt. gotham city wurde von einem schweren erdbeben zerstört, die regierung der USA zieht sich aus der stadt zurück, die stadt wird sich selbst überlassen. nicht alle bewohner können fliehen, also entschließen sich commisionar gordon und einige seiner leute in der stadt zu bleiben und gotham aus den händen der banden und schwerverbrecher zurückzuerobern. schon bald beginnt ein kampf um land, nahrung und zahllose gegenstände, die irgendeinen wert in diesem verlassenen land darstellen könnten. mit den banden haben die cops noch ein recht einfaches spiel, aber als die gefürchteten schwerverbrecher aus arkham aktiv werden, wendet sich blatt schnell. da kommt batman ins spiel, der für drei monate verschwunden war, aber jetzt den kampf wieder aufnimmt. und er hat viel zu tun: Two Face spielt jeden gegen jeden aus und wird noch psychotischer als zuvor - toll dargestellt. pinguin ist nur daran interessiert sein reichtum zu vergrößern und intregiert, wo er nur kann. der profikiller david cain wird engagiert um gordon zu töten, bane wird engagiert um Two Face und Batman in schach zu halten. und natürlich mischt gothams übelster schurke zum schluss ordentlich mit: Joker. dieser hält sich bis zum schluss zurück um gotham und seinen einwohner den todesstoß zu geben. und als wäre das alles nicht schon schlimm genug tritt auch noch lex luthor auf um seinen teil des huchens einzufahren. auf batmans seite stehen sein alter partner nightwing, der dritte robin, cassandra cain sowie oracle. und huntress steht irgendwo zwischen den fronten. dazu treten noch alfred und lucius fox auf. dieser roman hat keine schwächen, ist sehr spannend, tempo- und actionreich. besonders Two Face und Joker, sowie die dynamik zwischen joker und harley quinn sind sehr gut dargestellt. ich kann diesen roman jedem batman fan wärmstens empfehlen.

Enorm leuk om de volgende ongeschonden in de bus te krijgen. Batman is praktisch altijd knap!!!!!!