I was pleasantly surprised how well written this novelization of the Graphic Novel Batman: No Man’s Land. Greg Rucca does incredible work on characterizations on Jim Gordon, The Huntress, Batman, and Oracle, really adding some depth to the characters. The novelization does a good job of catching you up on all the milestones in DC the at the time, Batman had his back broken in Knightfall at the hands of Bane, In the Killing Joke Joker tries to make Jim Gordon a good man go insane with Joker shooting his daughter Barbra Gordon who is Batgirl in the back crippling her, and she now goes by the Oracle and keeps watch over Gotham from the clock tower, Dick Grayson original Robin now goes by the name of Nightwing and other small bits it keeps you up to date on. I’m a little bit more then a casual fan but it did a great job of up dating me of events I might have forgotten. This Novel was written almost 20 years ago and still holds up really well. My reason for checking this story out is it is the background for the current storyline on Fox’s Gotham TV show and was used for the movie The Dark Knight Rises, the novel is way different but the situation is the same.

The Plot: After a massive earthquake hits Gotham ruining water and power and knocking a bridge out, the government gives the city of Gotham a cutoff where the city will be cut off from the federal government of the US and be known as “No Man’s Land”. a could deal of people stay behind with little effort from the government to remove them, the rest of the bridges are blown for Safety, which keep the people on the island of Gotham ( think Manhattan). Jim Gordon, his wife (also with the police), and a handful of his police officers stay to give aid, of the officer’s in the Batman cannon most notable are Montoya and Bullock. Batman has not been seen or heard, Bruce Wayne Batman’s alter ego has been fighting diplomatically for months to get government aid, this is a big catalyst for a fractured Jim Gordon and Batman relationship. All the Arkham Asylum patients are released as a humanitarian effort, which leads to them creating gangs and marking off territory of Gotham. The Police with Gordon have a small chunk, but have to deal with the gangs in Batman’s absence. There’s a mysterious figure taking up the Batman mantel a mysterious woman that’s there to try to keep the name a live but is she a friend or a foe? The oracle survives in the clock tower with a string of spies who report to her to she can keep track of all that goes on in Gotham. Both Robin and Nightwing were told to keep away, and have done so with his blessing as they deal with the resident that have left Gotham and live over capacity in the new town. Jim Gordon struggles with leadership and not much weapons makes tough decisions that lead in death and defection as he makes alliances with criminal’s to survive while Batman is gone. Will this destroy the character of Jim Gordon or can he hold out until Batman gets back?

What I Liked: Amazing characterization, there’s a scene where Oracle see’s the the new batgirl save the day for the first time since her accident, and goes a little crazy aiming the gun at her wanting the new batgirl to feel the same pain. The scene where Joker meets and talks to the new batgirl. The scene where Jim Gordon makes a plan that he knows will get people kill and to punish himself listen to the aftermath of every gun fire and scream. The scene where Jim Gordon and Batman have it out and Gordon tells Batman that he can’t get hired anywhere else because he needs a vigilante to do the job, there’s a couple more scenes that are just great. Really great stuff with the Huntress’s character and her need to kill. The new Character of Cassandra the mite who’s a spy for Oracle has a cool background story and some neat reveals in the book. The Writing of the Oracle’s journal that acts as the unofficial narrator, really worked, I had a little issues with how it started but it was really effective. Really clever twist that I did not see coming.

What I Disliked: The whole government plan to abandon Gotham was a little bit murky and could’ve been explained way better. I really disliked that in the Oracle’s journal’s on day one she reveals who batman is, Day one! I know why they did it for the reader, but if I die here’s somethings you need to know Dad, but day one! No Man’s land last a while and could have been more relevant when Batman does come back. I have a problem with how loose some character’s are with secret identity. Poison Ivy owns a big chunk of Gotham the park and she never gets dealt with. I did not care for the Harley Quinn dialogue, it felt really forced.

Recommendations: I put this up there with my favorite Batman stories, The Long Halloween, Knightfall, and The Court of Owls. If you want to read a book that really adds to the mythos of Batman then this is the book. Greg Rucka also did a fantastic job with his new 52 run on Wonder Woman which I would also recommend. I rated Batman: No Man’s Land 4 out of 5 stars.