Batman: Road to No Man's Land, Vol. 1
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- Create Date：2021-09-09 09:54:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Chuck Dixon
- ISBN：1401258271
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Summary
The U。S。 Government has deemed Gotham City uninhabitable after a cataclysmic earthquake。 Months later， those who have refused to vacate "No Man's Land" live amidst a citywide turf war in which the strongest prey on the weak。 As gangs terrorize the ravaged populace， the Scarecrow uses a church relief project as a real-life lab to test his experiments in fear。 But with the return of Batman and the appearance of an enigmatic new Batgirl， justice returns to Gotham。
After a cataclysmic earthquake， those who refuse to vacate Gotham City live amid a citywide turf war。 Collects BATMAN #555-559， BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #75-79， DETECTIVE COMICS #722-726， ROBIN #54 and THE BATMAN CHRONICLES #14。
After a cataclysmic earthquake， those who refuse to vacate Gotham City live amid a citywide turf war。 Collects BATMAN #555-559， BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #75-79， DETECTIVE COMICS #722-726， ROBIN #54 and THE BATMAN CHRONICLES #14。
Reviews
Rob GQ
，
3。75
Enigmaticblue
，
I enjoyed this for the most part。 I'm reading them out of order， but that seems to be par for the course for me。 I enjoyed this for the most part。 I'm reading them out of order， but that seems to be par for the course for me。 。。。more
Ming
，
Lots of smaller stories are more enjoyable than usual。 There's not a lot of plot， but sometimes it's good to breathe and let ramifications play out after a major event。 Really liked the Greg Rucka prose short story。 Lots of smaller stories are more enjoyable than usual。 There's not a lot of plot， but sometimes it's good to breathe and let ramifications play out after a major event。 Really liked the Greg Rucka prose short story。 。。。more
Stephen Braigen
，
Gotham has been hit by a massive earthquake！ Disaster on an unfathomable scale for the Dark Knight to handle！ That was the hook the brought me back to a storyline I vaguely read as a kid （the last big name comic publisher's arc I remember ever following， actually）。 Here I go， embarking on this journey。 Well folks， the results are not great。 This prelude volume sets the scenery in some capacity， but goes absolutely nowhere with it。 We have standalone issue after standalone issue where either Batm Gotham has been hit by a massive earthquake！ Disaster on an unfathomable scale for the Dark Knight to handle！ That was the hook the brought me back to a storyline I vaguely read as a kid （the last big name comic publisher's arc I remember ever following， actually）。 Here I go， embarking on this journey。 Well folks， the results are not great。 This prelude volume sets the scenery in some capacity， but goes absolutely nowhere with it。 We have standalone issue after standalone issue where either Batman broods over his own issues and how bad things are in Gotham， maaaaybe dealing with a C-tier villain or some looters （more on that later）， or a B/C-tier hero does some minor good deed。 I was hoping there might be some redeeming artwork among this shambles， but it's all rather hohum at best。 Lots of wonky action sequences， generic scenes of Gotham in ruins。 The worst offense here is the ridiculously tropey portrayal of practically anyone non-white。 There is almost clinical attention paid to making poor people （whether they are quake victims or petty criminals） look like caricatures。I've recently reread part of No Man's Land volume 1 & 2， and what strikes me with Road to No Man's Land Volume 1 is how little the plot advances。 I feel like I probably could have skipped this Road to No Man's Land duology， since all three works I've read are effectively the same misery porn， detailing the destruction and sorrow of a city literally torn asunder。 Famine and disease spread like wildfire， criminals and super criminals alike thrive in the chaos， buildings collapse， innocents die， and Batman。。。。 has to deal with the logistics of bringing in a construction company to repair the batcave without revealing his identity。 It's almost satirical how little the caped crusader does in this volume， aside from handle his own personal issues， like defending his parents' coffins from looters。 Looters are the biggest antagonist in Road to No Man's Land， which is amusing， reading this in the middle of a pandemic， with several decades and numerous national tragedies making up ground between present day and when No Man's Land was conceived and written。 Little effort is made to indicate that people are turning to crime out of desperation， simply that bad actors are taking advantage of the overworked emergency services。 It's all banal "thugs besieging a hospital to steal narcotics" type stories that are utterly laughable today， and they likely were laughable when they were written。Onward and forwards to volume 2。 Let's hope there's something good in those pages。 。。。more
Martha
，
I recently decided to go back and reread the "No Man's Land" arc， which was my entry drug to reading DC comics （since it's where they introduced elements of the BtAS canon into comic continuity）。 I'd never read any of the "lead in" material， so I thought I would give it a try。 It's。。。well， it's not bad but it's mostly one-shorts that are highly hit or miss。 It struggles with tone between some of the campier aspects of Batman's universe and the dark， realistic look at a post-calamity Gotham。 The I recently decided to go back and reread the "No Man's Land" arc， which was my entry drug to reading DC comics （since it's where they introduced elements of the BtAS canon into comic continuity）。 I'd never read any of the "lead in" material， so I thought I would give it a try。 It's。。。well， it's not bad but it's mostly one-shorts that are highly hit or miss。 It struggles with tone between some of the campier aspects of Batman's universe and the dark， realistic look at a post-calamity Gotham。 The art is also highly erratic， sometimes very good but often just awful in terms of proportions; also a lot of these artists have questionable ability to draw black people which is just *sigh*。The biggest issue though is that， unlike the main No Man's Land story that's coming after this， there doesn't seem to be a clear direction or ongoing story。 In one issue， Gotham is basically leveled; in another， whole neighborhoods are basically unaffected。 The writers and editors were still trying to figure out where they were going with this idea， and it hasn't yet solidified into a clear concept and theme。 。。。more
Hannah Givens
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Uninteresting， overwrought， and really doesn't do anything to convince me that Gotham should be rebuilt。 It very much seems like it shouldn't。 Uninteresting， overwrought， and really doesn't do anything to convince me that Gotham should be rebuilt。 It very much seems like it shouldn't。 。。。more
Matt Maielli
，
mostly bored， but it does contain a new vehicle that I can only describe as "the Bat-Monster-Truck" mostly bored， but it does contain a new vehicle that I can only describe as "the Bat-Monster-Truck" 。。。more
Bria
，
I know it's a comic book but it was still a bit overwrought and sentimental。 Really pushing Batman into a different role than he's suited for， really felt like a vehicle for morality lessons， which maybe is always the case but it stood out a bit much。 I know it's a comic book but it was still a bit overwrought and sentimental。 Really pushing Batman into a different role than he's suited for， really felt like a vehicle for morality lessons， which maybe is always the case but it stood out a bit much。 。。。more
Jordan
，
"Crime isn't Gotham's biggest problem right now。 Survival is。""There's no vengeance to reap from the cracked and sundered Earth， no villain to hold responsible for this horror。"The decision to put Batman and company up against of a variety of villains is common， but having the Dark Knight struggle against a natural catastrophe and the reality of what that does to a city， is genius。 Gotham is plagued by sickness， a destructive Earthquake， and a series of aftershocks that cripple the city and its "Crime isn't Gotham's biggest problem right now。 Survival is。""There's no vengeance to reap from the cracked and sundered Earth， no villain to hold responsible for this horror。"The decision to put Batman and company up against of a variety of villains is common， but having the Dark Knight struggle against a natural catastrophe and the reality of what that does to a city， is genius。 Gotham is plagued by sickness， a destructive Earthquake， and a series of aftershocks that cripple the city and its citizens。 Many are dead， trapped， and hopeless。 Many issues of this volume spend page after page depicting the horror， destruction， and challenges facing the city and its people。 There is no one to punch， no bomb to stop， no quick solutions。 And Batman's purpose as a force to rival the criminals， the insane， and the evil is challenged by the very simple notion that an earthquake is not evil。 How this arc is developing the struggle that all of the characters have， from Batman and his allies， to the police， to citizens， is complex and real。 These are Batman stories out of the ordinary， superhero stories of the unique variety。 Many issues depicting the paralysis and hopelessness of the cast are amazing， but the final two issues stand out。 The first "At the End of the Day" features one of the best conversations between Batman and Nightwing as they discuss their paths and if they will ever retire from the hero life。 The final issue "Fool's Errand" tells a quick and horrifying Joker tale that acts as a subtle reminder of why he is the Batman's greatest nemesis。 。。。more
Spencer
，
This starts off in a bleak way with a man who’s lost everything， the tone is then set for the rest of this book。 With Gotham in ruins Batman and co try to do what they can but is it enough？I’ve read the story arcs that lead up to this and I wasn’t overly impressed， however this volume was crafted with much more precision， I was much more engrossed with the story and whilst depressing it’s very enjoyable。 I have high hopes for the second volume and the following arc No Man’s Land。
Justin
，
This is Gotham after an earthquake and things are dire - lack of food， businesses pulling out， people dead， unsanitary conditions。 So， how does Batman and his cast deal with it？ They do what they can to help and it's not always perfect。 This collection is a series of vignettes and they are often grim， which makes sense given what is taking place。 The quality varies， of course， but there is a lot to like as story and art。 The more I read this， the more it resonated with things happening it our wo This is Gotham after an earthquake and things are dire - lack of food， businesses pulling out， people dead， unsanitary conditions。 So， how does Batman and his cast deal with it？ They do what they can to help and it's not always perfect。 This collection is a series of vignettes and they are often grim， which makes sense given what is taking place。 The quality varies， of course， but there is a lot to like as story and art。 The more I read this， the more it resonated with things happening it our world today。 I have the next 3 collections digitally， so I will definitely get to more of this story。 。。。more
JD Comics
，
This book contains self-contained stories about the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Gotham。 For me， this book is more of a continuation of Cataclysm than a prelude to No Man's Land。 I enjoyed the Robin issue。 I know it's geared more towards young adults but it's a title that I'm willing to try。 This is also my first time to encounter Spoiler and I find her really interesting。 Overall， this is a book that you can skip， especially if you read Cataclysm already， because it does not really a This book contains self-contained stories about the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Gotham。 For me， this book is more of a continuation of Cataclysm than a prelude to No Man's Land。 I enjoyed the Robin issue。 I know it's geared more towards young adults but it's a title that I'm willing to try。 This is also my first time to encounter Spoiler and I find her really interesting。 Overall， this is a book that you can skip， especially if you read Cataclysm already， because it does not really add anything to the story。 However， I would still suggest that you give this book a shot because the last 2 issues （i。e。， Detective Comics 725 and 726） are amazing。 。。。more
Nate
，
These issues follow Cataclysm， carrying the banner “Aftershock。” Whereas Cataclysm took place right before， during， and immediately after the earthquake， this book sees how Gotham is getting on in the weeks following （hint: not great）。 Once again， it’s largely short stories focusing on various characters。 Some stories are beautifully tragic and nuanced， while others are kind of throwaway。 It’s an inevitable result of too many cooks in the kitchen。 Conversely， there’s a share of great art here， w These issues follow Cataclysm， carrying the banner “Aftershock。” Whereas Cataclysm took place right before， during， and immediately after the earthquake， this book sees how Gotham is getting on in the weeks following （hint: not great）。 Once again， it’s largely short stories focusing on various characters。 Some stories are beautifully tragic and nuanced， while others are kind of throwaway。 It’s an inevitable result of too many cooks in the kitchen。 Conversely， there’s a share of great art here， with Jim Aparo and Mark Buckingham rising to the top for me。 Aparo’s Detective 724 is a fantastic piece of work， with an amazing final two pages。 I also found this volume less redundant than Cataclysm， which focused on the quake again and again and again。 These stories are more wide-ranging and character-driven。Elsewhere， Greg Rucka contributes his first ever Batman story in a Chronicles issue - it’s about Renee Montoya， a character he would further define in his own Batman run， Gotham Central， 52， and The Question。 He even hints at Renee and Two-Face’s relationship that comes to fruition in Half a Life。 I think it’s great that Rucka latches on to the character he wrote about in his first comic。 The story’s solid， too。 。。。more
Max Z
，
Another collection of stories connected by the central event of earthquake。The back cover states that this volume collects the full Aftershock story。 Well， there is no story in Aftershock。 Just like Cataclysm it's a bunch of short stories all dealing with the obvious things related to the earthquake。 The death toll is now higher and disillusioned people start leaving the ruins of the city in droves。 This is another four hundred pages of excruciatingly slow buildup and there is another four hundr Another collection of stories connected by the central event of earthquake。The back cover states that this volume collects the full Aftershock story。 Well， there is no story in Aftershock。 Just like Cataclysm it's a bunch of short stories all dealing with the obvious things related to the earthquake。 The death toll is now higher and disillusioned people start leaving the ruins of the city in droves。 This is another four hundred pages of excruciatingly slow buildup and there is another four hundred pages volume before we get to the actual No Man's Land。 Seven months of real time has passed between publications and the cynic in me says they're milking it a bit too heavily。 。。。more
Shuhrat
，
3。5 starsIn a story and world building sense， this was a really interesting read and showed all the ways in which the earthquake effected Gotham's inhabitants。 However， like I said in my Cataclysm review， there were so many more stories around random individuals， which were interesting to a point， and not enough around characters I actually care about。 The stories that did focus on the central characters were gems， though， as were some of the random character stories， and the art was great。 3。5 starsIn a story and world building sense， this was a really interesting read and showed all the ways in which the earthquake effected Gotham's inhabitants。 However， like I said in my Cataclysm review， there were so many more stories around random individuals， which were interesting to a point， and not enough around characters I actually care about。 The stories that did focus on the central characters were gems， though， as were some of the random character stories， and the art was great。 。。。more
Valerie R
，
Good information between BM and NW taking care of Gotham and Bludhaven。 Late in the second to last issue is a very touching scene between the men。
Zaz
，
Most of the issues were boring， but some succeeded to shine， like the one with Batman and Nightwing near the end。
Fernando Amaya
，
Continúan las secuelas en Ciudad Gótica después del terremoto letal， ahora en esta entrega vamos viendo las “réplicas”。。。 consecuencias que ha dejado esto como lo es la inseguridad， el hambre， la falta de medicinas， gente huyendo de la ciudad， las empresas y gobierno dejando a su Merced y sin apoyo a la ciudad。。。 en realidad es un puente que desembocará en No Mans Land， meramente una transición donde no hay villanos relevantes， solamente se prepara el panorama para la siguiente historia。
Pritam Majumder TheBookAddict
，
Not possible for me to finish it。。 I surrender （DNF） 😂
Elliot Huxtable
，
Great fun， a lot of darkness to unpack in this volume。
Dr Rashmit Mishra
，
Start of the whole No Man's land saga。 I have read the whole thing before ， but for the sake of it ， I decided to re read it 。 And it's not aged as well as I remembered it 。The art ， considering it's time ， I have decided not to talk about 。 In terms of plot ， the basis is simple ， USA is finally abandoning Gotham and doing so at the hour of it's need 。 The creation of Nick scratch as a villain to convince USA for the creation of No Man's land is ludicrous and the existence of Scratch as a villa Start of the whole No Man's land saga。 I have read the whole thing before ， but for the sake of it ， I decided to re read it 。 And it's not aged as well as I remembered it 。The art ， considering it's time ， I have decided not to talk about 。 In terms of plot ， the basis is simple ， USA is finally abandoning Gotham and doing so at the hour of it's need 。 The creation of Nick scratch as a villain to convince USA for the creation of No Man's land is ludicrous and the existence of Scratch as a villain itself is eye-roll-worthy 。 A lot of story takes place in the Azarael storyline and I am not a Azarael fan so it was all a boring blur 。 The dialogues were campy for most part as well but you can probably discount that because of the era it was written it Overall a mediocre produce 。。。more
Patrick
，
3。5 mixed bag （for me） of stories。 The aftershock arc is a real downer。 DC 725-26 were the highlight for me。
Raj Aich
，
4 because it's a collection of amazing short stories moving towards the famous No Man's Land series。 4 because it's a collection of amazing short stories moving towards the famous No Man's Land series。 。。。more
Jordan Anderson
，
Though I would say that Road to No Man’s Land is bit pointless after Cataclysm， it’s a good place holder and a decent storyline to fill in the gaps for the actual No Man’s Land series。All the original authors keep the story going and aside from one or 2 so-so illustrations， it’s a good looking collection。 Also felt some of the arcs and one-offs weren’t exactly rich or useful in the grand scheme of things， but， overall， Road is relatively enjoyable。 Don’t know if it’s totally required reading， th Though I would say that Road to No Man’s Land is bit pointless after Cataclysm， it’s a good place holder and a decent storyline to fill in the gaps for the actual No Man’s Land series。All the original authors keep the story going and aside from one or 2 so-so illustrations， it’s a good looking collection。 Also felt some of the arcs and one-offs weren’t exactly rich or useful in the grand scheme of things， but， overall， Road is relatively enjoyable。 Don’t know if it’s totally required reading， though。。。 。。。more
Brad
，
Unique in that it truly makes the reader believe Gotham is entirely in a hopeless situation， one even Batman cannot save。 This is highlighted best in Batman #558， "Dying City。"The low points actually all have to do with Batman's roster of villains （Clayface， Mr。 Freeze， Mad Hatter）， plus two other characters that are less popular （Ballistic and Narcosis）。 The better parts deal with the larger story of Gothams' population and businesses deciding on what to do post-quake， ultimately。。。（view spoile Unique in that it truly makes the reader believe Gotham is entirely in a hopeless situation， one even Batman cannot save。 This is highlighted best in Batman #558， "Dying City。"The low points actually all have to do with Batman's roster of villains （Clayface， Mr。 Freeze， Mad Hatter）， plus two other characters that are less popular （Ballistic and Narcosis）。 The better parts deal with the larger story of Gothams' population and businesses deciding on what to do post-quake， ultimately。。。（view spoiler）[giving up on and abandoning Gotham。 （hide spoiler）] I'd say that the human stories are more interesting in Cataclysm。 If one were to take the best parts of Cataclysm and this volume and trim the fat， you'd have a heckuva good book。 。。。more
Silas
，
I had heard glowing praise for No Man's Land， and the lead up to it。 Maybe it gets better once it really gets underway。 This volume could have used some better editing for continuity。 Apart from all of the issues dealing with the aftermath of a tremendous earthquake in Gotham （that must have happened before this。。。 I feel like having an issue where it happens in this collection would have been worthwhile）， and the stories being generally grim， there is very little continuity between these storie I had heard glowing praise for No Man's Land， and the lead up to it。 Maybe it gets better once it really gets underway。 This volume could have used some better editing for continuity。 Apart from all of the issues dealing with the aftermath of a tremendous earthquake in Gotham （that must have happened before this。。。 I feel like having an issue where it happens in this collection would have been worthwhile）， and the stories being generally grim， there is very little continuity between these stories。 They deal with standard Batman characters， but the cast jumps around between books， and the same characters sometimes have the same or very similar interactions， and not in a way that sets the scene from a different perspective， just in a way that it was clear that nobody was talking to each other about what they were doing。 I gather that it's supposed to get worse， but the stories were a bit too maudlin at times and too bleak at others， and this just wasn't an enjoyable read because of it。 And then there is the length。 I appreciate that I got a lot of pages of comics here， but when they aren't very good， it makes getting through the 400+ pages a real slog。 I will definitely be taking a break before trying to read any more of this， at the very least。 。。。more
deb
，
Detective Comics #725 : ♡
Joshua Dancer
，
A story about a rich guy driving his weaponized monster truck around a destroyed city， so he can injure and humiliate people who are just trying to survive。 Also featuring heartfelt speeches about the importance and beauty of capitalism。I think my favorite parts are when Alfred apologized that Bruce's orange juice wasn't fresh squeezed， while most of the city has nothing to eat and drink， and Batman talking about Gotham having the highest crime rate in the world while he's driving the previously A story about a rich guy driving his weaponized monster truck around a destroyed city， so he can injure and humiliate people who are just trying to survive。 Also featuring heartfelt speeches about the importance and beauty of capitalism。I think my favorite parts are when Alfred apologized that Bruce's orange juice wasn't fresh squeezed， while most of the city has nothing to eat and drink， and Batman talking about Gotham having the highest crime rate in the world while he's driving the previously mentioned truck to stop "looting" at stores that will never be open again。Also Batman hugs people while talking about his feelings。 。。。more
Ryan
，
Art 3/5， Story 2/5。 If you like many many short stories about how the earthquake affected random people， this is a good story for you。 It really goes into depth about how Gotham has truly fallen apart from this earthquake。 Is this a necessary story？ Not by any means。 Let's see if I can sum it up。 -Batman fights Cayface and Mr。 Freeze at the same time。-A father goes crazy after dropping his son and giving him brain damage。- A lost little girl loses her parents and Robin tries t help her find them Art 3/5， Story 2/5。 If you like many many short stories about how the earthquake affected random people， this is a good story for you。 It really goes into depth about how Gotham has truly fallen apart from this earthquake。 Is this a necessary story？ Not by any means。 Let's see if I can sum it up。 -Batman fights Cayface and Mr。 Freeze at the same time。-A father goes crazy after dropping his son and giving him brain damage。- A lost little girl loses her parents and Robin tries t help her find them （they were dead）-A trapped fancy party resorts to canabilism -Robin and Huntress fight her dad and let him go-people try to loot the Manor but Batman and Afred fight em off。 -Batman saves an old man who refuses to leave his home and makes the old man feel like his life is worth something -A teacher trapped with his dead students goes insane -Ballistic， an all about justice， no mercy， kinda guy， ends up fighting batman- Conflicts arise with property and buildings between owners-batman loses it a bit realizing he cant fight poverty and ruin。-Mad hatter and some poison dude come out to wreak havoc -Another robbery attempt at the mansion， but alfred kicks butt-An interesting story about a pilot and internal conflict-Finally， the city falls apart and almost everyone leaves。 Everyone who doesn't is either dying， fighting， or fighting while trying to save the dying。 -Lastly， there is a redeeming good issue about Joker messing with Batman。 Forcing him to always hope， even when he would normally not。 。。。more
Lesley
，