Batman: No Man's Land Vol. 5

Finally America decides to let Gotham be a city again, all because Lex Luthor is leading the charge as the billionaire philanthropist that he is, evil laugh. While real estate fraud is exciting in comics, the best part of this collection is Joker's manipulation behind the scenes, and the final confrontation with him, Batman, and Jim Gordon. This story was done a decade ago, and Joker hasn't been used as anything more than a lackey since. While that's a shame, I guess this is as good a way to go out as any?

RATING: 86%

Batman: No Man's Land Vol. 1

After Gotham has been ravaged by a plague and an earthquake, the government decides to bump all that noise and evacuate everybody and quarantine the city forever. Well, a lot of poor people and supervillains are left behind, and who has to clean up? Batman, and also the police I guess. This trade collects two stories, the first done pretty well by Bob Gale and Alex Maleev setting up the gang like nature of Gotham, and how the good guys have to rewrite the terms of justice in a new environment devoid of hope. The second story, by Devin Grayson and Dale Eaglesham, centers on Scarecrow and his efforts to rouse fear in a local church/shelter. As far as crossovers go, No Man's Land is one of the best, and the writers seemed to thrive working within this bleak, stripped of technology storyline.

RATING: 81%