A review by ari_odinson
Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 2, by Various, Chuck Dixon, Larry Hama, Greg Rucka
2.0
Batman No Man's Land Vol. 2 felt more like reading incoherent babble. It came as a disappointment after I considered how well the issues connected in Vol. 1. Each issue in the first part connected with a vignette style presenting Gotham City after a horrific earthquake. Vol. 2 continues the plight of the people in Gotham where criminals run free and everyday citizens need to fight for their lives in the streets.
Vol. 2 spends too much effort collected unneeded tie-ins from other series. I can understand the point from a marketing perspective, but the Young Justice issue? There were moments where I questioned what I was reading and what it had to do with the overall plot of the series. The first volume focused on the every day lives along with our favorite heroes only for this one to focus only on the heroes and the occasional villain.
Due to the amount of introduction to characters, I felt as if the flow felt more scatterbrain. My top three favorite arcs involved the Mark of Cain (because I'm biased), Azreal's tie-ins and Nightwing's tie-ins (I hate him, too). I enjoyed Azreal's story line the most because it helped remind me that these are all dynamic characters. Everybody jumped off the pages especially with the way he interacted with Cass Cain. Meanwhile, most other issues fell flat and by "flat" I mean all the characters felt flat to me.
When I finished the volume I was unsure if I wanted to continue reading No Man's Land. According to some other suggestions, I've been told this is the first collection in the event. Maybe I'll keep my eye out for Vol. 3 and 4 in the future.
Overall, I was disappointed in this volume yet it featured some of my favorite panels. The art work was incredible especially the ones involving silent religious moments with Huntress/Batgirl. In general, I'm interested in religious symbolism and how it plays into characters or the plot.
Vol. 2 spends too much effort collected unneeded tie-ins from other series. I can understand the point from a marketing perspective, but the Young Justice issue? There were moments where I questioned what I was reading and what it had to do with the overall plot of the series. The first volume focused on the every day lives along with our favorite heroes only for this one to focus only on the heroes and the occasional villain.
Due to the amount of introduction to characters, I felt as if the flow felt more scatterbrain. My top three favorite arcs involved the Mark of Cain (because I'm biased), Azreal's tie-ins and Nightwing's tie-ins (I hate him, too). I enjoyed Azreal's story line the most because it helped remind me that these are all dynamic characters. Everybody jumped off the pages especially with the way he interacted with Cass Cain. Meanwhile, most other issues fell flat and by "flat" I mean all the characters felt flat to me.
When I finished the volume I was unsure if I wanted to continue reading No Man's Land. According to some other suggestions, I've been told this is the first collection in the event. Maybe I'll keep my eye out for Vol. 3 and 4 in the future.
Overall, I was disappointed in this volume yet it featured some of my favorite panels. The art work was incredible especially the ones involving silent religious moments with Huntress/Batgirl. In general, I'm interested in religious symbolism and how it plays into characters or the plot.