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Batman: No Man's Land #1
Batman: Cataclysm (New Edition) (Batman
It is a foe Batman can see and hear, but he cannot touch. It will strike only once, yet will change his life forever. Already weakened by a devastating plague, Gotham City is struck by an unexpected force of nature: an earthquake that registers over 7.5 on the Richter scale! In a single instant the Batcave and Wayne Manor are left in ruins, thousands are dead and the Batman is among the missing. With the city quickly plunging into darkness, the only thing that stands between Gotham and complete chaos is Nightwing, Robin, and the rest of the Bat-Family. Will the Dark Knight return in time and save what’s left of Gotham? Or is this a disaster so devastating that the city my never fully recover? BATMAN: CATACLYSM collects for the first time the complete crossover event that changed Batman and Gotham City forever. Collects BATMAN #553-554, DETECTIVE COMICS #719-721, BATMAN SHADOW OF THE BAT #73-74, NIGHTWING #19-20, CATWOMAN #56-57, ROBIN #52-53, AZRAEL #40, BATMAN CHRONICLES #12, BATMAN BLACKGATE #1, BATMAN: HUNTRESS/SPOILER #1, and BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM TALES OF MADNESS #1.
469 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 23, 2015
44 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Dixon
3,428 books1,031 followersCharles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
December 9, 2017
This was better than I was expecting. Too often these mega-series crossover events fall flat. The effect of so many different creative teams, more often than not, is to lose the focus of the story, pulling it this way and that, usually prolonging it beyond reasonable length, and just generally making a mess of things. What Cataclysm gets right, is to come up with a storyline that can be--almost demands to be--told as a series of vignettes. A major quake hits Gotham City, and there are many chances for heroism in the rescue and cleanup that follows. The shifts from one title and creative team to the next, that are normally the weak points of these crossovers, become strengths, because shifting from Batman to Catwoman to Robin and so on seems an entirely natural way to tell this type of story. The event is so huge that it needs to be told in bits and pieces. The book does start to go to pieces toward the two-thirds mark, when a mystery villain called "The Quakemaster" takes credit for the devastation, and threatens worse if the city doesn't pay a ransom. The descent into normal superheroics seems like such a letdown after the scenes of heroes and villains alike responding to the quake. The Quakemaster plotline feels much more anticlimactic than it should. Still, the preceding two thirds of the book are well worth your time. There is a scene with Catwoman coming to the rescue of a child that damn near made me cry. Any book capable of that deserves to be read.
December 9, 2017
I love Dixon and Grant but yeah this was only meh.
World: The world building is very extensive, there are a lot of POVs and every pieces of Gotham is shown during the event of the quake and it's meticulous. Gotham is a character and it's a great setting for the story to take place in. The art is all over the place but also what is expected of late 90s comic book art, there is the great Buckingham among others.
Story: The concept is a good one, the idea that Batman fights something he can't actually fight, mother nature, but the execution is another thing altogether. The story is fine, the pacing is fine but it's the depth that gets to the reader. It's meticulous and also oftentimes redundant. That's the problem with event books when all the members of the Bat family have to experience the quake you have a lot of redundant storytelling of how bad the quake is, how terrible the devastation is, all the people they need to save, all the human stories over and over again. This should not have been so big an event but at that time there were so many Bat books that it had to be this way (it's the case with the New52...too many Bat books). It's not bad, there is a lot of heart and emotions but then also a lot of flab. The thing with the quakemaster was okay but tacked on so yeah...
Characters: A lot of great characters moments but many were similar making it kinda only okay. There are a lot of building blocks set up for No Man's Land so yes there is some good stuff there. The Huntress stuff was great, the Spoiler stuff wonderful.
It was okay, great in concept, okay in execution.
Onward to the next book!
World: The world building is very extensive, there are a lot of POVs and every pieces of Gotham is shown during the event of the quake and it's meticulous. Gotham is a character and it's a great setting for the story to take place in. The art is all over the place but also what is expected of late 90s comic book art, there is the great Buckingham among others.
Story: The concept is a good one, the idea that Batman fights something he can't actually fight, mother nature, but the execution is another thing altogether. The story is fine, the pacing is fine but it's the depth that gets to the reader. It's meticulous and also oftentimes redundant. That's the problem with event books when all the members of the Bat family have to experience the quake you have a lot of redundant storytelling of how bad the quake is, how terrible the devastation is, all the people they need to save, all the human stories over and over again. This should not have been so big an event but at that time there were so many Bat books that it had to be this way (it's the case with the New52...too many Bat books). It's not bad, there is a lot of heart and emotions but then also a lot of flab. The thing with the quakemaster was okay but tacked on so yeah...
Characters: A lot of great characters moments but many were similar making it kinda only okay. There are a lot of building blocks set up for No Man's Land so yes there is some good stuff there. The Huntress stuff was great, the Spoiler stuff wonderful.
It was okay, great in concept, okay in execution.
Onward to the next book!
March 14, 2021
Batman "Cataclysm" is one of those stories that I've been meaning to read. It forms the backdrop of the "No Man's Land" story arc. So now at least I have the background on the story.
A massive Earthquake hits Gotham. That's the big story. Batman and his various buddies, from Huntress and Catwoman to Robin and Nightwing, deal with it. So all the collected stories, some are full length stories, some are small 2-3 page one shots, all deal with the earthquake hitting or with the immediate aftermath.
The overall quality of the stories, and the art, varies from piece to piece. None of them are truly good, muddling around between awful and merely decent. This was one of those "Good ideas, bad execution" things. While not terrible, this volume isn't that great. Some of the Alan Grant and Dixon stories are the best this volume has, the rest are just mediocre.
Batman-Gotham-Earthquake. That's the alpha and the omega of this volume. It didn't do it for me, but it might for you. Though I doubt it.
A massive Earthquake hits Gotham. That's the big story. Batman and his various buddies, from Huntress and Catwoman to Robin and Nightwing, deal with it. So all the collected stories, some are full length stories, some are small 2-3 page one shots, all deal with the earthquake hitting or with the immediate aftermath.
The overall quality of the stories, and the art, varies from piece to piece. None of them are truly good, muddling around between awful and merely decent. This was one of those "Good ideas, bad execution" things. While not terrible, this volume isn't that great. Some of the Alan Grant and Dixon stories are the best this volume has, the rest are just mediocre.
Batman-Gotham-Earthquake. That's the alpha and the omega of this volume. It didn't do it for me, but it might for you. Though I doubt it.
August 22, 2021
Namoral, finalmente consegui ler Batman o Terremoto e que história!! Vários personagens aparecendo (adoro um crossover brabo) como: Batman, Asa Noturna, Robin, Salteadora, Caçadora, Oráculo, Jim Gordon, Bullock, Duas caras, Mulher Gato, Azrael, Hero Venenosa, Montoya, Coringa, Espantalho, Anarquia, Ventríloquo etc. Teve mó galera.
O encadernado possui diversas histórias, as vezes de algum personagem em específico outras com interação entre eles, mas que se completam e possui relação com a cidade de Gotham diante do terremoto. No geral as histórias são boas, nenhuma é ruim.
O legal da HQ é que foi um compilado de história de todos os personagens citados acima diante de Gotham devastada por um terremoto, em que cada um estava lidando com a situação a sua maneira, tendo em vista o bem estar da população e tentar salvar o máximo de pessoas possível nesse cenário de desastre.
Acho que o mais legal da HQ foi colocar os heróis, que são urbanos e resolvem sempre as situação com suas habilidades detetivescas, lutas, ferramentas e com o pensamento/criatividade, tendo que lidar com um desastre natural, o que foge do seu controle.
PS: chorei com o Asa Noturna resgatando as pessoas, foi lindo 🥲
O encadernado possui diversas histórias, as vezes de algum personagem em específico outras com interação entre eles, mas que se completam e possui relação com a cidade de Gotham diante do terremoto. No geral as histórias são boas, nenhuma é ruim.
O legal da HQ é que foi um compilado de história de todos os personagens citados acima diante de Gotham devastada por um terremoto, em que cada um estava lidando com a situação a sua maneira, tendo em vista o bem estar da população e tentar salvar o máximo de pessoas possível nesse cenário de desastre.
Acho que o mais legal da HQ foi colocar os heróis, que são urbanos e resolvem sempre as situação com suas habilidades detetivescas, lutas, ferramentas e com o pensamento/criatividade, tendo que lidar com um desastre natural, o que foge do seu controle.
PS: chorei com o Asa Noturna resgatando as pessoas, foi lindo 🥲
September 12, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. A lot of POVs of Gothamites (Batman & co. take a backseat for some of this book) and there's a lot of chaos, but this book is focused around a natural disaster & it makes sense to have all of Gotham featured in this.
Cataclysm opens with "Sound and Fury", Detective Comics #719 by Chuck Dixon, which is a really fun short Batman story. It's the retelling of a crime from the POV/narration of the criminal with the left side of the page being the perception of the crime and how it played out (was "played up") and the right side of the page being the actual sloppy crime and capture by Batman and Robin. The issue ends with an urgent phone call to the Batcave from a seismologist employed by Bruce Wayne, and that's how it all starts.
I'm not familiar with Anarky, but he and Harvey Bullock have a fun meet-cute at the mall when the quake hits Gotham.
The whole book is a real crossover event, and it brings all the Batkids back in where they're needed. Nightwing makes his way to Gotham & gets called Batman by a little kid he's saving (<3!), and Barbra takes over the Police station to organize and facilitate city rescue. (And OMG I can't believe Tad is in this too!! I'll never get rid of him! -Nightwing #19) Huntress is "the kind of hero Gotham deserves", and you can imagine what that means when Gotham is at its lowest. Not only are our heroes on triage duty trying to save survovirs, but they are also fighting criminals and ne'er-do-wells who want to take advantage of the chaos and destruction.
Catwoman is in this too (saving people and fighting Poison Ivy!)! And I just adore her!
Tim sneaks back into Gotham (he was on vaca in Europe). And even Harold is in this!! -The convenient mute mechanic/construction worker/computer engineer who lives in the Batcave.
But some of the best stories in this volume were actually ones without Batman or the Batfamily in them.
I loved Batman: Blackgate -"Isle of Men" #1 by Doug Moench. Batman's in this, but it's really about Jared Manx, a death row inmate, and the way he saved his female lawyer and a nun during the quake. He lied, but about what? (Being innocent or being guilty.)
(The only iffy thing about this compilation is that the stories are time-stamped from the quake to hours after. Batman surfaces at Blackgate prison in Batman: Blackgate -"Isle of Men" #1 a few pages before 11:53 pm (at around maybe 11:30pm) and then in the next story Batman: Shadow of the Bat #74 the time stamp in the first text box reads "Ten PM. Three hours since the Quake struck." Batman pulls himself up onto the pier, and then: "The riot ar Blackgate prison is quelled, but he has very little sense of triumph..."
The whole point of the count-down to 12 AM in Isle of Men was that Jared Manx was set to be executed at 12 AM. And Batman is there at 12:01 AM. How was he at Blackgate at 12:01 AM but also done with the riot at Blackgate by 10 PM?)
Another great story without Batman or the Batfamily in it is "The Contract", The Batman Chronicles #12 by Devin Grayson. In The Contract we see a group of hardened criminals hired together to do a job/"contract" during the destruction. Turns out the "contract" is saving people, with a whole bunch of conditions signed into the contact (no guns, don't hurt anyone physically or spiritually by destroying their hope, etc.), all bankrolled by Bruce Wayne. <3
"House of Cards, The Batman Chronicles #12 by Chris Renaud is a short interesting one from the perspective of Raʼs al Ghul.
Ra's: "Finally you have encountered something that doesn't fit your naive perceptions of good and evil. Yet even in the face of insurmountable odds you wage your holy war without realizing that you cannot save Gotham this time. I ask you this, Detective... Who is the madman now?"
And "Trapped, The Batman Chronicles #12 by Chris Renaud is a sad one. Robin is out searching for trapped survivors but misses someone in the rubble. :(
At about 3/4 of the way through the book, some of the batfamily starts to converge after realizing they haven't heard from Batman in a while. It's been a few hours since the quake and Nightwing finally makes it to Barbra to check on her. Robin walks in on them and that's when Tim meets Oracle for the first time!! How crazy!?!? They don't already know each other!!
Also, Dick mentions Harold & Barbra is like "who?". Man, they really don't all know each other!
And Spoiler ends up in a team-up with Huntress & they bond over having crooks for dads.
The second to last issue was eh. Batman: Arkham Asylum -Tales of Madness #1 by Alan Grant. A new guard at Arkham gets captured by the inmates and they have a "story-off" to claim dibs on who will kill him. Each story from the inmates (Croc, Joker, Scarcrow, Riddler, Vox, and Samantha) is a few pages and the art changes with the story. It's a bunch of short nonsense just for the idea of the "story competition".
The last issue of this vol. is Robin #53 and it's where Tim unmasks the Quake Master as The Vrentriloquist. That storyline was a little lame, but didn't waste too much of my energies, so I don't mind too much. The seismologist is freed from capture & now we're up to Batman: Road to No Man's Land, Vol. 1!
Overall this book was about a 3/3.5. I enjoyed it, but some parts were much stronger than others.
Cataclysm opens with "Sound and Fury", Detective Comics #719 by Chuck Dixon, which is a really fun short Batman story. It's the retelling of a crime from the POV/narration of the criminal with the left side of the page being the perception of the crime and how it played out (was "played up") and the right side of the page being the actual sloppy crime and capture by Batman and Robin. The issue ends with an urgent phone call to the Batcave from a seismologist employed by Bruce Wayne, and that's how it all starts.
I'm not familiar with Anarky, but he and Harvey Bullock have a fun meet-cute at the mall when the quake hits Gotham.
The whole book is a real crossover event, and it brings all the Batkids back in where they're needed. Nightwing makes his way to Gotham & gets called Batman by a little kid he's saving (<3!), and Barbra takes over the Police station to organize and facilitate city rescue. (And OMG I can't believe Tad is in this too!! I'll never get rid of him! -Nightwing #19) Huntress is "the kind of hero Gotham deserves", and you can imagine what that means when Gotham is at its lowest. Not only are our heroes on triage duty trying to save survovirs, but they are also fighting criminals and ne'er-do-wells who want to take advantage of the chaos and destruction.
Catwoman is in this too (saving people and fighting Poison Ivy!)! And I just adore her!
Tim sneaks back into Gotham (he was on vaca in Europe). And even Harold is in this!! -The convenient mute mechanic/construction worker/computer engineer who lives in the Batcave.
But some of the best stories in this volume were actually ones without Batman or the Batfamily in them.
I loved Batman: Blackgate -"Isle of Men" #1 by Doug Moench. Batman's in this, but it's really about Jared Manx, a death row inmate, and the way he saved his female lawyer and a nun during the quake. He lied, but about what? (Being innocent or being guilty.)
(The only iffy thing about this compilation is that the stories are time-stamped from the quake to hours after. Batman surfaces at Blackgate prison in Batman: Blackgate -"Isle of Men" #1 a few pages before 11:53 pm (at around maybe 11:30pm) and then in the next story Batman: Shadow of the Bat #74 the time stamp in the first text box reads "Ten PM. Three hours since the Quake struck." Batman pulls himself up onto the pier, and then: "The riot ar Blackgate prison is quelled, but he has very little sense of triumph..."
The whole point of the count-down to 12 AM in Isle of Men was that Jared Manx was set to be executed at 12 AM. And Batman is there at 12:01 AM. How was he at Blackgate at 12:01 AM but also done with the riot at Blackgate by 10 PM?)
Another great story without Batman or the Batfamily in it is "The Contract", The Batman Chronicles #12 by Devin Grayson. In The Contract we see a group of hardened criminals hired together to do a job/"contract" during the destruction. Turns out the "contract" is saving people, with a whole bunch of conditions signed into the contact (no guns, don't hurt anyone physically or spiritually by destroying their hope, etc.), all bankrolled by Bruce Wayne. <3
"House of Cards, The Batman Chronicles #12 by Chris Renaud is a short interesting one from the perspective of Raʼs al Ghul.
Ra's: "Finally you have encountered something that doesn't fit your naive perceptions of good and evil. Yet even in the face of insurmountable odds you wage your holy war without realizing that you cannot save Gotham this time. I ask you this, Detective... Who is the madman now?"
And "Trapped, The Batman Chronicles #12 by Chris Renaud is a sad one. Robin is out searching for trapped survivors but misses someone in the rubble. :(
At about 3/4 of the way through the book, some of the batfamily starts to converge after realizing they haven't heard from Batman in a while. It's been a few hours since the quake and Nightwing finally makes it to Barbra to check on her. Robin walks in on them and that's when Tim meets Oracle for the first time!! How crazy!?!? They don't already know each other!!
Also, Dick mentions Harold & Barbra is like "who?". Man, they really don't all know each other!
And Spoiler ends up in a team-up with Huntress & they bond over having crooks for dads.
The second to last issue was eh. Batman: Arkham Asylum -Tales of Madness #1 by Alan Grant. A new guard at Arkham gets captured by the inmates and they have a "story-off" to claim dibs on who will kill him. Each story from the inmates (Croc, Joker, Scarcrow, Riddler, Vox, and Samantha) is a few pages and the art changes with the story. It's a bunch of short nonsense just for the idea of the "story competition".
The last issue of this vol. is Robin #53 and it's where Tim unmasks the Quake Master as The Vrentriloquist. That storyline was a little lame, but didn't waste too much of my energies, so I don't mind too much. The seismologist is freed from capture & now we're up to Batman: Road to No Man's Land, Vol. 1!
Overall this book was about a 3/3.5. I enjoyed it, but some parts were much stronger than others.
April 5, 2024
“Are you crying?”
“The fact that when confronted with the worst of all possible worlds everyone stops to help their fellow person got to me alright”
“The fact that when confronted with the worst of all possible worlds everyone stops to help their fellow person got to me alright”
January 21, 2022
De nuevo, una historia que me gustó bastante de una forma no tan apegada a la acción, las grandes historias y los mega desenlaces.
Para empezar, creo que es difícil que hoy en día se pueda publicar una historia con catástrofes naturales. O sea, sería imposible escribir o recrear un avión estrellándose en un edificio. Y aquí tenemos literal a muchos muertos, miles, sin razón, sin poder volver en el tiempo, revivirlos o cosas así. Simplemente Batman enfrentándose a una catástrofe natural. Aunque siempre hay un reseteo y una nueva introducción al "Batman", los propios creadores se propusieron no "volver las cosas a su estado anterior"; pensaron una historia que siguiera y continuara con el cómo resolverían las crisis de Gótica.
Y, obviamente, no sucede nada. Y es que no se puede hacer nada. En cierto punto me aburrieron los primeros 7 u 8 volúmenes, donde solo se recreaba el momento del sismo. Pero en cierta forma fue muy interesante. En el nivel de la ficción el pensar qué le ocurre o qué le ocurriría a toda una ciudad frente a una catástrofe como ésta. Ver los edificios colapsados, una mano o una pierna sobresaliendo entre escombros... y, carajo, varias historias que me dejaron un sabor amargo. Niñas en sus últimos momentos, Batman sacrificándose por "malos" incluso si ello le costaba la vida, una persona siendo enterrada viva, otros aplastados, buenos huyendo, malos ayudando. Huérfanos, sacrificios, inundaciones, réplicas. Catwoman preguntándose de qué valía ser bueno, o por qué no ser malo. Batman con una historia muy filosófica sobre cómo no detenerte a pensar qué diferencia puede hacer un simple hombre. Unas entregas muy, pero muy, llenas de humanismo. Y, quizá, por lo tanto llenas de existencialismo.
Algunas cosas ni cuadran, ni tienen sentido, ni se resuelven realmente. En unos momentos la historia transcurre en 3 horas, en otros han pasado 10 días y en otros como medio día. Eso pierde sentido porque los personajes parecen estar en el mismo lugar.
Mágicamente todos los villanos sobrevivieron, y técnicamente todos los personajes importantes y hasta terciarios también. Y al final, "nace" un villano pero no tuvo peso, que se esfuma en un solo volumen y que solo otorga un pequeño relleno para plantear la siguiente entrega.
Pero otra cosa es que, aunque suene tonto, aprendí cómo actuar frente a un sismo (claro, si sobreviviera) y qué se debería priorizar en esos casos. También me gustó mucho la continuidad y hasta el tratamiento y dibujo de los personajes. Por fin Nightwing se empieza a ver sexy, y dejaron atrás ese estilo "macho" hasta con cola de caballo.
Para empezar, creo que es difícil que hoy en día se pueda publicar una historia con catástrofes naturales. O sea, sería imposible escribir o recrear un avión estrellándose en un edificio. Y aquí tenemos literal a muchos muertos, miles, sin razón, sin poder volver en el tiempo, revivirlos o cosas así. Simplemente Batman enfrentándose a una catástrofe natural. Aunque siempre hay un reseteo y una nueva introducción al "Batman", los propios creadores se propusieron no "volver las cosas a su estado anterior"; pensaron una historia que siguiera y continuara con el cómo resolverían las crisis de Gótica.
Y, obviamente, no sucede nada. Y es que no se puede hacer nada. En cierto punto me aburrieron los primeros 7 u 8 volúmenes, donde solo se recreaba el momento del sismo. Pero en cierta forma fue muy interesante. En el nivel de la ficción el pensar qué le ocurre o qué le ocurriría a toda una ciudad frente a una catástrofe como ésta. Ver los edificios colapsados, una mano o una pierna sobresaliendo entre escombros... y, carajo, varias historias que me dejaron un sabor amargo. Niñas en sus últimos momentos, Batman sacrificándose por "malos" incluso si ello le costaba la vida, una persona siendo enterrada viva, otros aplastados, buenos huyendo, malos ayudando. Huérfanos, sacrificios, inundaciones, réplicas. Catwoman preguntándose de qué valía ser bueno, o por qué no ser malo. Batman con una historia muy filosófica sobre cómo no detenerte a pensar qué diferencia puede hacer un simple hombre. Unas entregas muy, pero muy, llenas de humanismo. Y, quizá, por lo tanto llenas de existencialismo.
Algunas cosas ni cuadran, ni tienen sentido, ni se resuelven realmente. En unos momentos la historia transcurre en 3 horas, en otros han pasado 10 días y en otros como medio día. Eso pierde sentido porque los personajes parecen estar en el mismo lugar.
Mágicamente todos los villanos sobrevivieron, y técnicamente todos los personajes importantes y hasta terciarios también. Y al final, "nace" un villano pero no tuvo peso, que se esfuma en un solo volumen y que solo otorga un pequeño relleno para plantear la siguiente entrega.
Pero otra cosa es que, aunque suene tonto, aprendí cómo actuar frente a un sismo (claro, si sobreviviera) y qué se debería priorizar en esos casos. También me gustó mucho la continuidad y hasta el tratamiento y dibujo de los personajes. Por fin Nightwing se empieza a ver sexy, y dejaron atrás ese estilo "macho" hasta con cola de caballo.
April 6, 2024
Batman and family dealing with an earthquake that devastated all of Gotham. This graphicnovel hits really hard, and in the Catwoman part of it, it... well forget tugging at the heart strings, it rips it out, I had to take a long break to keep from tears hitting the pages. Whoever all worked on this knew how shake you to the core and twist. Another masterpiece in my collection, thanks to my dear friend who recommended it to me.
December 8, 2024
Good overall story surrounding the Earthquake and other side stories involving Batman characters. Like it being a threat that is not something physical that can be taken down.
April 12, 2022
Un terremoto destruye Gotham y Batman va a tener como enemigo a los elementos y a un misterioso personaje que se atribuye el suceso. Una idea muy original que cambia el clásico esquema heroe vs malhechor para enfrentar a Batman a algo que no puede controlar.
July 24, 2025
My longest review yet, here are my ramblings
Is this perfect? No, there's definitely some parts that drag more than others, and other parts that feel more like filler or should've been left out entirely. But something about the overall theme and story here just really vibed with me. I had a lot of fun reading this and it might be one of my favorite Batman story arcs now.
I think part of that is also that the Batfam has always been my favorite ensemble of characters, so I love getting each character's POV. I like the backdrop of a natural disaster as a device to get heroes and villains working together toward a common goal. There's also something to be said about how disasters like this really bring out the best and worst in humanity.
There are some short but poignant issues told from the perspectives of some of the victims and some of Batman’s villains that act as a sort of interlude in the middle of the madness. The Ra’s and Penguin ones are especially interesting, the Penguin one really got me.
Gonna break some thoughts down by character, since a good portion of this arc is told as vignettes anyway.
Batman: Batman's got some great moments throughout this arc. The first quarter, with him trying desperately to save Alfred and get back to Gotham, is a pretty good snapshot of how epic Batman's willpower is.
Azrael: I'm not usually an Azrael fan, but his issue here is interesting. Azrael’s transporting Bane to Gotham, and Bane’s trying to get him to turn on Batman. Bane claims he and Azrael are the same and should team up, Azrael declines and kicks his ass. There's a cool character moment where Az basically admits that even though he might not know who he really is, he knows he’s nothing like Bane.
Catwoman: Definitely wasn’t expecting a Catwoman issue to make me tear up. The entire scene with the little girl was heartbreaking. The final page of Selina taking a moment to just cry at the end was also well done. I love the little insight into Selina. She wants you to think she's only looking out for herself, but when push comes to shove she does want to do the right thing. I didn't care much for the Poison Ivy issue, but that's more so because Ivy's not my jam.
Huntress & Spoiler: I’ve been told as a Huntress fan that the Cataclysm/No Man’s Land are the arcs for me. First glimpse of Huntress here and she’s leaving the man who shot her for dead. My girl. Her whole team-up with Spoiler is *chef's kiss*. I want more of that. Huntress finally meets someone (besides Robin) who respects her as a vigilante, and Spoiler finally meets someone who does the same (again, besides Robin). Huntress's cynicism tends to match my own, and that's part of why I enjoy her so much as a character. I also think she's a good foil to Batman's own philosophy, and it's not bad to have someone there who challenges that every once in a while.
A note on the art: since this is a crossover event, the art's a mixed bag, ranging from serviceable to great. That said, Graham Nolan’s art continues to be leagues above any of his contemporaries. At this point I think he's my favorite 90s Batman artist.
Is this perfect? No, there's definitely some parts that drag more than others, and other parts that feel more like filler or should've been left out entirely. But something about the overall theme and story here just really vibed with me. I had a lot of fun reading this and it might be one of my favorite Batman story arcs now.
I think part of that is also that the Batfam has always been my favorite ensemble of characters, so I love getting each character's POV. I like the backdrop of a natural disaster as a device to get heroes and villains working together toward a common goal. There's also something to be said about how disasters like this really bring out the best and worst in humanity.
There are some short but poignant issues told from the perspectives of some of the victims and some of Batman’s villains that act as a sort of interlude in the middle of the madness. The Ra’s and Penguin ones are especially interesting, the Penguin one really got me.
Gonna break some thoughts down by character, since a good portion of this arc is told as vignettes anyway.
Batman: Batman's got some great moments throughout this arc. The first quarter, with him trying desperately to save Alfred and get back to Gotham, is a pretty good snapshot of how epic Batman's willpower is.
Azrael: I'm not usually an Azrael fan, but his issue here is interesting. Azrael’s transporting Bane to Gotham, and Bane’s trying to get him to turn on Batman. Bane claims he and Azrael are the same and should team up, Azrael declines and kicks his ass. There's a cool character moment where Az basically admits that even though he might not know who he really is, he knows he’s nothing like Bane.
Catwoman: Definitely wasn’t expecting a Catwoman issue to make me tear up. The entire scene with the little girl was heartbreaking. The final page of Selina taking a moment to just cry at the end was also well done. I love the little insight into Selina. She wants you to think she's only looking out for herself, but when push comes to shove she does want to do the right thing. I didn't care much for the Poison Ivy issue, but that's more so because Ivy's not my jam.
Huntress & Spoiler: I’ve been told as a Huntress fan that the Cataclysm/No Man’s Land are the arcs for me. First glimpse of Huntress here and she’s leaving the man who shot her for dead. My girl. Her whole team-up with Spoiler is *chef's kiss*. I want more of that. Huntress finally meets someone (besides Robin) who respects her as a vigilante, and Spoiler finally meets someone who does the same (again, besides Robin). Huntress's cynicism tends to match my own, and that's part of why I enjoy her so much as a character. I also think she's a good foil to Batman's own philosophy, and it's not bad to have someone there who challenges that every once in a while.
A note on the art: since this is a crossover event, the art's a mixed bag, ranging from serviceable to great. That said, Graham Nolan’s art continues to be leagues above any of his contemporaries. At this point I think he's my favorite 90s Batman artist.
December 9, 2017
This was dreadful. I liked the general premise of the story arc, a disaster so huge that even Bats cannot do anything about it. But in reality, it ran out of steam quite quickly, because it's the same story over and over - all of Batfam save some random civilians either together or by themselves. It's fun to see them, and there's a cute Nightwing/Oracle moment, but nothing much beyond that. So many smoking guns - what the hell happened to Two Face? You don't bring him out, leave him hanging and use Ventriloquist of all people for your conclusion.
Also, I think I could draw better than the artist responsible for Catwoman issues. Seriously. And I'm very bad at art.
Also, I think I could draw better than the artist responsible for Catwoman issues. Seriously. And I'm very bad at art.
June 25, 2025
Zbiorek, który oferuje Egmont zawiera nieco więcej zeszytów z serii o Azraelu, ale i tak jest to solidna dawka Charlesa Dixona, który pracował nad Batmanem w latach 90. XX wieku. Wizualnie jest to też dużo przystępniejsza pozycja, zwłaszcza od wydanej niedawno serii Knightfall.
Początek jest niepozorny. Azrael ma stawić czoła Bane'owi. Będzie to swoisty test zdatności, zwłaszcza, że Jean będzie musiał stawić czoła jadowi przeciwnika w samotności (no prawie). Po około 1/5 tego opasłego tomiku dochodzi do wydarzenia, które zmieni Gotham na zawsze. Miastem wstrząsa trzęsienie ziemi o magnitudzie 7.5. Budynki pękają jak zapałki, a ziemia pochłania wiele istnień. Kataklizm nie ominie także siedziby bohatera, która naraz zmieni się w śmiertelnie niebezpieczną pułapkę.
Potem mamy festiwal różnych historyjek, które dają inne punkty widzenia na wspomniane wydarzenie. Do Gotham wraca Nightwing i Robin (tu Tim Drake), aby wspomóc Batmana w walce z kataklizmem. A raczej skutkami, bo to naprawdę jeden z niewielu momentów, gdzie Mroczny Rycerz musi użyć głowy i siły nie do prania wrogów, ale ratowania ludzi spod zwałów tynku i betonu. Takie spojrzenie na postać jest odżywcze.
Niemniej na pewnym etapie nuży, bo te swoiste POV jest zwyczajnie nudne i powtarzalne. Ciekawą nowalijką był fakt, że ktoś w jeszcze działającej telewizji wygłasza, iż katastrofa jest jego sprawką i jeżeli miasto nie wyłuszczy 100 milionów, tak Gotham czekają kolejne, jeszcze mocniejsze wstrząsy. Ale i tak najlepsze zostaje nam dane na koniec.
Seryjni mordercy i pomyleńcy, którzy licytują (poprzez najstraszniejszą opowieść), które z nich zabije pewnego ochroniarza z upadłego ośrodka Arkham Asylum, składają się na najlepszy zeszyt tej odsłony przygód Batmana. Tak jak wspomniałem, kreska też jest tu już znacznie lepsza, chociaż zdarzają się potworki, na szczęście zamierzone, jak przy przechwalankach pewnego zbira...
Niezłe otwarcie, ale jak na klasyk DC mam tu pewien niedosyt. I mam nadzieję, że się nie utrzyma. Bo wydania tej serii Batman. Ziemia Niczyja są naprawdę ładnie wydane.
Początek jest niepozorny. Azrael ma stawić czoła Bane'owi. Będzie to swoisty test zdatności, zwłaszcza, że Jean będzie musiał stawić czoła jadowi przeciwnika w samotności (no prawie). Po około 1/5 tego opasłego tomiku dochodzi do wydarzenia, które zmieni Gotham na zawsze. Miastem wstrząsa trzęsienie ziemi o magnitudzie 7.5. Budynki pękają jak zapałki, a ziemia pochłania wiele istnień. Kataklizm nie ominie także siedziby bohatera, która naraz zmieni się w śmiertelnie niebezpieczną pułapkę.
Potem mamy festiwal różnych historyjek, które dają inne punkty widzenia na wspomniane wydarzenie. Do Gotham wraca Nightwing i Robin (tu Tim Drake), aby wspomóc Batmana w walce z kataklizmem. A raczej skutkami, bo to naprawdę jeden z niewielu momentów, gdzie Mroczny Rycerz musi użyć głowy i siły nie do prania wrogów, ale ratowania ludzi spod zwałów tynku i betonu. Takie spojrzenie na postać jest odżywcze.
Niemniej na pewnym etapie nuży, bo te swoiste POV jest zwyczajnie nudne i powtarzalne. Ciekawą nowalijką był fakt, że ktoś w jeszcze działającej telewizji wygłasza, iż katastrofa jest jego sprawką i jeżeli miasto nie wyłuszczy 100 milionów, tak Gotham czekają kolejne, jeszcze mocniejsze wstrząsy. Ale i tak najlepsze zostaje nam dane na koniec.
Seryjni mordercy i pomyleńcy, którzy licytują (poprzez najstraszniejszą opowieść), które z nich zabije pewnego ochroniarza z upadłego ośrodka Arkham Asylum, składają się na najlepszy zeszyt tej odsłony przygód Batmana. Tak jak wspomniałem, kreska też jest tu już znacznie lepsza, chociaż zdarzają się potworki, na szczęście zamierzone, jak przy przechwalankach pewnego zbira...
Niezłe otwarcie, ale jak na klasyk DC mam tu pewien niedosyt. I mam nadzieję, że się nie utrzyma. Bo wydania tej serii Batman. Ziemia Niczyja są naprawdę ładnie wydane.
January 28, 2019
Three-and-a-half stars.
How will the heroes, villains and citizens of Gotham city respond when their city is his by 7.6 earthquake? This book explores that question, resulting in an interesting tale where the “bad guy” that Batman & Co. must face is a natural disaster.
The book collects all the stories related to the Cataclysm quake event across numerous comic book titles. The result is that the book doesn’t feel like a fluid story, per se, so much as different accounts of “Where was [insert character] when the quake hit?” This is interesting to explore, but starts to feel a little stagnant after a while, right around the time a mystery (one that spans more than a single issue) presents itself about halfway through the book. The over-the-top nature of this mystery, however, is even more so when presented side-by-side with the gripping, real-world fear of a city leveled by a natural disaster.
This book contains many other masked heroes that exist in the Batman universe, some I know very little about of I only know by name. The book was still easy to follow since (a) everyone is simply helping out in their own way and (b) the stranger and more ancillary characters aren't given a ton of pages.
Though written in 1998, modern readers will no doubt feel a little sentimental when reading this and thinking of the tragedies of September 11th and, four years later, the gulf coast being devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
(The rating speaks to this volume's value as a stand-alone, separate from No Man's Land.)
How will the heroes, villains and citizens of Gotham city respond when their city is his by 7.6 earthquake? This book explores that question, resulting in an interesting tale where the “bad guy” that Batman & Co. must face is a natural disaster.
The book collects all the stories related to the Cataclysm quake event across numerous comic book titles. The result is that the book doesn’t feel like a fluid story, per se, so much as different accounts of “Where was [insert character] when the quake hit?” This is interesting to explore, but starts to feel a little stagnant after a while, right around the time a mystery (one that spans more than a single issue) presents itself about halfway through the book. The over-the-top nature of this mystery, however, is even more so when presented side-by-side with the gripping, real-world fear of a city leveled by a natural disaster.
This book contains many other masked heroes that exist in the Batman universe, some I know very little about of I only know by name. The book was still easy to follow since (a) everyone is simply helping out in their own way and (b) the stranger and more ancillary characters aren't given a ton of pages.
Though written in 1998, modern readers will no doubt feel a little sentimental when reading this and thinking of the tragedies of September 11th and, four years later, the gulf coast being devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
(The rating speaks to this volume's value as a stand-alone, separate from No Man's Land.)
August 17, 2022
One of the biggest "events" to hit the Batman titles, Cataclysm made for a different kind of graphic novel. An ambitious story, Gotham is leveled by massive earthquake, including Wayne Manor and the Batcave. As Gotham tries to navigate the destruction and find survivors, Batman is forced to deal with escapees from Black Gate prison while trying to save as many Gothamites as he can. Will the city and the Dark Knight ever be the same?
As happens with these cross-title events, the writing and especially the artwork varies in quality depending on the title. Fortunately, most of the writing was done by Chuck Dixon and Alan Grant, so it maintained a reasonable level of consistency in the telling. The majority of the artwork was nothing special, but I think that's partly due to who the creative teams were at the time these books came out. The oddest thing about the graphic novel is that it supposedly covers titles including Shadow of the Bat, Catwoman, Robin, Huntress and a few others. Yet, for example, the Robin contributions were only a few pages, not an entire comic book issue's worth. A couple other times this happened, and in one case I couldn't even tell what book it was supposed to have been from. I don't know certain titles had a non-connected story but saved a few pages for an interlude to connect to Cataclysm, or what was going on. The mish-mash of things left it from being a great story 0 which it truly was at times - to being a muddle just OK one. However, the real big deal is the fact that this sets up the even more audacious and encompassing "No Man's Land story line which spans across numerous issues of several Batman and related titles.
As happens with these cross-title events, the writing and especially the artwork varies in quality depending on the title. Fortunately, most of the writing was done by Chuck Dixon and Alan Grant, so it maintained a reasonable level of consistency in the telling. The majority of the artwork was nothing special, but I think that's partly due to who the creative teams were at the time these books came out. The oddest thing about the graphic novel is that it supposedly covers titles including Shadow of the Bat, Catwoman, Robin, Huntress and a few others. Yet, for example, the Robin contributions were only a few pages, not an entire comic book issue's worth. A couple other times this happened, and in one case I couldn't even tell what book it was supposed to have been from. I don't know certain titles had a non-connected story but saved a few pages for an interlude to connect to Cataclysm, or what was going on. The mish-mash of things left it from being a great story 0 which it truly was at times - to being a muddle just OK one. However, the real big deal is the fact that this sets up the even more audacious and encompassing "No Man's Land story line which spans across numerous issues of several Batman and related titles.
April 26, 2022
🙏🏼56% 👍10 👎8
_________________________
(STORY):
We follow the same event over and over again from different angles across multiple issues - the plot development is painfully slow. The overall storyline doesn't really evolve or grow a lot towards the end, so it goes out with a sizzle, leading to the Aftershock storyline. Then there's the Batman Chronicles issue in the middle which is completely skippable.
(POPULATION):
Batman forms an uneasy alliance with the Penguin since all the usual rules are now gone and some real force is needed to keep the city together. The Batfamily finally comes together in the later issues, trying to find Batman and organize some kind of rescue mission. The arc gets new energy once they start working together to stop Quakemaster! The real identity of the Quakemaster is a pretty surprising reveal, even if Dixon cleverly plants hints as to his real identity throughout the story.
The Batman/Penguin team-up dissolves into thin air with no impact on the plot.
(FEEL):
The Blackgate issue is fairly tense and exciting, mostly because it takes a slightly different approach to the story and focuses on lesser-known characters.
Chuck Dixon puts a lot of focus on the emotional aspects of seeing one's city completely destroyed, seeing everything one has worked for run to the ground - that's quite strong stuff. The chaos and general disorder after a huge earthquake is well depicted and explored.
(ART):
The different art styles in the involved issues are hit and miss, but mostly miss.
_________________________
(STORY):
We follow the same event over and over again from different angles across multiple issues - the plot development is painfully slow. The overall storyline doesn't really evolve or grow a lot towards the end, so it goes out with a sizzle, leading to the Aftershock storyline. Then there's the Batman Chronicles issue in the middle which is completely skippable.
(POPULATION):
Batman forms an uneasy alliance with the Penguin since all the usual rules are now gone and some real force is needed to keep the city together. The Batfamily finally comes together in the later issues, trying to find Batman and organize some kind of rescue mission. The arc gets new energy once they start working together to stop Quakemaster! The real identity of the Quakemaster is a pretty surprising reveal, even if Dixon cleverly plants hints as to his real identity throughout the story.
The Batman/Penguin team-up dissolves into thin air with no impact on the plot.
(FEEL):
The Blackgate issue is fairly tense and exciting, mostly because it takes a slightly different approach to the story and focuses on lesser-known characters.
Chuck Dixon puts a lot of focus on the emotional aspects of seeing one's city completely destroyed, seeing everything one has worked for run to the ground - that's quite strong stuff. The chaos and general disorder after a huge earthquake is well depicted and explored.
(ART):
The different art styles in the involved issues are hit and miss, but mostly miss.
February 27, 2024
Batman Cataclysm is a masterpiece and an incredible setup to Batman No Man's Land 👏😊🌟!!
This arc addresses the effects of a natural disaster impacting Gotham City in the form of an earthquake. How do the Gotham vigilantes assist/adjust to aid in a natural disaster, and what villains will take advantage of this situation? The humanity amongst the civilians impacted by this disaster is masterfully displayed!! Crooks become heroes, Penguin's mob is enlisted to help clear rubble, a portion of civilians turn on each other to gain power while others put aside petty pride to survive, and the roster of heroes is incredible (Huntress, Spoiler, Robin, Batman, Nightwing, Oracle, and Catwoman (ambiguous anti-hero) ) 🥰.
We have so many familiar faces stretching from Batman allies, G.C.P.D to loyal civilians including Lucius Fox, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, Mr. Drake (Tim's dad), and of course Alfred Pennyworth. I am in both awe and love of this graphic novel but it isn't for the weak as it focuses heavily on the recurring theme of survival/death given that this arc depicts the ramifications of a major natural disaster.
Overall, this was a 9.5/10 🌟 arc, and I can't wait to dive into the Road to No Man's Land next 😉👍🌟🦇!!
This arc addresses the effects of a natural disaster impacting Gotham City in the form of an earthquake. How do the Gotham vigilantes assist/adjust to aid in a natural disaster, and what villains will take advantage of this situation? The humanity amongst the civilians impacted by this disaster is masterfully displayed!! Crooks become heroes, Penguin's mob is enlisted to help clear rubble, a portion of civilians turn on each other to gain power while others put aside petty pride to survive, and the roster of heroes is incredible (Huntress, Spoiler, Robin, Batman, Nightwing, Oracle, and Catwoman (ambiguous anti-hero) ) 🥰.
We have so many familiar faces stretching from Batman allies, G.C.P.D to loyal civilians including Lucius Fox, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, Mr. Drake (Tim's dad), and of course Alfred Pennyworth. I am in both awe and love of this graphic novel but it isn't for the weak as it focuses heavily on the recurring theme of survival/death given that this arc depicts the ramifications of a major natural disaster.
Overall, this was a 9.5/10 🌟 arc, and I can't wait to dive into the Road to No Man's Land next 😉👍🌟🦇!!
December 15, 2022
3.5 stars, but rounded up. An earthquake hits Gotham, destroys most of the infrastructure, and leaves thousands dead. Cataclysm deals with how the Bat Family responds to the earthquake. Increasingly, I really like stories where Batman's enemy isn't a villain: how do you fight an earthquake? There is ultimately a villain of the piece, but that story is not overwrought and is compelling enough. I really liked the stories around the broader Bat Family which expanded the relationships between all of them. There are a few clunkers in here (the Catwoman stories are not well written), and I really wish Moench would stop adding text blurbs describing the things we can see in the panels! It's a really good story on the whole, and I really liked it.
January 28, 2022
An event crossover that sets up a mega-event crossover. With these large omnibus types even collections, I like to pace my reading. Usually only reading one chapter/issue a week in an attempt to recreate how the story would have played out when originally published.
With any larger crossover story, your mileage will vary with the individual stories. Some work. Some don't. Overall, the story entertains and provides an excellent example of how the character of Batman and his supporting cast was being handled in the mid-1990s.
With any larger crossover story, your mileage will vary with the individual stories. Some work. Some don't. Overall, the story entertains and provides an excellent example of how the character of Batman and his supporting cast was being handled in the mid-1990s.
December 28, 2022
A prelude to the No Man's Land story arc, Cataclysm is pretty much required reading for No Man's Land. The book suffers from some inconsistent quality of artwork throughout its issues, as well as some lukewarm stories. That being said it is more of an investment, something that is a required read in order to fully appreciate No Man's Land. So while I may not have enjoyed it as much as I would have wanted to it still got me excited for No Man's Land.
January 31, 2024
The core story is perfectly decent, but the over-arching pacing is janky. That final part rushes to a hasty conclusion, which is silly for a sixteen part event. The core Quakemaster story isn’t well served by being constantly interrupted by side stories and filler. I’d have been tempted to ignore the original numbering and rearrange everything into a main story first and everything like the Catwoman issues, the Huntress and Spoiler one shot and the Arkham one-shot at the end.
November 3, 2025
Pretty good. I like how it goes back and forth between "main story" and things happening elsewhere in town. You'd think the catwoman or huntress stories would be lame, but I thought were pretty good and added texture to the disaster. For a 500 page book it does a good job not wearing out it's welcome. Except for the arkham asylum one shot, that could have been shorter. Well, 6 more 500 page books to go in the no man's land saga, wish me luck.
January 15, 2022
Never really makes itself an essential Batman story but does an interesting job pushing the characters into new directions while giving unusual focus to the civilians of Gotham. Also a pretty breezy 400+ pages. Not sure I'm going to be able to do 6 more volumes of this No Man's Land storyline but a solid start.
July 4, 2022
A cool, fun read. Lot of great stories in here. Made me actually worried about earthquakes too and I live in LA so that's a very valid fear haha. I even went and bought straps to secure my bookcases to the wall so they don't fall on me after reading this. We'll see if I actually get around to installing them.
December 26, 2022
Tragic and a bit depressing, but it's a good story. Most of the book covers the immediate aftermath of an earthquake that brings all of Gotham to its knees. We see the struggle of our heroes as well as many of the cities' less famous inhabitants as they try to bring some order to the chaos. Mix in a few short stories, and one gets a real feel for the devastation.
August 5, 2023
Nessa HQ, a batfamília vai ter que enfrentar algo jamais visto em Gotham, um terremoto.
Retratado de maneiras extremamente catastróficas, OS terremotos destroem quase que a cidade inteira.
É perceptível a tristeza dos personagens e a forma que eles estão sofrendo por tudo o que está acontecendo...
Essa é uma das melhores sagas do morcego, depois eu leio o resto...
Retratado de maneiras extremamente catastróficas, OS terremotos destroem quase que a cidade inteira.
É perceptível a tristeza dos personagens e a forma que eles estão sofrendo por tudo o que está acontecendo...
Essa é uma das melhores sagas do morcego, depois eu leio o resto...
September 19, 2023
The start of my favorite year in Batman comics. This is like the overture to a dark gothic symphony, taking Batman so far out of his element that he must heroically claw his way back. It’s a disaster movie in comic book form, starring my favorite fictional character. I’ve loved it since the first time I read it. I love it still.
March 24, 2024
The entire No Man's Land arc is a lot bigger than I thought it was, but this was a good start. An earthquake like that in a big city is a terrifying thought. I kinda like how you still see the effects of it in today's comics. Excited for the aftermath and what characters will pop up.
Kinda crazy that this also has Tim and Barbara's, and Catwoman and Ivy's, first-time meeting in this!
Kinda crazy that this also has Tim and Barbara's, and Catwoman and Ivy's, first-time meeting in this!
December 29, 2024
6.5/10 really cool concept for a Batman book. I love when you put him up against a problem that he can’t punch and throw behind bars. The biggest issue is the fact that some of these tie-ins just plain suck, and that it goes on for just a bit too long. Idc what Catwoman and Azrael are doing. Show me batman and nightwing and maybe Robin and spoiler is okay too.
July 7, 2022
This reads very weird in a post-9/11 world! The writers go way overboard on the shock value deaths to the point the stories have no meaning or thematic resonance they are just bizarre violence. Repetitive. Not great
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