Batman #570

Last summer, I packed some comics from a box in my storage unit that was labeled as "unread". I have a bad habit of buying comics at a faster rate than I read them, so I've got a fair amount of random comics in those unread comics boxes. I was in a hurry, so the comics I ended up taking with me to Saigon from that box really were pretty random and scattered. Within those, the biggest grouping was a run of Batman from 1998's Cataclysm and Aftershock storylines, and a couple from the epic that followed up on those, No Man's Land. This issue is the last of that batch. These have been enough fun that I may seek out some more from these crossovers when I get back to the US in June.

Title: Batman
Issue: 570
Date: October, 1999
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Bronwyn Carlton
Penciler: Mike Deodato
Inker: David Roach
Colorist: Pam Rambo
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Frank Berrios, Joseph Illidge, Dennis O'Neil

This takes place during the massive No Man's Land crossover, in which a disaster-stricken Gotham has been abandoned by the US government and left is a state of anarchy (as opposed to Anarky, who was at least mentioned in one of the Cataclysm issues that preceded this; so he'll probably show up sooner or later).

Cataclysm and Aftershock, at least in the issues that I've looked at so far, stayed away from using the heavy-hitters among the Batman's rogues gallery. Not the case here, as Joker and Harley Quinn are front-and-center, in a story where the Batman only appears in one panel. It's really Harley who's the star here. While looting the upper floors of a luxury apartment tower, she finds a self-help book called "The Code: Laws of L'Amour That Will Make Your Man Marry You". The book is subversively feminist and Harley's hands she begins to make changes in the whole dynamic of her relationship with her "Puddin".

The Joker, meanwhile, waffles between puzzlement and obliviousness as he trains a new henchman, a young intellectual named Josh, and makes plans to hold an election for leadership of Gotham, with himself as the lead candidate.

All of this is set against the block-by-block territorial battles raging in the No Man's Land, with various factions vying for control of scarce resources.

This was some fun character development for Harley Quinn, and a nice setup for coming conflicts between her and Mr. J.

Rating: 7/10

Batman #567

Skipping a few issues, and here we are in the midst of the No Man's Land mega-story.

Title: Batman
Issue: 567
Date: July, 1999
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Kelley Puckett
Penciler: Damion Scott
Inker: John Floyd
Colorist: Greg Wright
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Joseph Illidge, Darren Vincenzo
Cover: Damion Scott, Robert Campanella, Patrick Martin

This issue focuses on Cassandra Cain, and her father David Cain. David Cain is trying to kill Commissioner Gordon, while Cassandra is determined to prevent that from happening.

Meanwhile, the Batman is trying to decide what to do with a captive Harvey Dent in a world where there is no longer any "justice" for criminals to be brought before. 

I'm not really a Cassandra Cain fan, and I found the action to be choppy and not always all that coherent. I did like that they filled in a bit of Cassandra's backstory, although more questions were raised than answered.

GCPD officers getting killed off like Star Trek redshirts is a severely overused trope, and it gets thrown into this issue entirely unnecessarily.

Rating: 4/10

Batman #560

Back to Batman, and we're on the Road to No Man's Land.

Title: Batman
Issue: 560
Date: December, 1998
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Chuck DixonArtist: Jim Aparo, David Roach
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Jordan B. Gorfinkel, Dennis O'Neil
Cover: Rodolfo Damaggio, Patrick Martin

With Aftershock finshed, this issue is part of the transition into the next giant crossover, No Man's Land.

Bruce Wayne heads to Washington DC amid a growing political movement aimed at cutting off relief funds for Gotham. He's up against better lobbying, a media feeding frenzy, and overwhelming poll numbers.

At the center of the movement to cut Gotham off is political shock jock and TV personality Nick Scratch. He's a fun new villain, with a private army of masked thugs, but also a raving fanbase at his disposal.

In light of current politics, Nick Scratch and the Road to No Man's Land felt less like poltical satire and more like political reality.

Bruce Wayne getting set to do battle in the political arena was a nice change of pace, and an interesting set of new challenges.

Dennis O'Neil's editorial in this issue also gives a nice behind-the-scenes look at the genesis of No Man's Land.

Rating: 7/10