Collecting Detective Comics #727-729, Batman #560-562, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #80-82, The Batman Chronicles #15, Azrael #47-50, and Batman: No Man's Land Secret Files and Origins #1.

Dennis O'Neil is the regular writer on Azrael and Roger Robinson is on art. In Azrael #47, Batman asks Azrael to check on a senator by the name of Halivan. Halivan's help will be invaluable in rebuilding Gotham City. However, Azrael isn't the only one looking for Halivan. A stranger by the name of Nicholas Scratch is also after him.

There's definitely something fishy about Nicholas Scratch and I'm not just talking about his name (Old Scratch is a nickname for the Devil, plus Nicholas Scratch is the name of an evil wizard in the Marvel Universe as well). You don't change from a fat nerd to a handsome lady's man that quickly without something untoward going on. I've tried looking online what actually happened, but I can't find any specific details. Could anybody who is more in-the-know actually explain it to me?

In Azrael #48, Nicholas Scratch takes centre stage in a conspiracy against Gotham as Azrael is framed for the murder of the one man who could have saved Gotham City.

Well, I guess No Man's Land would have been a short story line if the one politician able to save the city was around to actually do anything. It turns out that he was corrupt, so it's debatable whether he could have done anything. Bruce Wayne wouldn't have been pleased if and when he found out.

The first story in The Batman Chronicles #15 is written by Kelley Puckett and illustrated by Joe Staton. Green Lantern guest-stars as Batman infiltrates a criminal organisation that is taking advantage of the chaos in Gotham.

The second story is written by Marco Palmieri and illustrated by James A. Hodgekins. Man-Bat comes to Oracle's aid when burglars break in to her headquarters.

The third story is written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Roger Cruz. The Question lends a hand when Huntress tries to track down a hijacked van carrying medical supplies.

Batman was acting extra dickish in the first story. I know he doesn't like other heroes intruding in Gotham, but was there any need to steal Kyle's Power Ring? Kyle does seem particularly amateurish here as well. Then again, that might be due to somebody having stolen his Power Ring. He's not used to going into action without his Power Ring to back him up. It was a surprise to see Man-Bat acting as a good guy as well. I have been reading the Justice League Dark series, so maybe a heroic Man-Bat shouldn't be too surprising for me. This Man-Bat isn't quite as dapper as the one in Justice League Dark though. I loved the relationship between Huntress and the Question in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, so I was looking forward to seeing them work together here as well. It would have been to much for me to hope that their interactions would be flirtatious like the cartoon. Huntress clearly doesn't like working with others and who knows how the Question feels about the whole thing?

Chuck Dixon is the regular Batman writer and Jim Aparo is on art. In Batman #560, Bruce Wayne travels to Washington, D.C. in an attempt to convince Congress to aid in Gotham's relief efforts. However, Nicholas Scratch has other plans.

Usually it is Batman that fights to save Gotham, but now it is Bruce Wayne's turn. He is hoping to use his influence to try and convince the U.S. Government to help the city. We already know how that turns out seeing that this collection is called Road to No Man's Land and not No Mans Land Gets Fixed. Any way, as far as I know these issues in this collection have never been collected before and I have always wondered what happened just before Gotham City got sealed off from the rest of the United States.

In Batman #561, Bruce Wayne faces a losing battle as he begs for Congress to help Gotham.

Bruce Wayne thought that he had a tough time fighting the likes of Bane and the Joker. Even the deadliest of Arkham's inmates are nothing compared to politicians. Maybe Bruce is out of his depth in this one. Not to mention that he has Nicholas Scratch working against him. You can sort of understand where the government is coming from though. To the average American Gotham City seems like a hellhole full of masked criminals and the police force is hugely ineffective, so why should tax payers waste any more money on a city that is probably doomed any way?

Chuck Dixon is the regular Detective Comics writer and William Rosado is on art. In Detective Comics #727, Nicholas Scratch breaks Firefly out of custody and has him torch the remains of Gotham. It comes down to Nightwing and Robin to stop him.

I always thought that Firefly was a neat villain. He's not obsessed with killing Batman like most of the villains in Gotham, he just wants to see the world burn. He couldn't give a crap if Batman happened to be there or not.

In Detective Comics #728, Nightwing and Robin try to defend the city from more of Nicholas Scratch's hired goons. Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon looks for work outside of Gotham.

I don't know who the goons that Nicholas Scratch hired are. Firefly might be a minor Batman villain, but at least I know who he is. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the only appearance that these goons made. I have just read the issue an I have already forgotten their names. You have to feel sorry for poor old Jim Gordon as well. He tries getting a new job in another city but gets laughed out of town because everybody thinks Gotham cops are usely and they have to get a masked lunatic to do their work for them. Well, they might not be wrong but Jim Gordon is one of the good cops.

Alan Grant is the regular Shadow of the Bat writer and Mark Buckingham is on art. In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #80, most of the Arkham orderlies have abandoned their posts and the lack of security leads the Joker to take the opportunity to have some fun.

The Joker claims that some random called Wax Man is sitting in his seat. Wax Man isn't impressed and dumps oatmeal on the Joker's head. As much as I like seeing the Joker humiliated, I know it's only a mater of time before the Joker gets his own back and Wax Man meets a violent end.

In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #81, supplies are running low and Jeremiah Arkham is faced with a terrible decision. He must decide whether to keep the inmates locked up and risk them starving to death or let them run free in the ruins of Gotham.

The Joker tells Jeremiah Arkham that the best way to let off the tension that has been building in Arkham is to have the inmates fight each other in a sort of gladiatorial arena. I'm not sure who's more insane, the Joker or Arkham for going through with the idea. It's all part of the Joker's plan as he has tampered with the inmates' medical records and mixed up their medication. Now that means somebody like Killer Croc will be getting stimulants instead of sedatives and you can easily predict what will happen when Croc gets het up.

In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #82, Batman arrives to subdue the rowdy inmates. If Bruce Wayne is in Washington, then who is this Batman and what will the inmates do when they find out he is a phoney?

It turns out that the phoney Batman is Arkham's assistant. His plan was to scare the inmates into quieting down. It went just as well as you would expect. It never ends well whenever somebody other than Bruce Wayne tries being Batman. Arkham ends up making a deal with the inmates. He promises to let them free as long as they don't return to Gotham. We all know how that will work out, don't we? It doesn't help that Arkham tells them that bank vaults are cracked open and the police are disarray. What an idiot!

In Batman #562, Gotham City is shut down after Bruce Wayne's pleas for help failed. There is a mass exodus as the city's people try to leave and there is still the matter of Nicholas Scratch, who is still out to get Bruce Wayne.

Now it turns out that Nicholas Scratch's henchmen have been genetically modified to resemble demons. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to find out what Scratch's deal is as he ends up becoming one of Azrael's enemies and I have already said how few of Azrael's solo issues have been collected.

In Detective Comics #729, Nightwing and Robin are stuck on the last bridge out of Gotham thirty minutes before it is due to be blown up. Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon reorganises the police force for the anarchy to come when Gotham becomes a no man's land.

I knew that Bullock and Montoya wouldn't abandon Gotham. They are two of the only good cops in the city. They weren't the only ones to stay behind. All of the named cops, the ones that we care about, decided to stay and keep order. Nightwing and Robin also end up getting attacked by some guy called Gearhead. I don't know anything about the guy, but the nearest I can make out is that he is some kind of cyborg.

In Azrael #49, Nicholas Scratch plans to assassinate a congressman involved in the decision to shut down Gotham. It comes down to Azrael to help the day, but will Oracle lend a hand when he isn't a member of the Bat-family any more?

All this mystery around Nicholas Scratch is getting annoying. It's like when Rob Liefeld was writing X-Force in the 90's. He kept on introducing all these rad new mysterious characters and couldn't be bothered to flesh out their back stories. They were rad and mysterious and that's all we knew about them. That's pretty much how I feel about Nicholas Scratch.

In Azrael #50, Azrael is still wanted for the murder of Senator Halivan, so Batman decides it is time for a change of costume. Azrael soon gets a lead on Nicholas Scratch's men and makes a move to track them down. However, Scratch is out to get him as well.

Azrael is still wanted for the murder of Senator Halivan, so Batman's answer is to give him a new costume. It's a pity because I liked the classic red Azrael costume with the fiery knifes that popped out of the wrists. It was so rad and this new costume makes Jean-Paul look silly with his floppy hair.

The material from Batman: No Man's Land Secret Files and Origins #1 collected her is profiles on important characters and a tour of the different Batcaves that Batman has set up to use during the No Man's Land story arc.

I'm not sure where this issue should be placed in the story line as it had profiles on characters that haven't appeared yet, like David Cain and the new Batgirl. It also has spoilers for the eventual fate of Nicholas Scratch, but still no satisfactory answers about him. Hopefully I will get my answers in the Azrael issues that are included in the other No Man's Land volumes. It might also be wise to leave reading this issue until the end of the No Man's Land story arc as it also includes a time line of events which could be considered as spoilers.

Like the previous volume, the issues here have never been collected in trade form before. I have read most of the No Man's Land issues before, but not those issues leading up to it. It was an enjoyable collection of stories, but I still find the lack of concrete answers about Nicholas Scratch to be annoying. The Azrael issues involved in the event weren't included in the old trades that I have read, but they are included in the newer trades that I have. Let's hope I get the answers I am after in that case.

My rating: 3.5 stars.

Next time: Avengers- The Trial of Yellowjacket