Review by Frank Plowright

Although it reads perfectly well if you go no further, the purpose of No Law and a New Order is to set the scene for Batman: No Man’s Land, and it’s incorporated into the first volumes of all collections under that title.

Best known for co-writing the Back to the Future trilogy, screenwriter Bob Gale only dipped into comics occasionally during the 1990s, but the dramatist’s polish of a film writing career is evident in everything he produced. Surprisingly, though, this is the only graphic novel of his work available, and it’s long out of print.

He’s teamed with Alex Maleev, who’s not yet using the static, ink spattered style that characterised his Daredevil run. It makes the weaknesses of his technique more apparent, but not to the point where they’re impacting on the story, and this should be seen in the context of being among the earliest work of an acclaimed artist. The pages tell the story clearly and supply the additional atmosphere.

With Gotham cut off from mainland USA and troops preventing anyone entering, Gale shows a desperate city gradually dividing itself into areas of individual control over a period of four months. Most areas become fiefdoms of known Gotham villains such as Penguin and Scarface, but the Gotham police maintain a boundary, and Gale also shows how people are adapting to the new reality. That’s supplied extremely well in the opening sequence showing the desperation there is for food, and the worth of an apple where none are growing. Similar resonant individual touches occur all the way through, whether a line of dialogue that echoes or a point well made, such as the worth of a bullet during an interlude page, or tagging adopted by everyone.

There’s been some editorial input to Gale’s plot as he also introduces areas of later consequence in the bigger picture, such as Poison Ivy setting up in Robinson Park. Among others shown adapting to new circumstances are Barbara Gordon, then still in her wheelchair, and with her secondary dependency of technological wizardry removed. There’s a new Batgirl, and former Commissioner Gordon most represents the title, as seen on the sample art. A major absentee is obvious, but by the end Batman’s back in Gotham having to radically reconsider his own methods of engagement in a city he no longer knows.

You can continue further into the No Man’s Land collections, but none of them top this for action and drama. The content is also available in the first No Man’s Land Omnibus.