NML Crossing, Episode 049 – Batman #563 (1999)
NML Crossing, Episode Forty-Nine
Batman #563 (March, 1999)
“No Law and a New Order, Part Three: Tactics”
Writer – Bob Gale
Pencils – Alex Maleev
Inks – Wayne Faucher
Colors – Dave Stewart
Letters – Willie Schubert
Edits – Illidge, Gorfinkel, Vincenzo, O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.99
After… another… extended moving break, NML Crossing is back! Today we’re going to be discussing the penultimate chapter of “No Law and a New Order” by Bob Gale and Alex Maleev. We’re also going to be talking about the proceeding chapter, since I neglected to share my thoughts on that last time out!
In this issue, the GCPD adapts to the new normal of No Man’s Land… by crossing a few lines into ruthlessness! Also, our titular hero finally returns and makes his presence known!
NML Crossing on Youtube
I remember loving the mystery of who the new Batgirl was. Batman obviously knows who she is, and she obviously knows that he knows, but me as the reader had no clue.
The interaction between the cops is the high point of this issue for me. This first story of No Man’s Land feels like Gordon’s story more than Batman’s. He knows he has to break police rules, but still is trying to keep one foot on the right side of the line and not cross it altogether. He will always be a law and order cop at his core.
Petit reminds me of the kind of cop who became a cop to “crack some heads”, and not to “serve and protect” and uphold the law. Having friends and family in law enforcement, to me he is a bad cop. But, a good No Man’s Land warrior.
Our discussion of the term “Graphic Novel” got me thinking: “Did No Man’s Land ever have a novelization?” And guess what? It did. Written by Greg Rucka no less. Plus, according to at least one review it contains no Azrael. So I bought an old paperback copy. I plan to read it to see how it compares to the original comics story, and what was left out for the better or the worse. Going to wait until we get a little deeper into No Man’s Land to start reading it so I have something to compare it to.
For me, calling collections of issues originally released monthly a “graphic novel” works, as long as the entire story was laid out to be one complete story with a definitive beginning, middle and ending. Watchmen is a Graphic Novel because Moore constructed his one story into 12 chapters. Sandman is not a Graphic Novel because even though Gaiman knew what his ending was going to be at the start, the entire middle was not known and meandered through various stories until he decided to tell his predetermined ending. Crisis on Infinite Earths is not a Graphic Novel because Marv Wolfman was constructing new story elements while the series was already being published. The all villains issue was not a part of the original plan. Issues 11 and 12 were not a part of the original pitch.
I am reminded that many of the stories that we consider classic literature were originally released in monthly chapters in periodicals before being collected into book form. Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle both wrote serialized stories later collected into book form. “A Tale of Two Cities “and “The Hound of the Baskervilles” are both examples of this.
So for me Graphic novels and trade collections are different things. It’s hard to describe the difference to the uninitiated, but I know it when I see it. (lol)