Collecting Batman #569-571, Detective Comics #736-738, Azrael: Agent of the Bat #58, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #122-124, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #89-92, Robin #68-72, and Batman: No Man's Land Secret Files #1.

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #89 is written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by Jason Minor. A mysterious man known as the King of Gotham has disappeared and the lives of dozens of needy children lie in the balance. It is up to Batman to find the King of Gotham, if he really does exist.

Somebody is helping the people of Gotham, teaching them how to purify water and such. Killer Croc doesn't appreciate somebody else being called the King of Gotham and sets out to find him and become the alpha male of Gotham himself. It turns out that the King of Gotham is some random criminal who decided to turn over a new leaf and help the people of Gotham.

Batman #569 is written by Janet Harvey and illustrated by Sergio Cariello. Batgirl is assigned to protect a gas station and its owner from gang members who want the station's fuel for their own use.

A bunch of thugs take one look at the new Batgirl when she comes to stop them breaking into the gas station. They soon learn the error of their ways. It's always so much fun to see Cassandra beat up the bad guys, especially when they end up underestimating her. She might look like a little girl, but she has shown that she can beat men several times her size with ease. That's why I like her so much.

Detective Comics #736 is written by Larry Hama and illustrated by Mike Deodato, Jr. Bane returns to Gotham City and Batman is determined to find out why.

I am always happy to see Bane in a story. He was that mastermind that led to the fall of Batman, so it was a bit of a disappointment to see him working as somebody's lackey. I have read the No Man's Land story before so I know who Bane is working for. Naturally, I'm not going to spoil it for any of you that are new to the story. You will have to read the story for yourselves.

Robin #68 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Staz Johnson. Robin is assigned to protect a stored surplus of supplies from Gotham's criminals. Unfortunately, the Ratcatcher is also out to get the supplies.

I thought that the Ratcatcher was just some random who only appeared about once or twice, but he seems to have appeared more times than I thought. He might be a minor villain, but I always enjoy seeing him. I just wish that so many of his ratty friends didn't have to die in the process. The Bat-family is always so concerned about the no killing rule, but that soon gets forgotten when they are fighting animals. Sure, the rats were trying to eat Robin, but was it any reason to electrocute them to death?

Robin #69 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Staz Johnson. In the course of trying to protect Gotham's food reserves from looters, Robin encounters a group of teens called the Wolflings.

There is also a subplot about Stephanie Brown's mother finding her Spoiler costume. I haven't been reading all the Robin issues, only those included in the No Man's Land volumes, so I don't know all the details about what has been going on with Stephanie. Those two losers Tommy Mangles and Gearhead are still running about as well. Gearhead was blown up in an earlier issue so Tommy Mangles has to carry him around all the time listening to him bitching and moaning.

Robin #70 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Gordon Purcell. Still weakened from his encounter with the Ratcatcher, Robin must joins forces with the Wolflings against Mr. Freeze.

Now we have Mr. Freeze added to the mix. I thought that Batman put Freeze away in a previous issue, but now that I think about it, I remember Freeze got away. It was weird for me to see Mr. Freeze speak so informally in this issue. I never thought Freeze would be the sort of person to use the word 'pal'. I suppose I can count myself lucky that he wasn't making ice puns though.

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #58 is written by Dennis O'Neil and illustrated by Roger Robinson. As the demons of Hell have been pushed up from below to the surface, Azrael is confronted by his own personal demon: St. Dumas.

I have no idea what the Day of Judgment event was about. Some sort of business about the Spectre going on a rampage and Hell literally freezing over? The event has never been collected in trade form so I haven't read it. I have only read one or two tie-in issues, but they didn't really inform me about the event proper. This issue didn't seem to have much to do with the event at all. Jean-Paul was visited by what seemed to be St. Dumas, but he put it down to exhaustion. There was no explicit evidence that it was a demonic entity trying to tempt him or anything like that.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #122 is written by Larry Hama and illustrated by Paul Gulacy. Batman ventures into the Chinaown district of Gotham to determine how the area has electricity when the rest of the city is in darkness.

The only other comic book work of Larry Hama's that I have read much of is his run on Wolverine. Hama's work on Wolverine wasn't as wordy as this issue. I remember a couple of issues that Hama did that were also very wordy. It was weird to see Venom use big words. I know Batman is smart, but it was weird to see him talk like that too. I remember Lynx from Robin's first mini-series. She used to work for King Snake. I guess she took over after he seemingly died.

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #90 is written by Larry Hama and illustrated by Paul Gulacy. Batman joins forces with the gang leader Lynx to fight against Jade Faced Wu and The Fists of Heavenly Serendipity.

I guess that I shouldn't be surprised that these issues featured a lot of chop-socky nonsense. I already mentioned Larry Hama's work on Wolverine, a character who has a habit of getting into trouble involving ninjas. Hama is also famous for his long sting writing the G.I.Joe comics, whose most popular character is Snake Eyes who just happens to be a ninja as well. Any way, it turns out that the Fists of Heavenly Serendipity are using slave labour to generate electricity. Lynx isn't happy about this because she was exploited as a kid as well. I guess nobody is allowed a happy upbringing in comics.

Batman #570 is written by Bronwyn Carlton and illustrated by Mike Deodato, Jr. The Joker expands his turf into gang territory. The Joker plans to hold elections to be elected leader of No Man's Land and his opponent will be former GCPD SWAT team leader Billy Petit.

I believe this was Harley Quinn's first appearance in a mainstream Batman comics. She made her first canon comic book appearance in the Batman: Harley Quinn one-shot. Harley made her first comic book appearance in Batman Adventures #12, but that was part of the DC Animated Universe continuity. I'll talk more about one-shot when I get around to reviewing the Batman: Harley Quinn trade.

Detective Comics #737 is written by Bronwyn Carlton and illustrated by Tom Morgan. While the Joker's political campaign threatens to so send Gotham deeper into chaos, the Huntress and Billy Petit's renegade GCPD officers get involved.

Maybe the modern Batman comics have spoiled my opinion of the Joker. The last few times I have seen him in a comic he has been anything other than a ridiculous edgelord. Dare I say that I am actually starting to like the Joker. It helps that Harley Quinn is there as well. Although, her constant desire for attention is getting a little annoying. I guess that all depends on the writer. Sometimes Harley is needy, sometimes she isn't. I still like her better partnered with Poison Ivy though.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #123 is written by Steven Barnes and illustrated by Paul Ryan. GCPD detective Mackenzie Bock has returned to his old neighbourhood to protect it from the different factions battling for territory. Unfortunately, when a little girl falls ill Bock must seek the Penguin's help.

A bunch of thugs make the mistake of antagonising an old Asian man. They obviously weren't fans of old martial arts movies as anybody who has seen those sort of movies can tell you that you never mess with an old Asian man. They are usually martial arts masters in disguise. I don't know much about Mackenzie Bock. The only Gotham cops I really know are Jim Gordon, Renee Montoya and Harvey Bullock. Thankfully, this issue gave me some insight into Bock's character.

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #91 is written by Steven Barnes and illustrated by Paul Ryan. Mackenzie Bock joins forces with Robin to protect a bus full of sick children on an underground railroad heading out of Gotham.

The issue starts with Mackenzie Bock taking on some guy called Angel. The Penguin promises to get the sick kids out of Gotham if Bock takes on Angel in the arena. Angel is a pretty boy, so Bock knows to distract him by going for his face. Angel wasn't so pretty after the fight was done. The Penguin even lends a hand when the militia is chasing after Bock. Not because he cares or anything, but because Bock could earn him a lot of money fighting in his arena.

Batman #571 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Max Broome. Two-Face goes to war against the combined forces of the Demonz and the Eightballs, while the Penguin seeks Batman's help in discovering the truth behind the territory wars.

You have to question the intelligence of the criminals in Gotham. A bunch of them thought it was a good idea to get in Bane's face. It went just as well as you would think. As awesome as it was to see Bane carrying around a minigun, I was disappointed that he resorted to using one. Surely somebody like Bane doesn't need to use a gun. Then again, you can't expect Bane to break those thugs all at once with his bare hands.

Detective Comics #738 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Max Broome. Batman and Robin are forced to save Two-Face from the Demonz and Eightballs as the gangs put him on trial. Meanwhile, Bane plans to destroy the Hall of Records reaches an explosive conclusion.

Bane's plan was to attack various gangs and make it seem like Two-Face is trying to expand into their turf. The gangs fall for it and that is why Two-Face has to be saved by Batman and Robin. It turns out that it was all a distraction so Bane could blow up the Hall of Records. We don't actually find out why yet. I guess it's all part of this mysterious outsider's big plan.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #124 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Rafael Kayanan. Batman and Batgirl try to learn who is behind a pipeline taking people out of Gotham for a price.

Somebody is luring people in with promises of getting them out of Gotham, but leaving them for dead and taking all their valuables. Naturally, Batman doesn't take kindly to this. Money and jewels might be worthless in No Man's Land, but it's only a matter of time before the city gets opened up again and this Shank guy will be sitting on a fortune.

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #92 is written by Devin Grayson and illustrated by Dale Eaglesham. Superman returns to Gotham City in the guise of Clark Kent, but faces the threat of Petit and his renegade cops.

Normally I would call Petit and his cops for messing with Superman. It's not like they know this random guy sneaking into Gotham is actually a super-strong man from Krypton. Superman is too much of a good guy to cut loose and give the rogue cops their just desserts. Luckily for the cops, Batman is there so save them from their own stupidity.

I decided to skip the story from No Man's Land Secret Files and Origins, because was already included in a previous volume it is the story about the man being bitten by a bat and trudging through Gotham to deliver a message before he dies.

Robin #71 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Staz Johnson. Killer Croc is out to make a big name for himself in No Man's Land, unless Robin can stop him.

Killer Croc looked particularly dapper in his suit. God knows where he got a fancy suit in No Man's Land. Killer Croc doesn't seem like the sort of person to barter for anything. There is also a sub-plot about Jack Drake worrying about where his son has gotten to. Tim is also worrying about whether he should tell his father that he is Robin.

Robin #72 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Gordon Purcell. Killer Croc and his gang plan to use Robin as a human shield as they attack the Penguin's territory.

You can't have a collection of Batman stories without Robin being held hostage somewhere. That's why the fans call him the Boy Hostage any way. The baddies were always capturing Dick Grayson, so I suppose it's Tim Drake's turn. I have to say that I like Killer Croc when he is smart. The dumb muscle characters are always so boring, so it is nice to have a big guy that is smart for a change. It's the same with Bane. Bane is a big muscular guy, but he's smart with it. Unfortunately, Killer Croc never stays smart for long.

A decent enough collection of stories. Batgirl, Bane and Harley Quinn were all highlights for me. They are characters I am always happy to see. The mystery of the stranger shipping in goods to Gotham will continue in the next volume. I have read No Man's Land before so I know who this mysterious outsider is. You readers will have to read No Man's Land yourselves to find out.

My rating: 3.5 stars.

Next time: Alpha Flight Classic Vol. 1