Book Description

Gotham City: a dark, twisted reflection of urban America. Overcrowded, overbuilt, and overshadowed by a continuous air of menace, this gothic nightmare is a breeding ground for the depraved, the indifferent, and the criminally insane. It's also the object of one man's obsession. Forever scarred as a child from witnessing the brutal murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne has dedicated his life to protecting this city from its many predators, taking a form to inspire hope in the innocent...and fear in the guilty. He is the masked vigilante known as the Batman. With Police Commissioner James Gordon, these two men have always fought to preserve law and order, side-by-side, struggling against a pervasive and relentless criminal element, working together to hold the line. Until now. Leveled by a massive earthquake that has left thousands dead and millions more wounded, Gotham City has been completely cut off from outside aid, transformed into a lawless battleground -- a No Man's Land -- where the survivors are turning against one another, and where the city's protectors are torn by a crisis that may consume them all. Gotham now teeters at the edge of the abyss...and Batman is missing.For the first time, the classic Batman epic is collected in full, including chapters that were never before collected, starting with these stories from BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #83-86, BATMAN #563-566, DETECTIVE COMICS #730-733, AZRAEL: AGENT OF THE BAT #51- 55, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #117-118, BATMAN CHRONICLES #16.