But while serving the sentence of his personal banishment in the vastness of space, the Man of Steel learns that he cannot run from himself. In this introspective tale of remorse and rebirth, Superman faces off against the evil of the Eradicator for the first time, learns new secrets about the history of Krypton and takes on the alien behemoth Mongul on his gladiator planet Warworld.

    As he battles against the deadly Reaper, the city's first vigilante hero, Batman must work with the man who murdered his parents and a cadre of mob bosses to protect Gotham City. These stories feature spectacular artwork by Todd McFarlane (Spawn) and Alan Davis (Marvel's Excalibur).Collects DETECTIVE COMICS #568-574 and #579-582.

    The early days of the Teen Titans are chronicled in this title collecting the 6-issue miniseries!Original covers by Karl Kerschl & Serge Lapointe.

    (And fans of Rucka--assuming they get around to reading this at all--will still likely hold the opinion that Atticus Kodiak could take Batman in a standup fight any day.) DC shook up Gotham--literally--in its 1999 Batman plot arc: a 7.6 earthquake rocked Gotham City, wreaking enough destruction to bring the broken, crime-ridden, runt kid-brother of Metropolis and New York to its knees. In the story line's most indulgent liberty, those fat cats in Washington decide to write off Gotham, à la Escape from New York, blowing up the connecting bridges, mining the surrounding waterways, and signing into law the Federal Declaration of No Man's Land, which makes it a crime to even set foot in the city. The usual suspects from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face and the Penguin, the Riddler and Dr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Mr. Zsasz, file out to begin running the show, strong-arming and manipulating the block-by-block turf battles that envelop the now-ultraviolent city. A conflicted Batman shows up fashionably late, only to find that these lunatics are the least of his worries: Lex Luthor, Superman's archfoe, has nefarious designs on Gotham too. Could this possibly get any better? Sure, No Man's Land is derivative fiction, but the appeal of Rucka--and, of course, Batman--can make this one worth the read. --Paul HughesCollecting BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND #1, BATMAN #563-564, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #83-84, DETECTIVE COMICS #730-731 and BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #116.

    But the Penguin is on Batman's side for once, and the crime boss sees dangerous things on the horizon. How can he convince the Caped Crusader he's on the level? Plus, appearances by Professor Pyg, John Constantine and the boy who wanted to be Bruce Wayne--in the worst way possible! And then, someone is forcing Batman to relive some of his darkest, most traumatizing fears. How will he escape this torment? With a little help from the mysterious hero known only as the Question! Collects Batman #58-63, #66-69, Batman Annual #3 and Batman Secret Files #1.

    The World's Greatest Detective. They can barely stand each other, so how will they possibly deal with the World's Greatest Evil? What legacy can two of the world's most enduring icons of justice leave once they discover an ancient evil has been living inside the world they protect for centuries. Can Batman and the Shadow save the world without destroying it in the process? Writer Steve Orlando (Batman/The Shadow, Justice League of America) and artist by Giovanni Timpano (The Shadow, Transformers) unite to tell an instantly classic tale of noir, mortality and generational heroes and villains.