Greg Rucka

Bruce Wayne is framed for the murder of his girlfriend Vesper Fairchild and makes the controversial decision to abandon his civilian identity entirely — no more Bruce Wayne, only Batman. Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker weave a detective thriller where every member of the Bat-family — Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Oracle — must work independently to prove the innocence of a man who no longer wants to be saved. A turning point for Batman before the New 52 that shows the character at his most psychologically stripped down.

Batman: Road to No Man's Land Omnibus is the disaster before the border walls: Cataclysm breaks Gotham physically, Aftershock shows the institutions failing and the federal abandonment sets up one of Batman's most political urban sagas. The value is seeing exactly why Gotham becomes impossible to govern.

Gotham is destroyed by an earthquake, the federal government abandons it and declares an emergency zone. Whoever stays inside remains outside the law. The city becomes ungoverned territory where gangs, escaped Arkham villains and Batman fight it out street by street. Best political story of the Dark Knight. Introduces Cassandra Cain as the new Batgirl.

Batman: No Man's Land Omnibus Vol. 2 closes the ruined-Gotham saga after months of gang borders, collapsed institutions and Bat-family survival. Lex Luthor enters with reconstruction money, the Joker delivers one of the era's cruelest final blows and Batman has to decide what saving Gotham means after the city has already been abandoned.