Comic Info
Comic Name: The Stand: No Man’s Land
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artist: Mike Perkins
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2011
The Stand: No Man’s Land #1
Reprints The Stand: No Man’s Land #1-5 (April 2011-August 2011). As the Free Zone works to establish itself in Boulder, the need for government arrises. Nadine Cross falls further under the control of the Man in Black and brings Harold Lauder deeper into his plans. With the realization that Randall Flagg’s plans are continuing to develop in Las Vegas, the Free Zone realizes they must act. A tragic turn of events reminds the members of the Free Zone that it isn’t just a battle for survival, but a battle of good versus evil.
Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, The Stand Volume 5: No Man’s Land follows the events of The Stand Volume 4: Hardcases and the adaptation of Stephen King’s 1978 post-apocalypse novel. The penultimate collection features art by Mike Perkins and was well received.
This is the portion of the novel that I get a little bored by. I like the initial survival story presented in the book, but the establishing of the society in Boulder always makes me yearn for the earlier portion. Aguirre-Sacasa does a good job of keeping it moving and does this by having the story focus mostly on Nadine and Harold who are two of the more tortured souls of the story.
The Stand: No Man’s Land #4
Both characters are interesting and both have their own motivation for becoming the Judases of the Free Zone. There problems also get into the realm of freedom of choice or predestination which plays an important role in the story. Is it possible for Nadine or Harold to truly be good or are they damned to be picked for betrayal?
Underplayed to the evil is the God aspect of The Stand which takes a big role in the final story. While the Devil (aka Randall Flagg) is very visible, God is less so in a book that takes a very spiritual turn. Tom Collin’s affliction is the most visible aspect of God (instead of his speaker in Mother Abagail). With God becoming such a “major player” in the end of the novel, I wish it had been peppered in throughout the story a bit more.
The Stand 5: No Man’s Land is a good collection of a good series. It is no substitute for reading The Stand, but if you have read The Stand and don’t have time to revisit it, it is a good substitution. The Stand 5: No Man’s Land is followed by The Stand 6: The Night Has Come.
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