Batman: Europa

Product Information

Co-conceived by Matteo Casali and Brian Azzarello, this 4-issue miniseries event will feature art by top talents over layouts by the incomparable Giuseppe Camuncoli (HELLBLAZER, Dark Wolverine), with the first issue pencilled and inked by none other than Jim Lee! Over the years, Batman and Joker have come to realize that their existence is concomitant and that one cannot exist without the other. You know you have procrastinated enough when you can't find the images you have screen capped for a graphic novel. I imagine that there’s some talent here and that it was a big opportunity for the artists to be on the book. Hier sind die Kontrahenten auf ihre Grundzüge heruntergebrochen und zeigen ihre Feindseligkeit einzig und allein in ein paar halbherzigen Schlagabtauschen, in denen Batman immer als humorlos und der Joker als schrill und witzig herausgeht.

It’s got its quibbling flaws, but who cares: Batman Europa is exquisitely rendered and the characters shine. The story stagnates occasionally as we get a history lesson at each new location, but I didn’t find that troublesome. This is an expensive book with eight pages more than the usual comic, but the layouts are big and splashy (there are 4 splash pages, in fact). The banter between them is truly intriguing and continuously stimulates your curiosity as you feverishly scratch your heard trying to figure out whose behind everything.

But here he’s finally been given the time and subject to produce exceptional work: I don’t think Batman and the Joker have looked this good since before the New 52 (and make no mistake, I really like Greg Capullo’s early run–even Joker with his face cut off at the beginning of Death of the Family). It struck me as if this was supposed to be a plot for Hush and they kind of crammed Bane in there last minute to give it some stupid twist that makes zero sense. Thankfully, Casali/Azzarello’s script provides some really great moments between the two adversaries. I'm fairly certain it was a mini, but when it was released and all that eludes me simply because I don't care.

and yes, even though this story predates anything that Scotty Snyder did with the character, I still rolled my eyes a bit. Batman in Europe is the basic idea, but instead of letting him get a feel for the city and ultimately comparing it to his mistress Gotham, we’re instead handed a few set pieces and thrown some typical action. The intrigue is paper thin, there's hardly enough explanation why the story develops as it does or what are exactly the main villain's motive. Ein Comic mit einer Menge Potential, nicht nur wegen der beiden zusammengeführten Figuren, sondern auch wegen der neuen Kulisse.comic) Batman and Robin (comic) Batman and Robin Eternal (comic) Batman/Superman (comic) Batman v Superman (General Mills) Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (comic) Batman: Arkham Unhinged Batwing (comic) Catwoman (comic) Detective Comics (comic) Earth 2 (comic) Earth 2: Society (comic) Gotham Academy (comic) Gotham Academy: Second Semester (comic) Gotham by Midnight (comic) Grayson (comic) Harley Quinn (comic) Injustice: Gods Among Us (comic) Injustice: Gods Among Us: Ground Zero (comic) Justice League (comic) Justice League/Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (comic) Justice League of America (Rebirth) Mother Panic (comic) New Suicide Squad (comic) Nightwing (comic) Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (comic) Red Hood/Arsenal (comic) Red Hood and the Outlaws (comic) Robin: Son of Batman (comic) Teen Titans Go! The impossible has happened and Batman is on the verge of being taken down by an enemy he cannot defeat: a virus for which there is no cure! This causes an unusual team up as batman and joker travel through Europe trying to find the cure and the culprit. I wouldn’t even remark on it except it happens at the height of the action and it threw me right out of the story.

With a quick history lesson at the beginning of each issue to introduce the latest country they’re about to visit, the story escalates and explores deeper into the psyche of both our characters. Forcing Batman and Joker together in this manner is an excellent catalyst for examining their relationship, however, there is very little of that. And while the story takes four chapters to set the stage for this question, it’s already answered it by having Batman team up with the Joker. It's just an album of cool, interesting artwork in different locations across Europe with a bit of trivia about them and very flimsy storyline, which had potential to be quite good actually. I would have rather had more development for Nina than learn about the Hill of the Berlin Planetarium.Interestingly, to reflect their decaying minds and bodies, the artwork devolves and roughens throughout the book. Sure we can say that this is out of cannon and excuse it, but when it’s using so much collective knowledge about the character it ceases to be an excuse.