Batman is dying! The Dark Knight has been infected with a virus that’s slowly killing him! As Batman tracks down the person that infected him, he finds himself making strange alliances to catch the madman–primarily joining forces with the Joker! However this is an alliance of necessity as Joker has been infected with the same virus as Batman. Can Batman and Joker find the person responsible for infecting them? Or has the curtain finally fallen on the deadly duo of the Dark Knight and Clown Prince of Crime?
The Positives
“Prague” written by Brian Azzarello and Matteo Casali was a great read. The penciling of Giuseppe Camuncoli makes the story stand out that much more as well. How can one even complain about the Batman and Joker joining forces? The constant back and forth between the two makes the story great and at some points laughable. You see Batman attempting to work every angle of the case–like the detective that he is, while the Joker is doing what he does best–sly and crass jokes throughout the book! However Joker does have his uses as we see him and Batman engage some robots in combat later. While Batman’s body is being ravaged by the virus, Joker’s help in combat seems pretty valuable and its enjoyable seeing the two fight side by side.
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The Negatives
My only complaint with this issue is that the villain is dismissed too early. I won’t spoil it for you but the villain is being used by someone else, someone who’s playing Batman and the Joker. It’s a great premise however the “man in the shadows” just kills the villain without a thought. Granted Batman probably would’ve interrogated him if caught so I see it being necessary however it was still disappointing. I like for the motivations of my villains to be laid out in front of me, and this issue doesn’t do that. However I won’t hold that against the writing team of Azzarello and Casali cause I believe they are setting us up for something epic in the next issue–and Azzarello hasn’t disappointed me yet–I’m a fan of his writing actually.
The Verdict
I thought Batman Europa #2 was awesome. Everything from the penciling and the writing makes it worth the read. Anytime that you have two of the most iconic enemies joining forces it’s definitely worth looking at. Pick up Batman Europa #2— you won’t be disappointed.
 
