[World of Bats} Batman Book Club--Batman: Europa #1-4 and Batman: In Darkest Knight

Think of it this way – Three Jokers finally gives Jason a chance to express his feelings. With a crowbar. :laughing:

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@Jay_Kay yeah the chill hybrid was not the best plot devices. Also you have lost your Todd fan card for a week young man!:stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

@Aquamon I hope you don’t mind that I share my thoughts about Batman: Europa here with the @WorldOfBatsBookClub, since I just finished and didn’t want to duplicate threads.

A story where Batman contracts a virus that will kill him in 1 week, unless he teams up with The Joker, and they become each other’s antidote - sign me up! But after book 2, things just went downhill for me - honestly, borderline painful to read.

The art styles were a complete mismatch with the story and switching artists each issue was jarring. I agree with @jay_kay, that even Jim Lee’s art seemed out of place.

Book 3 was where it really became sluggish (+1 @Twogun_DC) and especially challenging to follow with the darker action sequences and ransom note’esque arrangements. In theory, that theme would be a good choice for this part but it just didn’t work.

Book 4 as a finale was disappointing. I’ve also never seen acrylic canvas paintings with text bubble overlays - what a mess.

Batman: Europa had great potential but ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t hate it, but there weren’t any notable likes for me and I wouldn’t recommend this to others with so many other amazing comics to enjoy.

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We don’t mind at all! :slight_smile:

I can get what you mean in regards to the art. In #3 I think it could work in the context that both characters are getting messed up in terms of their illness, but it does kind of feel like a muddled mess.

Ultimately I feel like Europa was an experiment of getting more European artists involved in mainstream superhero titles in a mixed way that doesn’t really satisfy either. If you want something a little similar, I would recommend Batman: The Dark Prince Charming" by Enrico Marini, who is a European artist who does his own take on the Bat-Mythos, and we did cover that story in the Club! Personally, it’s a favorite of mine. :slight_smile:

Thanks for sharing! Maybe we’ll see you around a little more. :smiley:

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Thank you @Jay_Kay! I feel so welcome!

I just read Batman: The Dark Prince Charming a few weeks ago. I enjoyed it so much that it’s on my list to pick up from my local shop (when we’re back in action)! I’m a watercolor artist so the unique visualizations really appealed to me. It didn’t look like digital watercolor and paired well with the excellent story. I’ll check out the club’s thread on that one - thank you!

I agree that Jim Lee seemed like a sort of “bait” for Batman: Europa. European artists have achieved some amazing creative heights that are still unexplored in our market.

I’m also a fan of the original Valerian comics. Both author and artist are French. They’re not DC, but have you ever read this series? I’m lucky enough to own a paperback issue.

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I have read The City of Shifting Waters a while back and I recently started The Empire of a Thousand Planets via Comixology Unlimited, really fun stuff. :smiley:

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