“Well we will always have…”

So it has been a little while since we last left our dysfunctional dynamic duo and they are much worse off for the wear. The Colossus Virus is raging through their systems at a very accelerated pace and time is most certainly running out. Batman in particular is starting to lose his mind and he wonders if he is becoming more like the Joker with each passing second.

There is a scene that we get of the Joker in Paris, and it turns out he’s traveled there extensively and he’s somewhat of a cult icon there. People are in droves dressed like the Joker and being trendy. (And you thought hipsters were a problem. Just imagine a bunch of psychotic clowns dressed up and serving you a mocha latte, or worse yet reciting some slam poetry) Naturally Batman is a taken back quite a bit by this. Joker informs him that these masses are “his people” and he will handle it from here. He claims nobody has more resources in Paris than him. Batman, desperate to find the Trojan Horse agrees to go along with it.

Batman and Joker then go investigate a murder scene that their unknown enemy dubbed Trojan Horse has just fled. While they examine the body for clues, Batman mulls to himself why he hasn’t taken it upon him to end the Joker once and for all. However the scene that lay in front of them becomes a grand example of why he never crosses the line. Batman deduces that the body has been there well over eight hours, and someone went far out-of-the-way to make a spectacle of it. Whoever had done this, knew Batman would happen upon this sooner than later. (Of course I’m not sure how, as Batman and Joker are rapidly dying from a terrible disease, but hey that’s comic book logic for you.) 

As they flee the scene via Batman’s grapple line with Joker in tow, they land on a random rooftop and surprise, surprise the mystery villain rears his ugly head. He exclaims he’s happy they made it, but thought the virus would have finished them by now. (So why is he waiting there? Optimism, boredom?) The way that the art is done in this issue, is very hard to make out the visage of the villain. He seems to look like someone who has a Joker face and wearing a Batman mask. Trojan Horse then spouts some cryptic dialogue about how they have one more piece of the puzzle to solve. The rest of the issue (which is a very fast read) has Batman and Joker dealing with a hostage situation before realizing they have one more place to go, before their journey ends.

Overall: Okay, so first of all I have to say I was not impressed. The issue read way too fast and not a lot of substance behind it. The quality has certainly dipped from the first two issues, as did the art. Giuseppe Camuncoli is one of my favorite artists currently (he’s killing it monthly on Amazing Spider-Man) but here he just did not bring it. He used a very scratchy style, similar to Dave McKean ala Arkham Asylum, but it did not translate well here. If anything the art detracted from following the story at times. It was very hard to make out the characters you were looking at in some instances. The scene where they revealed Trojan Horse, was difficult to decipher. I’m not sure if the artist was trying to display he was an amalgam style hallucination of both the Batman and Joker themselves. I honestly couldn’t tell. The other thing that bothered me is there almost seemed to be a lack of urgency between Batman and Joker, considering they are about to die shortly. The witty banter that was refreshing in the first two issues, seemed so forced here. Unfortunately the next issue has the rather daunting task of wrapping everything up in time to give a satisfactory conclusion to the tale the creative team has weaved. We’ve got less than a month to go, so I’m hoping that like Batman and Joker I can catch a scenic gondola ride down the Grand Canal to see how this one ends. I’m not here sharpening batarangs or anything like that but, I will remain cautiously optimistic. Well see you all in thirty, last stop: Rome.

Story: Brian Azzarello and Matteo Casali Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Story: 6.5 Art: 6 Overall: 6.5 Recommendation: Pass