Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder #6

[cyberghostface]

Comments

[blues32]

So she's now just officially Deadpool? Even the same color scheme?

[cainofdreaming]

She breaks the fourth wall (which she's done occasionally at least since her first ongoing) but she also jumps to the blank space between the panels. So, not Deadpool. Gwenpool.

[huntleyhaverstock]

On one level, going meta is pretty easy for a character like Harley. But I gotta say, this is a pretty decent "going-meta" story for all that. And Bruno Redondo, man, what can't he draw?

I would dearly love to see Deadpool and Harley meet. Especially in their Margot Robbie/Ryan Reynolds incarnations. They'd have a lot of really interesting things to talk about in between explosions!

[deh_tommy]

It’s not really a relapse considering that was her feature film debut and a big part of her character is her initial connection to the Joker, but bleh.

Is that costume at the end going to stick around? I kinda dig it.

[cainofdreaming]

Black + White + Red( and +der) haven't really seemed to stick to continuity much, so chances are the costume is one off.

But I'm willing to be proven wrong in this occasion.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

I think it's a "relapse" in the sense of the idea that these are all one character's history in a chronological sense, like she's playing the same part, but the part is always changing.

Kinda like Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse, you could say.

[knight_moves]

Ehh, this meta feels very corporate? The early Deadpool stuff felt anarchic, like a mad fanboy was on the loose inside the story--he did stuff like uppercut Kitty Pryde out of frame while referencing Street Fighter.



What's Harley really saying? "Harley Quinn sure is a great character, please buy Harley Quinn stuff." She says something that gets bleeped out, gives a censored middle finger (gags that children's cartoon Puss In Boots did), mildly pokes fun at times she was skanked out... it all feels more reverent than punk-rock. She, or rather the writer, is saying there's nothing to her character except a red and black aesthetic--and that's a good thing.

[tcampbell1000]

The thing is, "Harley wonders who the hell she is given how inconsistent her portrayals have been" is a legitimate self-criticism and a great hook. It's just that it's almost immediately dismissed in favor of "Well, I guess that's not really a problem because I'm awesome in spite of it...oo, or maybe even because of it!" I get that Bruno only had so much space to work with, but this really feels like it should've been a four-issue story arc.

In that context, I wouldn't mind a little feeling good about Harley Quinn at the end, after the character's inconsistencies and issues were more explored and resolved. But in this quickie format, it does all fold down to "Harley is great and we're great for publishing her and you're great for reading her! KEEP READING HER."

(Quite an image, where'd you find that one? Comics do so much self-celebration I figure it's likely to stay useful.)

[shadur]

It's from the Space Jam movie.

[tcampbell1000]

Been a long time since I've actually seen that one!

[knight_moves]

Space Jam.

[tcampbell1000]

Okay, Harl, if we're really going to do this, then I've got some bad news to take with the good...

One reason you get bent and stretched in a bunch of different directions is that you're tied to the Joker, who has even more of a history of bending and stretching... compare Cesar Romero, Mark Hamill, The Killing Joke, Heath Ledger, and Joaquin Phoenix for a start. A few creators have tried to minimize his role in your story and, for the most part, it just doesn't work. Your appeal is related to that history you cite. The fact that you moved on, that's empowering and uplifting and great...but it does mean you're always going to be "the Joker's girlfriend" or "the Joker's ex" or "about to first meet the Joker," always always. You can put a lot of great stuff on top of that, but that's what's at the bottom.

You ask what your thing is? That's your thing, even more than "irreverent chaos goblin" is. (And way more so than the meta-mugging, which you rarely do outside the comics.) You may not like that...I wouldn't, if I were you...but you're no more able to change it than Batman is able to realive his parents or James Bond is able to have a functional long-term relationship.

But hey, you're getting played by Lady Gaga next year, after multiple portrayals by Margot Robbie, the face of 2023 blockbuster cinema. It could be a lot worse. Talk to Dick Grayson about Chris O'Donnell sometime. He won't understand you, but you'll still feel a lot better.